Unstacked is the voice of Moonshotnx — a living stream of insight, updates, and conversations from the frontlines of venture redesign. It’s where our blog, newsfeed, and podcast converge to fuel founders with capital stack strategies, global funding intel, and storytelling. Built for the bold, updated for the now.
Newsfeed
BLOG
Every Pitch can make or break a deal
It all begins with an idea.
Rubén D.Rubén D. • Following • FollowingVC Investor | Actionable insights on startups, innovation, and entrepreneurshipVC Investor | Actionable insights on startups, innovation, and entrepreneurship
𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹.
But not all decks are created equal.
Here are the only 10 slides you need in your pitch:
Canva’s Chief Evangelist Guy Kawasaki distilled the art of the pitch down to a simple yet effective formula.
Here's how it works 👇
(1) 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Make them remember your name. It’s your first handshake.
(2) 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺: If they don’t feel the problem, they won’t see the need.
(3) 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Here’s where you shine. Show your product, its benefits, and why it’s a game-changer.
(4) 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰: What’s your secret sauce? Tech, patents, a killer demo.
(5) 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹: How will you make money? Be crystal clear.
(6) 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴/𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀: Your strategy to dominate the market.
(7) 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Know your enemies and why you’re better.
(8) 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺: Investors bet on jockeys, not just horses. Show them your A-team.
(9) 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀: Hit them with numbers that make sense.
(10) 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 & 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀: Where you are, where you’re going, and how their money helps.
There you have it.: A pitch deck that doesn't just talk but persuades.
What else would you add?
Credit: Chris Tottman
Top 10 Resources for Start Up Founders
It all begins with an idea.
Top 10 fundraising resources for startup founders:
1. The essentials of a killer pitch deck by Hustle Fund: https://lnkd.in/drHRWqm8
3. How to run your first meeting with a VC:
https://lnkd.in/dXwpPR94
4. How to pitch to investors by Product Market Fit:
https://lnkd.in/d5NpN8yC
5. 7 Rejections by Brian Chesky:
https://lnkd.in/dRmJbMbM
6. Pitch the way VCs think by Khosla Ventures:
https://lnkd.in/d8BN8yXT
7. Creandum's seed Deck Template:
https://lnkd.in/d2MM7txc
8. Linkedin's Series B Pitch Deck:
https://lnkd.in/d_3iX2xs
9. Who makes the decision at a VC firm and how the decision gets made by Mark Suster:
https://lnkd.in/dGRrV2r6
10. 20 Startup investors lists:
https://lnkd.in/dUfTRwiv
11. Extra: How to get invested by Index Ventures: https://lnkd.in/dPcn3Mir
Proper Due Diligence
It all begins with an idea.
Saravanan RathakrishnanSaravanan Rathakrishnan • 2nd • 2ndSenior Associate at RHTLaw Asia LLP | Specializing in Funds, M&A and Venture Capital | Legal500 Rising Star (Investment Funds) | Structuring High-Impact Private Equity/Debt & Venture Capital Investment FundsSenior Associate at RHTLaw Asia LLP | Specializing in Funds, M&A and Venture Capital | Legal500 Rising Star (Investment Funds) | Structuring High-Impact Private Equity/Debt & Venture Capital Investment Funds
Due diligence is more than just a formality—it’s the key to making informed startup investments that protect your capital and future returns.
Many investors dive into exciting startup opportunities without fully evaluating the risks.
But neglecting a thorough review of key areas can expose you to unforeseen legal and business pitfalls.
What often happens is that investors overlook crucial elements in the due diligence process, focusing too much on the product and less on underlying risks.
This can lead to missteps that affect both their investment and the startup's future.
The truth is, conducting proper due diligence helps you uncover potential issues early on, providing clarity on the risks and helping you make better investment decisions.
Are you conducting thorough due diligence before making startup investments?
Here’s a checklist of key areas investors should focus on when evaluating a potential startup investment:
What do VC’s kow that the rest of us don’t?
It all begins with an idea.
Burak BuyukdemirBurak Buyukdemir • 2nd • 2ndFounder of Startup IstanbulFounder of Startup Istanbul
What do VCs know that the rest of us don't? VCs have a few tricks.
I'll be hosting Professor Ilya Strebulaev on my podcast to discuss his book, "The Venture Mindset"!
Ilya breaks down how top VCs think and make decisions.
He shares 9 key principles that can help anyone make smarter bets in business and life:
1. Business Model: Home Runs Matter, Strikeouts Don’t
2. Deal Sourcing: Get Outside the Four Walls
3. Initial Screening: Prepare Your Mind
4. Due Diligence: Say No 100 Times
5. Selection Criteria: Bet on the Jockey
6. Decision Making: Agree to Disagree
7. Follow-On Rounds: Double Down or Quit
8. Incentives: Make the Pie Bigger
9. Exit: Great Things Take Time
Whether you're an entrepreneur, investor, or just curious about innovation, this episode is for you!
