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Investor Pet Peeves, Are You Doing Any of These?
Don't do this stuff, it drives investors nuts
FirstLook
March 09, 2025
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Zdravo! (“Hi” in Bosnian)
Welcome back. Let’s jump in. But first…
Another Funding Announcement 🤑
Congrats to Carrie Sporer and team at SWAIR on raising $50,000 from a FirstLook Investor!
SWAIR showerless shampoo cleans your hair quickly after a workout using safe, high-quality ingredients. It removes dirt and sweat instantly without the residue of dry shampoo. Better for you, and better for the planet 🌏 !
Quick Update
For those who missed the last newsletter, FirstLook is now FREE for brands. More on the psychology behind that move here. Since that dropped, things have been cookin’. Thank you to everyone who has supported, I see you and appreciate you. I’m now reviewing brands for the April, May, and June boxes. Founders + Investors apply here.
I’m happy to share the FirstLook team has grown! Please meet Dianne, our newest Marketing Lead. She’s based in LA and is always down for coffee with founders and investors.
Lastly, BIG thank you to Ray Latif, John Craven, and team at Taste Radio on experiencing a FirstLook box live on air. Our coverage starts at 33:42, but you should listen to the whole episode :)
Today let’s cover investor pet peeves that founders must avoid. This is important because the moment a founder makes contact with an investor, they’re being evaluated. In some cases, even earlier based on what they hear from other investors (and trust me, investors TALK).
Investors are evaluating a founder’s character, how they conduct themselves, and whether they’re someone they want to invest in, work with, and be associated with. Given how investors are always looking for a reason to say “no”, it’s critical to avoid these pet peeves and start things off on the right foot.
Character makes trust possible, and trust is the foundation of leadership."
In no particular order, here are some of the most common pet peeves I see. Forward this to a founder friend so they don’t make these mistakes!
NDA to Review Deck ❌
Whether you like it or not, investors will not sign NDAs to review decks. Asking for one = likely automatic pass. The only point to a deck is to get someone to a call, not unpack your juiciest secrets. That said, build your deck in a way where it can be shared. Ideas ARE A DIME A DOZEN. Execution is what matters. When you ask for an NDA, it screams “I’m totally new and have no idea how the VC game works.”
Asking Investors to Share Your Deck ❌
Don’t do this. If you have a deck/deal worth sharing, they will naturally do it. Investors WANT to share great deals with other investors. It makes them look legit and important! If you want to include a note saying, “Feel free to share with your network” - great. Otherwise asking “Can you share this?” is a waste and can make them feel uneasy because what you’re really asking is for them to spend on you their precious social capital (which is the most important currency in VC).
Stupid High Valuations ❌
I’ve spoken at length about the pitfalls of high valuations. If you’re a founder, read that article immediately. The sad part about all this is sometimes the company itself is in fact a good one. But if the math don’t math…
Poorly Researched Cold Outreach ❌
If detecting bullshit or mass written emails was an Olympic sport, investors would be gold medalists every time. On the flipside, if you actually do spend a few minutes on an email, you will immediately stick out AND earn respect which could lead to an intro call. All it takes is a bit of light research!
False Deadlines ❌
This is the worst bluff in the history of bluffs. When you say there’s a deadline on your round, you better be serious, otherwise you sound like everyone else and investors prefer not to invest in founders who are like everyone else.
Instead, say, “We’re pitching a lot of folks right now as we need to get our round closed. We’ll be taking checks in as they come until we hit our goal. Hope you can join.” That’s it. Short, sweet, and not desperate.
**Caveat** - If you really will close your round on a certain date no matter what, then by all means tell investors there is a hard deadline. Probably even worth mentioning you’ll close even if you don’t hit your raise goal. Typically only founders with oversubscribed rounds can leverage this.
Overly Extrapolating MRR to ARR ❌
If you want to extrapolate the first 3 quarters of the year to estimate your year end revenue, fine. Makes sense. Taking January and February pilot sales data and 6x-ing that to say that’s your ARR… you’re getting ahead of your skis. So much could go wrong between March and December.
Using Brokers ❌
Legit investors DO NOT like brokers. Use them are your own risk. Nothing sucks more than dropping a $100K check into a brand only for $5-15K to come right back out. FirstLook does not take success fees for this very reason. We want to work with the best investors where every dollar invested goes to work.
