The short answer. A pre-seed or seed investor asks about nine topics: the team, the problem and the market, the product, traction and numbers, cash and the round, valuation and terms, competition, risks and the exit. Every question is checking something specific. Preparing means knowing what's behind each one and having a short answer, with numbers, for the hard ones.
What you'll learn
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The 40 most common questions, grouped into nine topics.
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What the investor is really checking with each one.
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Which questions matter most at pre-seed and which at seed.
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How to answer the awkward ones without losing trust.
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What to do after the meeting, and how to handle written questions.
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A checklist for the day before.
This guide is part of preparing a round (How to prepare a pre-seed or seed round). If you're not yet sure it's time to raise, start there. (Is your startup ready to raise?)
Why do the questions matter more than your pitch?
Because you control the pitch, and you don't control the questions. You prepare for the meeting you imagine. The investor shows up for a different one.
What I've seen I've seen founders with flawless presentations lose an investor's trust over a single question: "How many months of cash do you have left?" Not because of the number, but because they didn't know it. A shaky answer to a simple question weighs more than ten brilliant slides.
"A good pitch opens the conversation. The answers decide whether it continues."
What topics does an investor ask about?
The nine question topics
- Team
- Problem and market
- Product
- Traction and numbers
- Competition
- Cash and the round
- Valuation and terms
- Risks
- Exit
They don't all carry the same weight at every stage. Further down you'll see which dominate at pre-seed and which at seed.
What does an investor ask about the team?
| Question | What they're checking | How to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Why is this team the right one for this problem? | Relevant domain expertise | Concrete experience, in one sentence |
| 2. Who does what? | That the key roles are covered | A clear split, no overlaps |
| 3. Is the whole founding team full-time? | Real commitment | The truth, and the plan if someone isn't |
| 4. How are decisions made? | That there won't be deadlocks | Who decides what |
| 5. What happens if a co-founder leaves? | Dependence risk | Shareholders' agreement and vesting |
Common mistake Two co-founders giving different answers to the same question in the meeting. To an investor, that's a bigger red flag than any number.
Rehearsing the questions isn't only about preparing answers. It's also about deciding who should give them. I've seen projects with real potential where, among other problems, the person defending them didn't inspire confidence. (Jordi Gil's stories)
What do they ask about the problem and the market?
| Question | What they're checking | How to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| 6. How do you know the problem exists? | Evidence, not opinions | Conversations, pilots, customers |
| 7. Who pays, and how much? | That there's a specific customer | A clear customer profile and price point |
| 8. How big is your market? | That there's room to grow | The market you can reach, not the global one |
| 9. Why now? | That the timing is right | What has changed and why it matters |
| 10. How do your customers solve this today? | That you understand the real alternative | The alternative, even if it's a spreadsheet |
What do they ask about the product?
| Question | What they're checking | How to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| 11. What does the product do today, and what's still to build? | Separating what's real from what's promised | What works today, and an honest timeline for the rest |
| 12. Why do people use it, and why don't they drop it? | Real value for the customer | The most repeated use, with a number |
| 13. What have you learned from the people who stopped using it? | Whether you listen to the market | Two or three reasons, and what you changed |
| 14. What part is hard to build or copy? | Whether there's something proprietary | Technology, data, processes or relationships |
What do they ask about traction and numbers?
| Question | What they're checking | How to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| 15. What's your monthly revenue, and how has it moved? | The trend, not the best month | The series for recent months |
| 16. How many customers come back? | That customers stick around | Your repeat or retention figure |
| 17. What does it cost you to win a customer? | That growth is sustainable | Cost per customer and how you calculate it |
| 18. What is a customer worth over time? | That the business has margin | Revenue per customer, margin and lifetime |
| 19. Which number in your pitch has a document behind it? | What's actually proven | Knowing which ones do and which don't |
Tip Keep one sheet with your key figures and their sources. If you hesitate on one number, the investor will doubt all of them.
