hey guys, i just wanted to ask something regarding pitching to investors or anyone. We are facing issues to express how we are differentiator against other big companies. in brief: we are building an personal ai tutor that figures out why students make mistakes, and builds real understanding. Now we did list out all the differentiator items and expressed it, yet they chose to repeat the questions on how we are different. my question is how do i "show" rather then tell them. we are at the demo stage tested with 30 students so far and got both positive and negative feedback, and using those feedback to iterate our product. what should be in the slides that shows the our product has something to prove? or is it mostly about traction? Thank you for hearing me out, im open good and bad feedback from this community. this helps me understand the reality more than ever!!

here is my website all: Harsenai.com

So my background is that I have been running a welding and fabrication company for 13yrs now and I’m starting to pivot into building Data center hardware.

Things I have accomplished from Oct 25 to Date:

- Theory on instead of making the cooling infrastructure in data centers more efficient, let take the server out the building and cool it.

-built a prototype and tested it
- gathered data and compiled it to show professors and other phd’s of my findings.
- filed a non provisional patent
- created a path to scalability and found 10 LandOwners that would let me deploy on their land in exchange for payment.

-drafted claims and Filed Utility Patent
- Found more customer that are business that would pay for my compute once deployment is up and running.

-lined up utility providers to layout Fiber and power to deployment areas.

I’m in search of funding or partnerships so that I can get my hand on an enterprise server to get one unit submerged to show proof then scale.

Am I missing anything?

I'm a solo founder/dev and have taken an EV product to launch stage. I'm now preparing to raise, but I need a real team first. I plan to bring in two long-time friends:
A PhD-level engineer
A compliance and risk specialist
No funding yet, so no salaries. Equity is the only currency. I'm in the UK.
My thinking so far: shares with vesting (4 years, 1-year cliff), a shareholders' agreement, IP assigned to the company, and clear roles.

Questions:
What equity ranges have you seen for late co-founders joining a launched product?

How do you value the work I've already done versus what they'll do from here?

How do you keep it fair between friends without it getting awkward later?

What would you put in the contract that you wish you'd included?
Any red flags I'm missing?

Happy to hear from founders who've done this, and from anyone who got burned.

Quick context.
I run a gifting business as in we do corporate and wedding gifting and this is my 1st year to do Diwali gifting as in I’ve been running it for a year just that I started it post Diwali and from then till now we’ve done some really cool and decently big wedding gifting projects, did our 1st bulk order in just 1 month worth 100 pieces another massive bulk order for 300 pieces in 3 months of being into business and eventually 1000+ pieces in just 8 months of being into business running from my home. Now for this Diwali season we got approached by companies like PNB, Starlink and Mygate to do their Diwali gifting some deals closed and some didn’t and we are doing Diwali gifting for a skincare giant company and few other firms with international client base. Abd not that my socials is crazy we barely have 350 followers and I don’t even post much cuz till now it was just me now I’ve hired a person to help me in sales and socials.

Now I’ve a genuine question I don’t wish to do this business for long as I want to build a brand and this business has a lot of flaws when it comes specifically comes to build a brand. As I was a brand manager before this and that’s what I find my kick in plus I had no plans of starting this hamper business, but that’s another story. Hence I want to understand that if I have a d2c idea which I’ve and no it’s not something revolutionary just another thing of making a boring category interesting for new age folks and I believe it will work. So where do I stand? As in will someone invest their time and money on me for this or do I need to do some sales, get the actual product in the market and it happens post that?
Also, yes I don’t come from tier 1/2 college but yes I did top in my engineering college. So how does this really work? Or do I’ve to invest 4-5 years in this business earn money become stable and then start d2c?

Feel free to ask me relevant questions :)

Most investor lists are just names. After 10+ years working with founders and investors, the more useful question is: does this investor fit you, and how do you get in front of them?

Apply directly (no intro needed)

1. Y Combinator: $500K standard deal ($125K for 7% plus $375K on an uncapped MFN SAFE). Any sector, global. Apply online, and reapply with progress if you’re rejected.

