What a good FTG pitch looks like
We read every submission, so this is self-interest as much as generosity: the clearer your pitch, the faster and fairer our answer. Six things the strongest pitches we see get right.
- 01
Start with the problem, and make it expensive
The strongest pitches we see open with a problem that costs someone real money or real time today — not a technology looking for a use. Show us who has the problem, what it costs them, and what they do about it now. If the honest answer is 'nothing, and they cope', say that too; it changes the go-to-market, not the merit.
- 02
Why now — the question we weigh most
Our whole thesis is timing: rails, regulation, and models converging at once. Tell us what changed — a rule, a cost curve, a capability — that makes your company possible this year and impossible three years ago. 'Why now' is the slide we read twice.
- 03
Team before product
At pre-seed and seed we are underwriting people. Founder-market fit matters more than polish: why are you the ones who will not quit on this problem? Unusual advantages — domain scars, distribution you already own, technical depth — beat generic credentials.
- 04
Show the sharp edge, not the surface area
One narrow thing your product does better than anyone, demonstrated, beats ten roadmap promises. If you have a demo, lead with it. If you have users, show retention, not sign-ups. If you have neither yet, show the insight that others are missing.
- 05
Honest numbers, clearly framed
We read financials the way we write our own research: projections labelled as projections, assumptions visible, and no adjectives doing the work numbers should do. A small real number beats a large implied one. Tell us the ask, what it buys, and how long it lasts.
- 06
Keep the deck short; the portal does the rest
Ten to fifteen slides is plenty — problem, why now, team, product, market, traction, business model, ask. Our structured intake captures the details a deck shouldn't carry, and your submission reaches the investment team directly, so spend your effort on clarity, not volume.
Your pitch meets a rubric, not a mood.
Every submission is scored by the investment team against the same five criteria — so the guidance above maps directly to how you will be evaluated.
Founder quality, domain expertise, and the ability to execute.
Size, timing, and the tailwinds behind the opportunity.
Differentiation, defensibility, and technical edge.
Evidence of demand, growth, and retention.
Unit economics, capital efficiency, and the ask.