The best way to do an early stage pitch is to ditch the deck and have a conversation.
I'm a 3x entrepreneur and I've raised $60 million in venture capital and done hundreds of pitches. At the angel and pre-seed stages, people care less about exactly what you're building and mostly care about who you are and whether their values align with yours.
You Still Need a Deck (But Don't Present It)
I'm not saying don't have a deck at all. You should have a deck and that should have been circulated to the person ahead of time. But during the actual meeting, you need to try to have a conversation and build a relationship - not actually walk through your deck.
Do Your Homework
First, figure out who you're going to be speaking with and go into the meeting with more context.
If the investor you're going to speak with is an entrepreneur themselves or has been an entrepreneur in the past, learn something about the types of companies they've built. If they're just an investor but have an active Twitter, LinkedIn, blog, or even a TikTok account - read their content, watch their content, know what they like to talk about and how they like to present their beliefs.
Build Genuine Relationships
Once you're in the meeting, have an actual genuine conversation. It's a relationship building opportunity as much as it is anything else.
What Early Stage Investors Are Really Evaluating
In the early stages, the investor is looking to understand a few things from you:
1. What kind of person are you? How seriously do you take this company and your mission? Are you going to be able to work hard and do everything it takes to possibly succeed?
2. Are your core beliefs aligned? Do you think about the problem space the same way they do?
3. The vibe and trust. Can they sit down with you in good times and bad and still have a conversation? Do they still like you as a person? Can they trust you?
4. Can you raise the next round? Many angel and pre-seed investors are not capable of writing larger checks down the road if you're in crisis and unable to raise from somebody else. They really need you to be the type of person who is capable of going out there and raising your next round all by yourself.
My Approach: Conversation First, Always
In my first meeting with investors, I will exclusively have conversations. No decks, no demos, just a conversation.
Typically I would have already sent the deck and demo ahead of time, so if they're not interested in that, they won't even take the meeting. But there are occasional cases where it's a referral and we're connecting on text message or WhatsApp where they haven't really seen the deck but I'm talking to them.
In that case, I will have the conversation first and then send them the deck and demo over email.
Why This Works
Early stage investing is about backing people, not just ideas. Your deck shows what you're building. Your conversation shows who you are. And at the angel and pre-seed stage, investors are betting on you as a founder far more than they're betting on your current product.
At FinalLayer, we've used this exact approach to build relationships with investors who believed in us as founders first, and our vision second. That foundation of trust and alignment makes all the difference when things get hard.
