60 questions to ask start-up founders

You will set up a 60 to 90 minute meeting with the founder team in your office. You want to know all the things they left out, and how they came up with the assumptions they made. Often a product demo is part of the conversation.

Below we offer you a list of questions segmented by key areas.

Market

1. What is the problem you solve?
2. How big is the Serviceable Obtainable Market?
3. What is the expected market share?
4. Who is your perfect client?
5. Why is this the right time for the product/ service?
6. How do you compete with respect to price, features, and performance?
7. What is your marketing strategy?

Traction

1. What key feedback have you received so far?
2. What changes have you made based on that feedback?
3. How many actual users do you have?
4. How long do users stay on average?
5. How many actual sales have you made?
6. What is the annual growth rate?
7. What has held back your growth?

Team

1. Who are the founders?
2. Who are key team members?
3. Any existing board members?
4. What key roles may need to be hired for soon?
5. What experience do you have in this industry?
6. What motivates you to build this company?

Competition

1. Who are your competitors?
2. What is your unfair advantage over your competitors?
3. What barriers to scale are there for you?
4. Why haven’t your competitors done this yet?

Financials

1. What are the 3-year financial projections?
2. What are the key assumptions underlying your projections?
3. What are your (CAC) customer acquisition costs?
4. How much is your (CLV) customer lifetime value?
5. What is your current burn rate?
6. When will the company be profitable?
7. What are the key metrics your team is focused on?

Product and Tech

1. Please explain the product in more detail.
2. Can you provide a demo of the product or service now?
3. What is the biggest surprise about user behaviour?
4. What are the major product milestones?
5. What are the key differentiated features of your product or service?
6. Do you have technical documentation about your product/service?
7. What are the two or three key features you plan to add?

Patents

1. What regulatory risks could impact this business?
2. What intellectual property do you own?
3. Are there any additional patents pending or planned?
4. Is there anyone who might have a potential claim to the company’s IP?

Use of Funds

1. How will the investment be allocated?
2. How much will be spent on founders’ salaries?
3. How much will be spent on overhead versus expansion?
4. What are your milestones?
5. How much are your personal expenses each month?

Business Model

1. Which specific marketing channels are you using? Why?
2. What profit margins are you operating on?
3. How will scaling impact profit margins?
4. What pivots have you already made up until now?
5. Can you tell me a story about how a customer has decided to choose you and their experience with your product?

Existing Financing Round

1. How does the cap table look like?
2. How much funding and debt has been raised far?
3. What is your exit strategy? (i.e. IPO, M&A)
4. What is your expected time frame for this?
5. How much is your pre-money valuation?
6. How did you come to this valuation?
7. What is the next milestone this investment will take you to?
8. In which other ways can we help you as an investor?