“Let’s Jump on a Call Before I Share the Deck” ❌
This forces investors to then ask elementary questions on the call instead of spending time digging into the real stuff. An absolute poor use of time, and already signals to investors you’re probably a pass.
If you’re delaying sharing your deck because you think it “doesn’t really capture the specialness of what we’re building” then you need to build a better deck.
Useless Comparison Charts ❌
Don’t do this. It’s dumb, and investors learn nothing. A totally wasted slide.
Useless TAM SAM SOMS ❌
Founder: We’re building in the $780 TRILLION BEVERAGE MARKET!
Also Founder: Our product is a mulch-flavored dolphin milk seltzer for teenagers with sickle cell anemia living in villages at least 7000 ft above sea level.
Don’t be that founder who throws the biggest TAM number they can find in their market size slide just to make investors feel like you’re building something big. Instead, I recommend a bottoms up analysis. It’s more work, but it’s way more informative and you’ll earn more respect. Investors will see you being more thoughtful and intentional. Plus it helps you think more critically of who your customer is and where to find them.
Saving the best one for last….
“Can You Send the Invite?” ❌
I can’t believe I need to even say this, but as a reminder: if YOU request the meeting, YOU send the cal invite. This isn’t just an investor pet peeve, it’s an everyone with a brain pet peeve. Anyone who disagrees, please see this.
That’s a Wrap
Those are some of the more common pet peeves I see investors complain about. If you have one I missed, let me know. Happy to do a Part 2, this was fun. Maybe I should do a founder pet peeves one too? Hmm…
Lastly, if you’re looking for car window tint beyond the legal limit that requires a doctor’s note, my intern started this company to help with exactly that. Cool company, right?! Telehealth 🤝 Motor Heads
To officially wrap up, here is Blake Mycoskie’s favorite VC scoreboard:
Founder Pro Tip 💡
Please see everything above!
Convinced you should subscribe to this newsletter? Hop a’board, matey! 🏴☠️
January Box Brands 🚀
❗REMINDER❗: The brands below lag ~2 months behind current times because I need to give our investor community time to request intros and invest. Hence why it’s March but you’re seeing January brands.
Investors who want a ‘first look’ and opportunity to jump in rounds before they close should join our community.
Founded by Rachel Peters |📍Cincinnati — Shop / Instagram / Linkedin
How We Met Them: Via an intro from our bff Wolf Starr!
One Liner ✍️ — Clean Age makes body care products for teens, our two main products are body spray and deodorant.
What made them stand out: I really liked Rachel’s background which includes working as a consultant for major CPG companies and launching more than 150 products into market. This experience has helped her land key partnerships early on with the top retailers like Target, Walmart, Kroger and more. Overall it feels like the teen category has been mostly overlooked for years which creates a great opportunity for Clean Age to execute and win.
Fun Fact: Clean Age is the first brand developed by Verify Venture Studio, an investment firm and incubator established by Rachel along with Kirk Dahlgren, former operations director at Nike Valiant Labs, and Emily Crotty, former owner at Anytime Fitness, and Keith May, former digital marketing director at Nike.
Request An Intro (Investors only)
Founded by Bryn Ferris + Gabriel Bean |📍LA / London —Shop / Instagram/ Linkedin
How We Met Them: Via their signup on the FirstLook.vc
One Liner ✍️ — Grounded makes tasty, plant based milkshakes with easy-to-pronounce ingredients and 20g of protein per carton.
What made them stand out: Grounded’s velocities are ludicrous. They first launched in the UK and got into Whole Foods UK where sales quickly reached 28 units/per week/per store. WFs then launch them in their California & New York stores. Within 3 weeks on shelf, citing the differentiation they bring to the category, WF is now rolling them out nationwide. Grounded tastes great, and IMO the packaging is perfect as it immediately catches your eye on shelf. Protein is the future, and Grounded is making all the right moves right now.
Fun Fact: Grounded’s Chocolate flavor ranks 7th & their Mint flavor ranks 18th on $ value (per week per store) out of 100 active protein drink SKU’s in the natural channel. This is after only 16 weeks on shelf. Per the Grounded team, “Merchandising team said they can’t stock the shelves fast enough as it keeps going out of stock by the time they get back to the shelf. Always a good sign!”
Request An Intro (Investors only)
Founded by Summer Stewart + Kristen De la Torre |📍LA — Shop / Instagram / TikTok / Linkedin
How We Met Them: Via their signup on the FirstLook.vc
One Liner ✍️ — A category-creating, caffeine-free coffee alternative made from 100% roasted mesquite pods.
