The Startup's FounderTable 1st Edition

## 🔷 What It Is:

The Startup FounderTable is a closed-circle club for early-stage founders to practice fundraising, refine pitch narratives, and get real-time, peer-to-peer feedback on everything from storytelling to market sizing — without the pressure of a real investor in the room.
It’s a safe space to fail forward before going live in front of VCs.

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## 🎯 Why It Exists:

• Founders rarely get honest feedback before pitching.
• Most decks don’t get a second look — but you don’t know why.
• You need reps, refinement, and real feedback, not just theory.
• Great fundraising is a craft — this is your gym.

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## 🧠 Core Activities

### 1. 💼 Mock Pitch Practice (Core Format)

• 1 founder does a 5–8 min pitch (deck optional)
• 20 minutes of group feedback
• Storytelling flow
• Clarity of problem/solution
• TAM / GTM / Metrics gaps
• What’s missing from an investor lens

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### 2. 📜 Pitch Teardown Sessions

• Pick famous or real-life decks (e.g., Airbnb, Dropbox, Y Combinator formats)
• Break down what worked, what didn’t
• Reverse-engineer great fundraising storytelling

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### 3. 🎙️ One-Liner + Hook Drills

• Each founder shares:
• Startup one-liner
• Why Now
• Big Market Hook
• Group scores and helps sharpen each part

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### 4. 🎯 Objection Handling Rounds

• Everyone plays "VC"
• Ask hard questions like:
• “Why now?”
• “What if Google builds this?”
• “How is this a venture-scale company?”
• Founder answers → Group gives feedback

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### 5. 📊 Metric Checkups

• Each founder shares:
• Key traction metrics
• Burn & runway
• CAC / LTV / Churn (if applicable)
• Group points out red flags or missed strengths

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## 🔐 House Rules

• No actual fundraising during meets
• Everyone contributes — no spectators
• Honest but kind feedback
• All content stays confidential
• Respect time limits and structure