Reverse Pitching. What to do to avoid hearing “no” from investors — a guide for startups

On October 24–25, Kyiv hosted the RESTART technology conference, organized by AIN and a number of partners, which brought together leading Ukrainian businesses and innovators. One of the panels, titled Reverse Pitching, also brought together Ukrainian investors, who talked about the types of startups they would never invest in. 

Participants in the discussion included Andrew Zinchuk from ZAS Ventures, Valeriіa Fadieienko from Angel One Fund, Denys Sychkov from Horizon Capital, Markiian Moroz from u.ventures, and Rustam Yomutbayev from Vesna Capital. The panel was moderated by Maksym Strukov from Geek Ventures. The speakers shared specific red flags, behavioral signals, and typical mistakes made by founders that can instantly derail an investment deal.

Below is a practical guide for startup founders who are planning to raise money from investors or simply collaborate with them, based on this discussion.

Why an investor might say no. How to turn it into a yes

The main insight from the panel can be summed up in a single statement that virtually all speakers agreed on: investors rarely refuse to invest solely because of a bad idea. More often than not, the reason is a lack of evidence of what the founders or their team are capable of doing to bring the idea to fruition. 

Therefore, the founder’s task is not to “sell a dream,” but to show real dynamics: how you learn, change, deliver on your promises, and grow. This is what they look at in the first minutes of meeting and during pitches.

1) Your own contribution and what you have invested before the investor arrives

It is important for venture investors to see that the founder has already invested some of their resources in their own idea: time, savings, reputation, labor, and most importantly, has made significant progress. If your path resembles “jumping between projects” without bringing any of them to fruition, trust will decline.

What to show investors to avoid this:

• personal investments (not just money, but specific steps: prototype, first customers, pilots);

• why you are “fixated” on this particular problem and will not back down after the first difficulties;

• a short timeline: “was → did → became” to show the energy of execution.

2) Communication = a marker of how you run your business

Investors look not only at words, but at “say–do–say”: promised → did → returned with an update and metrics. The ability to listen to feedback and implement it quickly is a separate, very valuable skill. It can be seen in the details: how you prepare for a meeting, whether you come up with updates on time, whether you are ready to do numerous follow-ups to achieve results.

Typical no’s arise when:

• the founder deflects comments and does not ask clarifying questions;

• there is no systematic follow-up after the intro/call;

• everything boils down to “give me a check” without any interest in the non-financial value of the fund [we are talking about networking, channels, recruiting — ed.].

“Another problem is founders who only talk-the-talk and don’t walk-the-walk. This means that as a founder, you have to do what you promised. The problem is that some founders like to talk more than they act. The ideal model of interaction in this case should be: said, done, said,” Zinchuk shared.

So, how to fix it:

• build short but regular updates: 1–2 key metrics, 1 key takeaway, 1 request for help;

• clearly ask for specific non-financial support and show how you used it;

• maintain a simple CRM rhythm for investors: who, when, what is the next step, deadline.

3) Validation of the idea and proper CustDev are very important

“10 years in the industry” can never replace Customer Development. Investors need evidence from the market that your product meets a real need. Conversations with customers, letters of intent (LOI), and initial payments will help with this.

“The only one who knows and can fully appreciate the potential of your product is the potential customer whose problems you will solve,” concluded Zinchuk.

4) Honesty about the round and “big names”

Exaggerated “commitments,” big names without confirmation, “we’re about to close” — these instantly destroy trust. In venture capital, everything is verified through two communications. If a founder is caught exaggerating once, there may not be a second chance.

Rule: clearly state what has been signed or is already in the account. The rest is “in progress,” with a clear status and dates. In the speakers’ experience, only those founders who have previously founded their own unicorn can believe in a bare idea.

5) The founder’s reputation is often decisive, and public signals matter

The tone on LinkedIn, comments about “the market and competitors,” and literacy in public texts are also data for investors. Aggressive posts, attacks, and belittling other players significantly reduce the chances of even a technically strong product. The market is small, and reputation spreads very quickly.

