Module 07 · The fundraising deck~13s dwell · weight 7
Product
Go deeper on what the product is, how it works, and the roadmap, this is what investors are actually funding.
Include
- Form factor: web app, mobile, API, physical device?
- The 2–3 features that matter, ranked by user impact
- A short, honest roadmap (next 6, 12, 18 months)
- Any defensible IP, data moat, or workflow lock-in
Cut
- Exhaustive feature dumps (>5 items)
- Deep technical internals better left to the appendix
- Roadmap items dated more than 24 months out
Red flags a reader notices
- 20-item feature list with no prioritization
- Roadmap that reads like a wishlist
- No form-factor answer, 'AI platform' with no visual
Pitfalls behind them
- Feature list is longer than five items, ranked alphabetically instead of by user impact.
- The roadmap is a wishlist with dates further than 18 months out.
- The moat statement is 'proprietary AI' or 'network effects' with no mechanism.
60-second self-test
- · For each feature listed, can you state the concrete outcome it creates for the user?
- · Does the moat statement describe something that gets stronger with each new customer?
Template
Today: [form factor] with [3 core features]. Next 6mo: [nearest milestone]. 12mo: [second milestone]. Moat: [data / distribution / IP].
Weak
"Our platform offers a comprehensive suite of AI-powered features."
Strong
"Web + Slack app. Today: one-button contractor payout, auto-classified tax IDs, stablecoin FX. Next 6mo: 12 new countries + payroll-tax filings in 5. Moat: direct rails in 40 countries, every new market compounds the FX advantage."
Form factor, ranked features, dated milestone, and a moat (owned rails + country coverage) that gets stronger the more customers use it.
Quick quiz
1. The product slide's job is to…
- ○ List every feature you've shipped.
- ✓ Make the product tangible and show a credible near-term roadmap.
Tangibility + credible roadmap. Feature dumps hurt.
2. Which is the strongest moat statement?
- ○ 'We use proprietary AI.'
- ✓ 'Direct payout rails in 40 countries, every new market compounds the FX advantage.'
Specific, verifiable, and gets stronger with each customer.