You have an investor meeting next week. Your pitch deck is ready, your demo is polished, and you can recite your market opportunity in your sleep.
But when the conversation turns to financials (and it will), are you prepared?
Here’s exactly what investors want to see and how to present it without looking like you’re reading from a script.
What Investors Actually Care About
Let’s be clear: most early-stage investors aren’t expecting a perfect financial model. They know your projections are wrong. Everyone’s projections are wrong.
What they’re evaluating is:
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Do you understand your business economics? Can you articulate how money flows through your business?
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Are your assumptions reasonable? Not conservative, not aggressive, but reasonable and defensible.
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Have you thought about what could go wrong? And do you have a plan for it?
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Can you manage money responsibly? This is about judgment as much as spreadsheets.
Your financials are a window into how you think. Prepare accordingly.
The Core Documents
1. The Financial Model
This is your 3-statement model: income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement, projected forward 3-5 years.
What to include:
- Monthly projections for Year 1, quarterly for Years 2-3, annual for Years 4-5
- Clear assumptions documented (not buried in formulas)
- Historical actuals for context (if you have them)
- Multiple scenarios (base, upside, downside)
What to avoid:
- Overly complex models with 47 tabs
- Hidden assumptions that you can’t explain
- Hockey stick growth without supporting logic
- Round number revenue targets with no driver-based backing
2. The Key Metrics Summary
A one-page summary of your most important numbers:
- Current MRR/ARR and growth rate
- Burn rate and runway
- Unit economics (CAC, LTV, LTV:CAC ratio)
- Cohort retention data
- Headcount and planned hires
This is the “at a glance” view investors will reference repeatedly.
3. The Use of Funds
How will you spend the money you’re raising? Be specific:
- Hiring: Which roles, when, at what cost
- Marketing: Which channels, expected ROI
- Product: What you’ll build, why it matters
- Operations: Infrastructure, tools, overhead
Investors want to see that each dollar has a job.
Presenting Your Financials
Know Your Numbers Cold
Nothing kills credibility faster than fumbling basic numbers. Before any meeting, you should be able to instantly answer:
- What’s your current MRR?
- What’s your burn rate?
- How many months of runway do you have?
- What’s your CAC? Your LTV?
- What are your gross margins?
These should roll off your tongue. Practice until they do.
Lead with the Story
Don’t start with a spreadsheet. Start with the narrative:
“We’re growing 15% month over month, and our unit economics are strong: LTV is 4x CAC. We’re raising $2M to double down on what’s working: expand the sales team and invest in the product features our biggest customers are asking for.”
The numbers support the story. The story makes the numbers meaningful.
Anticipate the Questions
Investors will probe your assumptions. Be ready for:
“How did you arrive at your growth projections?” Walk through your driver-based model. “We’re assuming 20 new customers per month at $500 ACV, based on our current pipeline conversion rates and planned marketing spend increase.”
“What happens if growth is slower than expected?” Show your downside scenario. “At 50% of projected growth, we’d still have 18 months of runway and would adjust spend accordingly.”
“Why do you need this much capital?” Connect the dots between the raise amount, the use of funds, and the expected outcomes. “This gets us to $2M ARR, which positions us for a strong Series A.”
Handle Objections Gracefully
If an investor challenges your assumptions, don’t get defensive. They’re testing how you think.
Good response: “That’s a fair point. Our assumption is based on [X], but you’re right that there’s risk there. In our downside scenario, we’ve modeled [Y] to account for that.”
Bad response: “No, our numbers are right. We’ve validated this extensively.”
Intellectual honesty beats false confidence.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The “Top-Down” Trap
“The market is $10 billion, and we just need 1% to hit $100M.”
Investors have heard this a thousand times. It tells them nothing about whether you can actually capture that 1%.
Instead, build bottom-up: “We’re targeting 500 companies in this segment, our close rate is 5%, and our ACV is $20K. That’s $500K in Year 1 from this segment alone.”
Unrealistic Hiring Plans
Your model shows 3 people today and 50 people in 18 months. How are you going to hire 47 people while also running the business?
Be realistic about hiring velocity. 2-3 hires per month is aggressive for most startups. Factor in ramp time, failed hires, and management overhead.
Forgetting About Cash Timing
Revenue is not cash. A signed annual contract looks great on the P&L, but if the customer pays quarterly, your cash position is different than your revenue suggests.
Make sure your model reflects when cash actually moves, not just when revenue is recognized.
No Sensitivity Analysis
If your model breaks when one assumption changes by 10%, that’s a fragile model. Show investors you’ve stress-tested it.
“Our model is most sensitive to churn rate. A 2% increase in monthly churn would reduce Year 3 revenue by 30%. Here’s how we’re addressing retention…”
The Day Before the Meeting
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Review your numbers. Make sure nothing has changed since you last updated the model.
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Print backup copies. Technology fails. Have paper versions of key documents.
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Prepare your opening. Know exactly how you’ll transition into the financial discussion.
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Anticipate tough questions. Make a list of the hardest questions you could be asked. Prepare answers.
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Get a good night’s sleep. Seriously. You want to be sharp.
After the Meeting
Send a follow-up within 24 hours. Include:
- A thank you and recap of key points
- Any data room access or additional materials requested
- Clear next steps
If there were questions you couldn’t answer, address them directly: “You asked about our enterprise pipeline. Here’s the detail…”
Responsiveness matters. It signals how you’ll communicate as a portfolio company.
Profitual generates investor-ready financials automatically: 3-statement models, key metrics, scenario analysis, all from your forecast inputs. Walk into your next meeting prepared. See how it works.