Growth Spotlight: Building Investor Conviction
How founders should think about investor relationships, early-stage validation, storytelling, and the process of building conviction over time
The Do’s and Don’ts of Fundraising
Insights from Daniel Sawko, CEO and Co-Founder of shipshape.vc
Fundraising is often misunderstood. Many founders approach it as a fast transaction.
Build a pitch deck.
Send it to investors.
Get a yes or no.
But successful fundraising rarely works that way.
In this Growth Spotlight episode, Daniel Sawko joined our founder, Eren Kocyigit, and shared practical insights on how founders should think about investor relationships, early-stage validation, storytelling, and the process of building conviction over time.
Rather than focusing purely on the mechanics of pitching, the discussion explored a deeper question: What actually makes investors believe in a company?
Fundraising Is About Building Conviction
One of the strongest insights from the conversation was that investors are not investing in slides. They are investing in confidence.
The role of fundraising assets, especially pitch decks, is often misunderstood. A pitch deck should help start a conversation. It should not be treated as the entire fundraising process.
Investors need time to understand the business, the founder, the market opportunity, and the company’s thinking.
That confidence is built gradually. This becomes especially important in early-stage investing, where uncertainty is naturally high.
The more effectively founders help investors understand the opportunity and the logic behind the business, the easier it becomes for investors to build trust in the company.
Before Raising Money, Validate Demand
A major part of the discussion focused on early-stage founders who are still in the ideation or MVP phase.
One of the biggest challenges at this stage is the classic tension between traction and funding.
Investors often want evidence of demand. But founders may feel they need funding to build the product that creates that demand.
Daniel’s perspective is clear:
Before building a fully developed product, founders should think about how to validate market demand as early as possible. That validation does not always require a finished product.
In many cases, founders can create meaningful signals of demand through lightweight experiments and market testing.
This can include:
Waitlists
Landing pages
Early sign-up flows
Market testing campaigns
Customer conversations
Demand validation experiments
The goal is to gather evidence that the problem exists and that people are interested in a solution.
This not only strengthens future fundraising conversations but also helps founders reduce risk before investing heavily into product development.
AI Has Changed the Expectations Around MVPs
Another important point raised during the conversation was how AI tools are reshaping early-stage company building.
Today, founders have access to tools that make experimentation, prototyping, and validation significantly faster than before. As a result, investor expectations are changing.
Founders can now test ideas, structure validation experiments, and even prototype early product experiences much more efficiently.
Daniel also highlighted how LLMs can help founders organise their thinking.
For example, founders can use AI tools to:
Structure validation hypotheses
Design experiments
Think through market assumptions
Refine positioning
Organise market sizing exercises
Used well, these tools can help founders move from vague ideas toward more structured and evidence-based thinking.
Strong Investor Relationships Start Early
One of Daniel’s strongest recommendations was that founders should not wait until they urgently need capital before speaking with investors.
Building relationships early creates long-term advantages. This becomes even more valuable when founders connect with investors who genuinely understand the market they are building in.
Founders should spend time researching investors carefully. The closer the investor’s expertise is to the founder’s domain, the more valuable the conversations become.
Investors who understand the market are often able to provide stronger feedback, better questions, and more relevant insight.
Over time, repeated conversations also help investors build familiarity with the founder and the company. That familiarity can eventually become trust.
Why Narrative Matters
The conversation also explored the importance of storytelling in fundraising. Founders often focus heavily on metrics, projections, and technical details.
But without a strong narrative, it becomes difficult for investors to emotionally connect with the opportunity. Strong communication is not only important for fundraising, but it is also equally important for customers.
Founders need to clearly explain:
Why the problem matters
Why the timing matters
Why this solution matters
Why this team is suited to solve the problem
Narrative helps transform information into belief. It gives context to the numbers.
And importantly, developing that narrative is a process. Founders refine it over time through conversations, feedback, and repetition.
Investor Trust Can Be Lost Quickly
Another key part of the discussion focused on investor trust and the behaviours that can damage it.
Consistency matters. If a founder constantly changes their story, projections, or positioning without clear reasoning, investors notice.
At the same time, Daniel made an important distinction between inconsistency and adaptation.
Changing direction based on evidence and learning is not necessarily negative. In many cases, thoughtful pivots can demonstrate strong decision-making.
Other signals investors may pay attention to include:
Unrealistic projections
Lack of clarity
Poor communication
Weak internal culture
High employee turnover
As companies grow, investors increasingly look beyond the idea itself and begin evaluating the strength and stability of the organisation around it.
Different Investor Cultures Require Different Expectations
The conversation also touched on differences between investment cultures across markets.
Daniel noted that investor behaviour can vary significantly depending on geography. Some investor environments may move faster and have a higher appetite for risk. Others may place heavier emphasis on process, trust-building, and due diligence.
For founders, understanding these differences can help shape fundraising expectations and communication styles.
Key Takeaways for Founders
Toward the end of the conversation, several practical themes emerged for founders preparing to raise capital.
Research Investors Carefully
Not every investor is the right fit. Founders should prioritise investors who genuinely understand their market and sector.
Treat Fundraising as a Long-Term Process
Strong investor relationships are built over time. Conviction rarely happens instantly.
Use the Pitch Deck as a Conversation Starter
The goal of the pitch deck is to create curiosity and open dialogue. The real fundraising process happens through conversations and relationship building.
Final Thoughts
One of the clearest messages from this Growth Spotlight conversation was that fundraising is deeply human.
Metrics and projections matter. But trust, clarity, communication, and conviction matter too.
For founders, that means successful fundraising is rarely about presenting the perfect deck. It is about helping investors understand the opportunity, believe in the vision, and build confidence in the people behind the company.
You can watch the full Spotlight episode with Daniel Sawko on our YouTube channel.
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