What to do:

• Maintain a “strong but polite” tone.

• Publish case studies with real figures, not slogans or quotes about “success.”

• Grow as a founder and speaker through clarity and respect for other market players.

Read more: Winners of the GovTech Award 2025: Who received awards at the RESTART conference

6) A clearly defined hierarchy is important in a startup team: who is responsible for what and what is the dynamic between you

Co-founders who are friends or even, quite often, spouses are not a problem for investors if they see results and can understand each person’s areas of responsibility. But “two heads” without clear dynamics is a red flag. Investors want to see who is responsible for the product, sales, finances, and hiring; who makes the final decisions; who sets the pace.

According to Valeriіa Fadieienko and Rustam Yomutbayev, unclear hierarchy and differences in goals are among the biggest problems within startup teams that need to be addressed immediately, right from the start:

“When you have two CEOs or many employees on your team, you need to have a clear hierarchy of who is responsible for what. Everyone can pitch in to help, but the areas of responsibility must remain clear,” Fadieienko emphasized.

“The biggest problem we faced at Vesna Capital was probably the quarrels between the founders. When you, as a founder, achieve some success and have a lot of money, you start dividing everything, and if the co-founders have not previously cooperated or discussed their own goals, it is better to fix this in advance somewhere on the “sidelines”.

You can’t agree on everything, but at least you need to understand whether this is the person with whom you can go all the way,” said Yomutbayev.

7) What should be the timeline for building relationships with investors, and how fast should decisions be made?

According to the speakers, the best time to get acquainted with an investor is 3–6 months before raising a round. This time allows investors to “see the founder in action” and gives the founder the opportunity to learn how to provide regular updates, record changes in metrics, and respond to the market. This way, investors have time to see how you think and make decisions, not just your pitch deck.

In addition, the speakers emphasized that you should not be shy about setting clear deadlines with investors, because some funds may commit very quickly if they see the quality of the process, while others will be more cautious. The founder needs to understand what to expect within a certain time frame.

In practice, investors advise acting as follows:

• set deadlines and next steps after each contact;

• come with a clear “value proposition” (sales channels, introduction to a key partner, verification of unit economics);

• show the speed of iterations: “yesterday — hypothesis, today — experiment, tomorrow — conclusions.”

8) Numbers inspire confidence, but not all at once. What exactly do they want to see in the early stages?

According to investors, they don’t need hundreds of metrics, just the relevant ones:

• One key result for the customer (core-outcome KPI). Show one figure that proves the product’s benefits for the customer: it launches faster, spends less, and earns more.

• Growth pattern (stable, scalable pace). Investors are not interested in a one-time “flash in the pan” victory, but rather a steady pace that can be repeated and increased.

• Show that your main channel is based on simple math: CAC — how much you spent to get the customer, LTV — how much they bring in, Payback — how many months it takes to recoup the cost of acquisition.

• Niche targeting (how much of the market is really yours) and the path to a broader market. Show the size of the market, not in general, but specifically the one you can target.

Finally, here is a short list of tips on how to get rid of all the “no’s” on the horizon

• Invest yourself and show progress even before the investor’s money.

• Communicate in a “say–do–say” format and maintain discipline among followers.

• Prove the market’s pain, find the first distribution channel, and get real numbers.

• Be uncompromisingly honest about statuses and “names.”

• Protect your public reputation and respect for the market.

• Show team clarity: who is responsible for what.

• Build communication in advance and demonstrate the speed of iterations.

• Bring 1–3 “numbers you can trust.”

This material was created as part of the RESTART conference. The event was made possible thanks to the event partners: Molfar, PrivatBank, Oschadbank, Sens bookstore, idealers, Tvoye Kolo, S-PROF, Foundation Coffee Roasters, Škoda, Headway Inc, Everstar, CLUST, Megapolis+, Vizia, Morshynska, Gulliver, Bolt, Greendezeen, Kooperativ, Techosystem, and DEV Challenge.