Understanding how angel investors think

Together with Eva Dobrzanska of Block Dojo, we've put together the above graphics to illustrate the things that investors want to see (in green, and some of the red flags to avoid in red).

Here’s how early-stage investors evaluate your startup's investability:

1. Team (the most important slide, especially at Pre Seed & Seed)
2. Traction & Proof Points
3. Market (if you’re raising from VCs, it’s crucial that your SOM is large enough for their desired ROI)
4. Proposition (does your solution and its business model make sense?)
5. Competition vs Defensibility (what’s your USP?)
6. Financial Forecast (although it’s just projections at the early stages, it must be reasonable and all numbers well-justified). Sure, every investor will take an early stage forecast with a very large pinch of salt, but they will be looking to ensure that your model is sensibly constructed, that you've made sensible assumptions are costs, revenue, growth, customer acquisition costs and so on
7. The Deal (how much are you raising? At what valuation)
8. Exit Strategy (is there a potential for strong exit?)

Note: The above has been distilled from a number of UK based angel investors. Everyone's priorities are subtly different. The above list is not meant to be a proposed slide deck or indicative of the order your slide deck should be in.