Got questions for Ilya? Drop them in the comments below, and I'll try to ask them during our chat.
5 Leadership points
It all begins with an idea.
Jeremy Connell-WaiteJeremy Connell-Waite • Following • FollowingGlobal Communications Designer 👁️🐝Ⓜ️Global Communications Designer 👁️🐝Ⓜ️
A simple 3x5" record card helped Bob Iger to become CEO of Disney, Barack Obama to get elected, Steve Jobs to take on IBM, and JFK to write better speeches.
When Bob Iger was in the running to become the CEO of Disney in 2005 the board didn’t want to elect him. Some people thought he was a lightweight and represented too much of a carbon copy of former CEO Michael Eisner.
So Bob worked with Scott Miller who had previously helped Steve Jobs to mount an “insurgency campaign” to battle IBM in the 1980's.
Their strategy was to write a “stump speech” which contained all the reasons why Bob was the best candidate for the job, and then summarise it onto a 5x3" record card which Bob took everywhere with him.
The 6 statements Bob wrote on his record card became the foundation of every conversation he had during his leadership campaign:
1. Our job is to find the magic, wherever it is in the world.
2. We must restore our relationship with young families and especially young moms.
3. We must stand for family fun.
4. We must restore our relevance for and relationship with teens.
5. We must be agnostic about how our customers consumer our information / entertainment.
6. We must restore the quality of the Disney brand.
You can read about the full strategic process in Miller's “The Leadership Campaign” or read Bob’s take on the campaign in his autobiography “The Ride of a Lifetime”. Both excellent reads. 📚
Next time you are running a campaign of your own – a pitch, a presentation or a promotion – maybe start by writing down what differentiates you from everyone else, and what you want to stand for 5x3” record card? 📝
⬇️
"If you can't explain something simply, you don't know it well enough". Steve Jobs favourite Einstein quote 🖍️
⬇️
“That's what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again.” Walt Disney 🎬
How are Series A Multiple changing over time?
It all begins with an idea.
Michael HoMichael Ho • Following • FollowingSeries A prep for seed stage founders | former VC & exited founder | Click 'visit my website' to register for my next free Seed to Series A live training session 💪Series A prep for seed stage founders | former VC & exited founder | Click 'visit my website' to register for my next free Seed to Series A live training session
How are Series A Multiples changing over time?
→ Let's look quarter by quarter from 2020 to 2024 👀
There are a couple of factors at play here:
1️⃣ The pre-money median valuations went from $28M in 2020 to a peak of $48M in Q1 2022 and are now sitting at $40M in Q2 2024
2️⃣ The pre-money multiples went from 10-20x in 2020 to a peak of 16-32x in Q1 2022 and are now back to the same 10-20x in Q1 2024
So why have valuations gone up, but the multiples stayed the same?
3️⃣ Because 2024 companies are generally further along than the 2020 cohort
4️⃣ It was common in 2020 for a Series A company to be doing between $1M to $2M ARR but now in 2024, it's more common to see $2M to $4M+ ARR
And we're also seeing the medium time from Seed to Series A going from 18 months in 2020 to 24 months now in 2024
So make sure you're clear on the milestones you need to unlock your Series A and make sure to stretch your seed capital to get you all the way there 💪
--
♻️ Repost to help a founder in your network
SEO has evolved
It all begins with an idea.
Rohan ShethRohan Sheth • 2nd • 2ndTop Growth Marketer & Business Owner | We’ve driven over $2 billion in ROI through our marketing strategies.Top Growth Marketer & Business Owner | We’ve driven over $2 billion in ROI through our marketing strategies.
SEO Has Evolved
Here's 7 ways how:
SEO isn’t what it used to be.
The tactics that worked a decade ago?
Most are ancient history now.
Here’s a sneak peek at how SEO has evolved,
and how you can keep up:
1.
Old Way: Keyword Stuffing
↳ Google no longer rewards pages crammed with keywords.
New Way: Intent-Driven Content
↳ Now, understand what users actually want when they search.
💎 Focus on creating content that answers real questions.
2.
Old Way: Backlinks = Authority
↳ Ten years ago, any link was a good link.
New Way: Quality Over Quantity in Link-Building
↳ Now, spammy backlinks can hurt your rankings.
💎 Prioritize building genuine, high-authority links.
3.
Old Way: Exact Match Keywords
↳ Search engines only picked up exact matches, so keywords had to be precise.
New Way: Natural Language and Synonyms
↳ Search engines now understand context and synonyms, not just exact phrases.
