A founder spends weeks on fifteen slides: narrative, market size, vision, roadmap. The partner skims it in about ninety seconds, hunting for three numbers.
When those numbers are buried, partners fill in the blanks with their own assumptions, and those assumptions are rarely generous.
The three
- Net revenue retention. Does your product compound or leak? Above 110% gets attention. Below 100% needs an explanation ready.
- CAC payback in months. Does another dollar of capital buy growth, or just spending?
- Runway at current burn. How much room do you have, and is this a raise or a rescue?
Where they go
Build one slide with all three, near the front. The narrative slides support those numbers. They don’t replace them.
A partner who finds the three numbers quickly leans in. A partner who has to dig assumes you’re hiding something.
Scorecard