What do they ask about cash and the round?
| Question | What they're checking | How to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| 20. How many months of cash do you have left? | Whether you know where you stand | Your exact runway (Runway calculator) |
| 21. How much are you raising, and why that number? | That it isn't a round number for the sake of it | The calculation behind it (How much to raise) |
| 22. What will you spend the money on? | A plan tied to milestones | Use of funds by line item |
| 23. What will you have achieved when it runs out? | What you'll prove for the next round | Concrete, measurable milestones |
| 24. What if the round is late? | Your plan B | Cost levers and months of margin |
If closing a round takes months, your runway has to cover the round plus a margin.
How to read it. The number that matters isn't today's cash. It's how many months your net burn can last, and whether that covers the time the round takes plus a margin. (Runway and burn rate)
What do they ask about valuation and terms?
Many founders walk in without having thought about this, and it's where the most money is lost.
| Question | What they're checking | How to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| 25. What valuation do you have in mind, and why? | Whether your expectation is reasonable | A range, with the reasoning and references for your stage |
| 26. Who's leading the round? | Whether someone is setting the terms | The real status: who's in and who's missing |
| 27. What instrument are you proposing? | Equity, convertible loan or something else | Your proposal and why |
| 28. How much have you raised before, and on what terms? | Commitments that affect them | Rounds, convertibles and grants, with their terms |
| 29. What will the cap table look like? | Dilution and room for the future | The cap table before and after the round |
Definition The lead investor is the one who takes the largest part of the round or negotiates its terms, and whom the others usually follow. Without a lead, many angel rounds never get going.
Tip Don't defend a valuation you can't explain. A reasoned range beats a high number with no argument behind it; the second one usually ends the conversation. (How much to raise in your round)
What do they ask about the competition?
| Question | What they're checking | How to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| 30. Who else is doing this? | That you know the market | Real competitors, including indirect ones |
| 31. Why would you win? | What sets you apart | One concrete advantage, and the proof |
| 32. What stops someone copying you? | Whether the advantage lasts | What's costly to copy: data, relationships, technology, brand |
| 33. What if a giant moves in? | How you'd hold your ground | Your niche and your speed |
Common mistake Saying "we have no competition." To an investor it means there's no market, or you don't know it.
What do they ask about risks?
| Question | What they're checking | How to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| 34. What worries you most? | Honesty and perspective | A real risk, and your plan |
| 35. What do you depend on too much? | Hidden dependencies | A customer, channel, supplier or platform |
| 36. Could regulation change? | External risk | What you know and how you're protected |
| 37. What would you do if the idea doesn't work? | Ability to adapt | What you've learned and what you'd change |
Question 35 isn't theoretical. A channel that worked when you drew up the plan can close overnight because of a policy change you don't control. I went through this with one of my own projects. (Jordi Gil's stories)
What do they ask about the exit?
| Question | What they're checking | How to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| 38. Who might buy your company one day? | That there's a way to get their money back | Types of buyers and deals in your sector |
| 39. Where do you see the company in five to seven years? | Ambition, and whether it holds together | A concrete vision, tied to numbers |
| 40. What rounds will you need after this one? | How much they'll be diluted, and the financing risk | Your round plan and what each one will prove |
Tip You don't need to promise a sale. You need to show you've thought about how today's investor gets their money back.
Do it with a method Which questions matter most for your startup? The Startup Index Score founder report gives you the questions an investor at your stage tends to ask in your case, and what to have ready. Start free: your level from 1 to 5 and your first three priorities. (How the evaluation works)
Which questions matter most at pre-seed, and which at seed?
| Topic | At pre-seed | At seed |
|---|---|---|
| Team | What matters most | Still matters, alongside the numbers |
| Problem and market | Evidence the problem exists | Reachable market size and why now |
| Product | What works and what's missing | Real usage and retention |
| Traction and numbers | First signals | Revenue trend and cost per customer |
| Cash and the round | What the money is for | Milestones and the plan for the next round |
| Valuation | A reasonable range | Comparison with similar rounds |
Enlace: (Pre-seed, seed and business angels: what each stage asks of you)
How do you answer an awkward question?
You answer an awkward question with a plan, not a detour.
How to answer an awkward question
- tell the truth, plainly
- why it happens, with a number
- what you're doing and when it'll be fixed
- what is proven
Example (fictional).