💎 Write naturally, using related terms and phrases.
4.
Old Way: Desktop Optimization
↳ Desktop was the primary focus, with mobile as an afterthought.
New Way: Mobile-First Indexing
↳ Google now indexes and ranks sites based on their mobile versions first.
💎 Ensure your site is mobile-friendly, with responsive design and fast load times on mobile.
5.
Old Way: Clickbait Titles
↳ Clickbait was enough to bring traffic, regardless of the content’s quality.
New Way: Engagement-Focused Content
↳ Google now cares about how long users stay on your page.
💎 Write catchy titles but make sure your content keeps readers engaged.
6.
Old Way: Focus on Individual Pages
↳ Each page was optimized individually, without much focus on the broader topic.
New Way: Topic Clusters and Internal Linking
↳ Google values depth on a topic; it’s now about clusters of related content rather than single-page ranking.
💎 Group your content into topic clusters, with pillar pages and supporting articles.
7.
Old Way: Local SEO Was Optional
↳ Local SEO was often ignored, especially if you weren’t a local business.
New Way: Local SEO Is Critical for Visibility
↳ “Near me” searches and mobile searches make local SEO a huge ranking factor.
💎 Optimize your Google My Business profile and get local reviews.
Check out the carousel for more in-depth insights!
Follow these changes, and you’ll stay ahead of the game.
🔘🔘🔘🔘🔘🔘
Want to invest in SEO and ads?
The Ultimate Checklist for Linkedin Growth
It all begins with an idea.
The Creator Accelerator by Chris Donnelly
Stop overcomplicating building your personal brand.
My Ultimate Checklist for LinkedIn Growth:
This checklist covers the 4 fundamentals of LinkedIn growth:
- Profile Optimisation.
- Content Ideation.
- Content Creation.
- Engagement.
99% of creators are not growing on LinkedIn.
Join the 1% by using my personal checklist:
1. Profile Optimisation
When done correctly.
Your profile can become a landing page for leads.
Ensure every facet is optimised fully including your:
→ Profile Banner
→ About Section
→ Featured Tab
Stop missing out on potential new followers.
By setting up a profile that actually converts.
2. Content Ideation
Coming up with content ideas is hard.
It’s often why the majority of people quit posting.
Use my checklist to create an inventory of pre-validated ideas.
By studying the fastest growing creators in your niche.
Ideation will quickly become your strongest process.
3. Content Creation
On LinkedIn content will always be KING.
That’s why you must master it early.
→ Create Compelling Hooks.
→ Learn Viral Post Formats.
→ Convert with CTAs.
If you can nail your content.
Growing your personal brand gets so much easier.
4. Engagement
The most overlooked aspect of growing on LinkedIn.
The network you build is crucial.
Learn to create and leverage a network of creators.
Using my 30/30/10 rule.
If you want to go fast - go alone.
But if you want to go far - go together.
♻️ Repost this to your audience.
Follow The Creator Accelerator by Chris Donnelly for more.
Here is how Limited Partners investing in Venture Capital assess a firm's Partners.
It all begins with an idea.
Myrto LalacosMyrto Lalacos • Following • FollowingEx-VC turned VC Builder | Principal at VC LabEx-VC turned VC Builder | Principal at VC Lab2w • 2 weeks ago
Here is how Limited Partners investing in Venture Capital assess a firm's Partners.
🟢 Green Flags
✦ Anyone who knows them speaks very highly of them.
✦ The Partners are clear in their communication and inspire a high level of trust.
✦ They have significant experience and notable achievements relevant to the fund's investment thesis.
🌕 Yellow Flags
✦ The Partners are building a generalist fund without a clear focus or differentiation in the market.
✦ Their resume shows short role tenure and frequent bumps. VC is a lifelong career, can they commit?
✦ They are not interested in raising future funds, what is the incentive to manage the present fund for the next 10 years?
🟠 Orange Flags
✦ The team dynamic is not great, and the role division is unclear.
✦ None of their investments have been growing rapidly - are they really exceptional pickers and backers?
✦ They have not proven they can lead or win competitive deals. It's easy to spot a good deal, the question is can they get in?
🔴 Red Flags
✦ The Partners lied about or misrepresented their track record or experience.
✦ They displayed unprofessional behavior or withheld important information.
✦ Signs they cannot raise the target fund size - can they set realistic targets and execute on those?
I'm trying to bring to life how LPs conduct due diligence on the Partners of VC firms.
But we're just scratching the surface...
For those wanting to go deeper on the diligence Limited Partners carry out on VC funds, I've linked additional resources below!
−
✍️ Myrto Lalacos
Follow for regular content on launching and investing in Venture Capital firms.