The three numbers investors actually check first

Before the narrative lands, before the deck's story is even considered, most investors run a quiet, fast check on three numbers. Get these wrong and the rest of the pitch is read with suspicion, however good it is.

The first is burn versus runway — not just the current rate, but whether it's trending the right direction. The second is a real unit economic, not a vanity metric: something like contribution margin per customer, stated honestly. The third is the growth rate behind the top-line number, and whether it's consistent or a one-quarter spike.

None of these require a beautiful model. They require an honest one — assumptions that are stated, not buried, and numbers that reconcile when someone pulls on the thread.

This is the layer of work a good financial model does underneath a pitch deck — not decoration, but the thing that makes the story survive diligence. More on how we approach this →