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Question: "Your revenue has dropped for the last two months. Why?"
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Weak answer: "It's a one-off, it's already recovering."
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Prepared answer: "Yes, it's down 12% over two months because we lost our second-largest customer to a budget cut. We've already signed two pilots that will fill that gap next quarter, and we've reduced our dependence: no customer is now more than 20% of revenue."
How do you prepare your answers in four steps?
- Write down the questions from the topics that matter most for your startup and your stage. (Investor questions at your stage)
- Answer in writing, in two or three sentences, with a number wherever you can.
- Rehearse with an outsider who doesn't know your startup and won't go easy on you. If there are several co-founders, rehearse together.
- Check the numbers in your answers against your data room: they have to match. (Pre-seed and seed data room)
Tip If you don't know an answer, say so and commit to sending it. "Let me check and I'll send it to you tomorrow" builds more trust than a made-up number.
What questions should you ask the investor?
A meeting is a two-way street. Asking good questions says a lot about you too:
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Which startups at my stage and in my sector have you backed?
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How does your decision process work, and how long does it usually take?
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What check size do you usually write? Do you tend to lead or follow?
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How do you support startups after you invest?
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What would you need to see to move forward?
What should you do after the meeting?
What you do in the next 48 hours weighs almost as much as the meeting itself.
- Send a short summary the same day or the next: what was discussed, what you committed to send and the next step.
- Deliver what you promised, when you said you would. It's your first test of execution in front of that investor.
- Note the questions you struggled with and prepare better answers for the next meeting.
- If they say no, briefly ask what they'd need to see to talk again. (An investor said no)
How do you answer written questions during due diligence?
If the investor moves forward, a list of written questions will arrive during due diligence. Answer in a single document, with numbered questions and answers, link the document that backs each one, and keep the figures identical to those in your data room. If you're an investor, the due diligence guide covers what to ask and how to read the answers. (Due diligence for business angels)
Checklist: the day before the meeting
The day before your investor meeting
A guide, not a rulebook. You can print it.
In short
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An investor asks about nine topics; the team and the numbers usually weigh most.
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Behind every question is something they want to check.
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Know your numbers cold: if you hesitate on one, they'll doubt them all.
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Walk in with a reasoned valuation range and knowing who's leading.
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Answer awkward questions with a plan, not a detour.
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Rehearse with an outsider and check your answers against your data room.
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If you don't know something, say so and send it later, when you said you would.
Do it with a method Walk into your next meeting knowing what you'll be asked. Evaluate your startup with Startup Index Score: free, in 30–40 minutes. (Start the evaluation)
Frequently asked questions
What is the hardest question an investor asks? It depends on the startup, but the hardest ones are usually those that hit a weak spot the founder hasn't prepared: how much cash is left, why revenue fell, or what happens if a co-founder leaves. The difficulty isn't the question itself. It's not having the answer ready.
How long should an answer to an investor be? Just long enough to answer clearly: two or three sentences and, if possible, a number. If the investor wants more, they'll ask. Long answers often hide the fact that the founder isn't sure of the answer, and meeting time is limited.
What should I do if I don't know the answer to a question? Say so, and commit to sending the answer by a specific date. "Let me check and I'll send it tomorrow" is a professional answer. Making up a number is the most expensive mistake: if the investor checks it and it doesn't add up, you lose their trust in everything else.
Should I talk about valuation in the first meeting? If the investor asks, yes: give a reasoned range and explain where it comes from. You don't need to raise the topic yourself in a first meeting, but you do need to arrive prepared. Dodging the question, or giving a number with no argument, suggests you haven't thought the round through.
How do I know which questions an investor will ask me? The ones in this guide are the usual ones, but the ones that matter most depend on your startup and stage. The Startup Index Score founder report includes the questions an investor at your stage tends to ask in your case, and what to have ready.
Keep reading
Sources
- This guide reflects common practice in pre-seed and seed meetings and Jordi Gil's experience. The examples with figures are fictional.
About the author
Jordi Gil is the creator of Startup Index Score. He has spent almost 30 years developing projects and working with startups across the Americas, Europe and Asia. (Meet Jordi Gil)