Discount Code: Use “FIRSTLOOK15” for 15% sitewide
What made them stand out: I rarely fall in love with brands, I’m a simpleton. Kamana, however, I’m OBSESSED. Now that I’m a dad, I get up at 5am each day to get work done before El Chubbo wakes. I once read that you shouldn’t have caffeine right when you wake. You should give your body time to naturally wake. Idk what the science is there, but seems logical.
Kamana has perfectly solved this for me. I get a boost in alertness and focus, but w/o caffeine. I also used to think brands harping on “rituals” was just a marketing gimmick. Turns out, I was way wrong. My morning Kamana routine is bliss. No screen time, just my hot kettle, a pour over, and Kamana. After that then I hit Wordle ;)
Kamana has some really strong tailwinds too. Alt coffees are on a sharp rise, and the coffee industry is basically about to collapse because suppliers are getting wiped out from global warming. Mesquite, the ingredient Kamana uses, is climate-resilient, sucks up CO2 like a hoover vacuum, and it’s already a widely enjoyed drink in South Africa.
Request An Intro (Investors only)
Founded by Dylan Fusco + |📍NYC — Shop / Instagram / TikTok / Linkedin / Brand Video
How We Met Them: Via their signup on the FirstLook.vc
One Liner ✍️ — Kamoti is revolutionizing shot culture by creating premium, lower-ABV ready-to-drink shots that taste better and let you have more fun with less regret.
Discount Code: Use “FirstLook” for 10% off
What made them stand out: This is one of those “Oh yeah, this makes perfect sense” type companies. The green tea shot is the #1 most ordered shot in American bars. But like all shots, it takes a time to prepare. Per the laws of capitalism, time = lost money.
Enter Kamoti, first-ever RTD Green Tea Shot in a bottle. They make serving a breeze for bartenders which means more sales for bar owners. Kamoti is already in top accounts across NJ with high reorder rates and proven velocity (180+ cases/month in whale accounts). They’re also becoming a huge hit with Gen-Z and young millennials who embrace the lower ABV (20% vs 40%). IMO, I think Kamoti will go far. The timing is right, and they solve a real problem while increasing revenue.
Request An Intro (Investors only)
Founded by Conrad Ukropina + Jack Ukropina |📍LA — Homepage / Instagram / Linkedin
How We Met Them: Via their signup on the FirstLook.vc
One Liner ✍️ — Empowering men to take control of their reproductive health with science-backed solutions and accessible tools.
Discount Code: Use “Boost30” for 30% off your first order
What made them stand out: Per the data, the world is currently on track for population collapse. 2023 United States fertility rate was 1.62 babies per woman, way below the "replacement rate" of 2.1 children needed to sustain a stable population. Sadly, things aren’t looking good either.
Child care costs are rising, porn and social media keeps us from finding love, and for those who do find love our ability to actually conceive is down. Why? Poor health, toxins in our food system, and a ton of other factors make men not as “potent”. AKA less and weaker swimmers! That’s why I think LifeSpark’s line of supplements to help men boost the quality and quantity of their sperm is so timely. Most of the action in the fertility space has focused on women. But poor fertility is just as much of a male problem. I’m excited to watch LifeSpark grow, the tailwinds are strong here.
Request An Intro (Investors only)
Founded by Natalie Sabri |📍Toronto — Shop / Instagram / Linkedin
How We Met Them: Via their signup on the FirstLook.vc
One Liner ✍️ — We are master crafters of the world's best-smelling, most luxuriously-soft dough for play.
What made them stand out: The Dough Parlour is innovating in such a sleepy category. They have a patent-pending recipe process which offers the cleanest and safest play dough formula on the market. Their branding is perfectly colorful and playful to match their products, and I like their positioning as a premium alternative to the traditional low-cost brand. This appeals to parents who value eco-friendly, health-conscious, and high-quality products.
Play-Doh owns just about all of this category. I like brands building in concentrated categories because the leader isn’t used to competition. They’re quick to freak out when they feel bleeding, which then they acquire to ‘make the pain go away’. If TDP plays their cards right, I don’t see why this couldn’t happen to them.
2025 is off to a great start for the brand as well. January & February revenue is already up 300% compared to this time last year.
Request An Intro (Investors only)
That's all she wrote folks. February box is next. Keep on building my friends.