What investors are really watching when they look past the pitch deck
Is the business investible? Perhaps.
But is the founder bankable? Pun very much intended. 😁
One point from the Investor Panel at AndPurpose Forums Hyderabad stayed with me: a founder’s work ethic can ultimately determine whether the company is investible.
Several investors had mentioned something similar to me earlier. When private equity firms and growth-stage VCs invest larger sums in a company, a governance failure can tank the investment regardless of how promising the numbers once looked.
This is also why such investors often seek meaningful equity and board representation. It gives them greater oversight, helps them manage risk and, when necessary, allows them to intervene before a difficult situation becomes impossible to salvage.
So investors are not looking only at revenue, projections, product-market fit or whether the numbers have been hyped up.
They are also observing the founder.
How do they treat coworkers, juniors and seniors? How do they manage money? How do they respond when challenged? Do they respect boundaries, or try to use backchannels when things do not go their way?
Small habits tell big stories.
I have seen this repeatedly while interacting with investor circles over the past two years. A lot of information travels through the ecosystem grapevine long before it appears in a formal due-diligence report.
Investors are trying to understand whether this is someone they can trust and work with for several years. They are also assessing agility.
When push comes to shove, can the founder adapt? Can they handle setbacks, funding delays and difficult decisions without throwing their ethics out of the window?
Pressure has a funny way of making patterns visible.
This applies to my advisory work too. I have become choosy about the clients I work with because consulting is rarely a quick transaction for me. It can become a two- or three-year journey with a founder.
And honestly, it sometimes takes that long for people to lay all their cards on the table.
Despite my background in psychology and my growing ability to notice red flags, I still give people the benefit of the doubt. But no matter how carefully someone presents themselves, recurring patterns eventually emerge.
This is not about expecting founders to be perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. What matters is whether they take responsibility, learn, adapt and continue to act ethically when things become difficult.
The pitch deck tells you about the business.
Pressure, patterns and everyday behaviour tell you about the founder.
And sometimes, that decides whether the business is investible and whether the founder is truly bankable.
I advise and consult for venture studios, startups and angel investors, especially in the climate-tech and sustainability-tech space. Reach out to me if you want to work with me.
Credits
This post is written by Deepa Sai for EcoHQ