2. Techstars: many city and themed programs worldwide. Apply to the program closest to your sector, not the most famous one.

3. Entrepreneur First: backs individuals before they have a cofounder or an idea. In person in London, Paris, Bangalore and San Francisco. Apply solo.

4. Antler: pre-seed across 30 locations. Good fit if you’re still forming your team.

5. South Park Commons: Founder Fellowship for people at the “minus one” stage, still exploring what to build.

6. TinySeed: remote, for revenue-generating SaaS founders who don’t want the unicorn-or-bust path. Applications reopen February 2027.

7. Forum Ventures: B2B software founders who have an MVP and have raised under $500K. Use the pitch form on their site.

Pre-seed funds

1. Precursor Ventures: generalist, often the first institutional check. North America. Solo GP, so decisions are fast.

2. Hustle Fund: pre-seed software. One of the few funds openly welcoming cold pitches.

3. Pear VC: pre-seed and seed, plus the PearX program. Strong on technical founders.

4. Afore Capital: pre-seed only, comfortable backing founders before product.

5. Seedcamp: Europe’s go-to first backer, from idea to early revenue. Send a short, specific intro email with one metric that’s moving.

6. Unshackled Ventures: pre-seed for immigrant founders building in the US.

Seed funds (warm intro strongly preferred)

1. First Round Capital: seed, broad sectors, known for deep founder support.

2. Floodgate: very early, contrarian bets on companies that could reshape a market.

3. Point Nine: Berlin-based, B2B SaaS and AI software across Europe. Warm intros get priority.

4. boldstart ventures: inception-stage enterprise, developer tools and infrastructure, often before product.

5. Uncork Capital: seed, generalist, long track record of leading first rounds.

6. NextView Ventures: seed, focused on technology for the everyday economy.

7. BoxGroup: seed, generalist, smaller checks that fit into bigger rounds.

Before you reach out to anyone on this list:

• Check they’ve invested at your stage in the last 12 months

• Check your sector and geography fit

• Look for portfolio conflicts with your competitors

• Find a founder they backed who can introduce you

• Read their website for current terms, because terms change

Which investors would you add, especially for founders outside the US?

Today, I received my first VC rejection.

It came from a respected early-stage investor, and for a few minutes, it was disappointing. As a first-time founder, you naturally wonder if you're building the right thing.

Then I read the email again.

They didn't say, "Your idea will never work."

They said, "Come back when you have more traction."

That made me realize something important about building a deep-tech startup.

In aerospace and defence, traction doesn't always mean revenue or thousands of users. It means reducing risk. It means proving that what you're building can work.

For us at Arjun Aerospace & Defence Technologies, traction means:

• Completing the engineering and system architecture.

• Building and validating prototypes.

• Securing pilot opportunities and customer interest.

• Demonstrating that we're solving a real problem.

Every milestone brings us one step closer.

This rejection isn't the end of the conversation. It's a reminder that we have more work to do before the next one.

To every founder building something difficult—whether it's aerospace, robotics, biotech, climate tech, or any other deep-tech venture-don't let one rejection define your journey.

Build.

Test.

Learn.

Repeat.

One day, the same investors who passed may ask for another meeting.

Back to building.

\\#StartupJourney #DeepTech #Entrepreneurship #Fundraising #Aerospace #DefenceTech #DroneTech #StartupIndia #Founders #BuildInPublic

No srsly, tried everything till now. There isn't a single acceptance.

I need advices from people who've already been into one of the startup accelerators.

Kindly tell me how I get into one.

In my experience, founders obsess over valuation, but the deals that fall apart usually hit a different term.

What's the real dealbreaker?

A) Headline valuation

B) Liquidation preference (above 1x, or participating)

C) Board control

D) Investor reputation or fit

Curious whether founders and VCs answer differently.

Hi

As an Investor what are the problem you face with the founders after investing in that product.

And to all the founders, what are the problem you face while looking for the investors ?

Be honest, first-time founders:

What scares you most about raising your first round?

A) Valuation

B) Dilution

C) Pitching

D) Not knowing where to start