02: WHY INVESTORS PASS
SESSION 2: WHY INVESTORS PASS
Part of the Founder Readiness Mini-Series by Angels Den, supported by Warwick Business School.
📅 Tuesday 21 July · 11:00-13:00 · The Shard, London
Many founders only hear a polite "not for us" after an investor conversation. This session goes deeper into what that often means.
This practical, honest and interactive session is designed to help founders understand the common reasons investors decline, pause or fail to progress an opportunity. The aim is not to discourage founders, but to help them recognise avoidable weaknesses before they start fundraising.
Who this is for:
This session is for university founders, student founders, recent graduates and early-stage teams, in London and beyond, who want to understand how investors make decisions and how to avoid common fundraising mistakes.
You will hear from experienced investors, including angel and VC perspectives, who will explain how they assess early-stage opportunities and what can cause a deal to break down during initial review or deeper due diligence.
The session will cover:
Why angel investors and VC investors may assess the same company differently
How investors think about stage, sector, fund fit and return potential
Common red flags in early-stage businesses
What investors mean by "too early"
Valuation, round structure and lead investor concerns
Team, market, traction and business model risks
Cap table and founder alignment issues
What happens between a first pitch and deeper due diligence
The difference between investor interest and investor commitment
The session will include an interactive case-study activity where founders assess an example business from an investor's perspective, looking for red flags, green flags and missing evidence, then discussing whether the opportunity should progress.
By the end of the session, founders should leave with:
A clearer understanding of why investors pass
A practical list of red flags and green flags
Experience assessing a startup from an investor's perspective
A better ability to identify weaknesses in their own business
Actions to improve their pitch, evidence and investor materials
A clearer view of what to fix before fundraising
This session will be delivered as general investor education. It is not a live investment assessment of individual founders in the room.
About Angels Den
Angels Den is one of the UK's longest-established angel investment networks, supporting early-stage founders and investors through curated introductions, investment opportunities and community-led events.
Our mission is to make angel investing more accessible, effective and collaborative, while helping high-potential founders connect with the right capital partners.
500+ startups funded · 21,000+ registered investors · £10M+ invested through the network
Supported by Warwick Business School
This Founder Readiness Mini-Series is supported by Warwick Business School, helping connect university founders with practical startup education, investor insight and the wider early-stage ecosystem.