The best startup pitches don't sell the product.⁣.⁣.They sell the category.⁣.⁣."We're building a caffeine tracker."⁣.versus⁣."We're building the sleep optimization platform that starts with caffeine."⁣.⁣.Same product. Billion $ difference in how investors see market size.

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Flip Shark Tank on its head, keep the insight, ditch the manufactured TV drama, and make it about startups. Live in NYC! 5 founders have 60 seconds to pitch their startup, then take raw feedback from check-writing VCs. Join us for tonight's session! RSVP below.

RT @martymadrid: Two of my favorite people in one of my favorite cities . this is a NOT MISS NYC EVENT y'all!.

RT @Sherveen: Want to see me and @pitdesi evaluate founders live tomorrow in NYC?. Brave startup founder who wants pitch feedback money jus….

Immigration headlines feel heavy right now. The good news: founders are building fixes for the long-term. Throwing back to one of our faves: @lieselvaidya's pitch for @withimera, a startup building personalized, AI-driven assistance to help immigrants navigate life in the US.

Zoom back in time, and check them out on Episode 002 (ft. @jefielding and @Sherveen as our investor judges): . And then check out their launch video to see how far they've come.

Big news: @_2woot & @Nathaneo_j's startup Series just raised $3.1M! Last spring, these two were Yale sophomores and on one of the earliest episodes of TFL. They pitched the first AI social network, helping people meet & connect with the right people at the moments that matter.

Mike is a GP at Generous Ventures. He's an investor, community builder, & superconnector, supporting founders at the earliest stage. Founders will get 5 minutes of unfiltered, constructive, and honest feedback about their pitch and concept. Link to RSVP:

This Tuesday, April 8th, @MikeMacCombie returns to the judges' table. He’ll join @Sherveen to hear one-minute pitches from 6 ambitious startup founders and give them real, unfiltered feedback — live and unscripted.

He chatted with our venture judges, @Sherveen & @VirginieRaphael about the defensibility and scalability of a "tool on top". Watch Rio's pitch & the ensuing conversation:

If you're building an AI copilot on top of everyone else's SaaS platforms, how do you build a lasting moat?. Are you competing with those platforms and their native AI features, too?. On Episode 013, Rio Atmadja pitched Dokai, an AI copilot for SaaS workflows🧵

But @mahaniok & @Sherveen have seen a lot of smart people try (and struggle) to solve this problem. So the real question became:. 👉 Could making CRM collaborative — not just personal — be the shift this category’s been waiting for?. Watch Ammon's pitch:

. it’s really a collaborative CRM, built to surface shared context before every meeting & grow a living network of your relationships. The long game? Replacing LinkedIn with something smarter and more dynamic. 🧵.

What if your calendar was a living map of your relationships?. That’s the vision behind @dossyAI, pitched by @ammonbrown. It starts as a calendar integration — but. 🧵.

But grocery is hard. DTC is harder. And her product is designed to be flavorless. So the question from @Sherveen and @nikaduan became: .👉 How do you make something imperceptible… unforgettable?. Link to watch Veronica's pitch:

What if you could eat mac & cheese, fries, takeout. and still get your veggies in?. Veronica pitched her startup: a nutritional seasoning that makes eating vegetables as easy as sprinkling salt. One tin = 6 salads' worth of greens. No prep, no weird powders, no lifestyle change.

Watch it unfold:

The growth of every social platform hinges on its core behavior loop. Ep 60: @strikesurfer pitched @GameReelApp, a platform for gamers w/ clips, rewards, & a marketplace. @Sherveen & @john_frankel noted the pitch may have too much — adtech, Web3, gamification — w/o a clear focus.

@Sherveen & @MiritLugassi also discuss what founders and investors owe each other when a pitch comes from outside their demographic. The best opportunities aren't always familiar, & funding for founders shouldn't be limited by VCs' 'personal' experience.