What Do Investors Need to Believe?
A strong pitch isn’t about eliminating all risk, it’s about getting investors to irrationally believe your contrarian idea.
Every early-stage investment is, at its core, irrational. Investors know most startups fail. If funding were purely a rational decision, no one would invest at all. So trying to de-risk every part of your pitch to make it seem perfectly rational is a losing game. The real challenge is choosing the right irrational belief and making investors buy into it.
Define Your Irrational Belief
The best startups succeed not because they eliminate risk, but because they bet on something contrarian that turns out to be right.
Ask yourself:
Are you building an unorthodox product? (a new category that no one believes in yet?)
Are you targeting a counterintuitive audience? (a niche that traditional wisdom says won’t work?)
Are you building the company differently? (breaking conventional startup rules in your approach to hiring, go-to-market, or funding?)
Are you cultivating a non-traditional team? (a team that lacks direct industry experience but brings something else?)
If you can’t identify at least one contrarian angle, you may not be differentiated enough to stand out in a crowded, mature market.
Own the Doubts and Overcome Them
Most founders try to avoid or downplay the skepticism around their boldest claim. That’s a mistake.
If investors are going to doubt something anyway, address it head-on. Show them you already know the challenge and have a plan.
Instead of hoping no one questions your lack of industry experience, explain why it’s an advantage.
Instead of ignoring concerns about a new market, prove why the timing is right.
Instead of brushing off skepticism about a radical approach, demonstrate how it is the only path forward.
De-risk Everything Else
Being contrarian on every axis is a recipe for failure. Even the boldest investors need to see a foundation of credibility beneath the big bet. Many of my earlier post on pitching focus specifically on building credibility, but here are a few ideas to consider:
If your market bet is risky, your team should be experienced.
If your business model is unconventional, your go-to-market strategy should be solid.
If your product is groundbreaking, your execution should be airtight.
If your budget is very low/high, your development plan should be unassailable.
Make it clear that while you’re taking one big bet, you’re removing risk everywhere else. By acknowledging the risky part you are able to credibly say “we know this is risky, which is why we have reinforced these other areas.” The contrast makes it easier for investors to say yes.
Final Thoughts
Don’t shy away from simply wrapping up a pitch by confidently saying “in order to invest, you need to believe X.” It is the contrast of the contrarian idea backed up by all the other de-risked strengths that stack the deck in your favor.