Here is my strong opinion: most pitch decks lead with the solution. That is backwards—and it kills deals before the conversation begins.
I have sat on both sides of the table. As the founder of Su-Kam Power Systems, I spent years pitching to investors and channel partners. Then bankruptcy stripped everything away and rebuilt my perspective entirely. Now, building Su-vastika and Kunwwer.ai while mentoring founders across India, I see the same mistake in almost every deck I review.
Founders lead with what they built, not why it matters.
What I Actually Look For
Before I read slide two, I am asking one question: does this person understand the pain they are solving at a visceral level? Not market research. Not TAM numbers. Lived, real, visceral.
When I built inverters at Su-Kam in the 1990s, power cuts were destroying small businesses across India. I knew that pain personally—my own operations shut down because of it. That is why the product worked. Not because I was technically brilliant. Because I understood the customer’s desperation better than the customer did.
That is what I look for in founders: authentic proximity to pain. It is a signal money cannot manufacture.
The Slide That Reveals Everything
If you want to know what a founder truly understands, look at their “Why Now” slide. Most skip it or treat it as an afterthought.
A weak “Why Now” says: “The market is growing and AI is everywhere.”
A strong one says: “Three years ago this required hardware costing ₹40 lakhs. Today it costs ₹80,000. That cost collapse is the unlock.”
Specificity equals credibility. Vagueness signals the real thinking has not happened yet.
What Founders Get Wrong About Investors
Here is the uncomfortable truth: investors are not evaluating your idea as much as your ability to navigate uncertainty.
I see decks with twelve slides on technology and one vague slide on go-to-market. That tells me the founder spent 90% of their time building and 10% thinking about how the world will actually adopt what they built.
After Su-Kam, I understand this more clearly than ever. The product was never the problem. Distribution, credit, and channel relationships determined survival. The same truth applies to every startup I have seen succeed or fail since.
Send Me Your Problem Slide
If you are raising right now and willing to be challenged—send me your Problem slide. Just that one slide. I will give you honest feedback within 48 hours.
Not a pitch meeting. Not a commitment. One slide, one honest perspective from someone who has built through chaos and come out the other side.
DM me on LinkedIn or email directly. Put “Problem Slide” in the subject line.
Strong founders do not wait for permission to get better. They seek friction.
#StartupIndia #FounderMindset
