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
Pick an answer. Nothing is graded, and correct answers stay hidden until you choose.
1. The product slide's job is to…
2. Which is the strongest moat statement?