Sibilla Strupule

Sibilla StrupuleOct 2, 2026

I have reviewed 500+ pitch decks this year. You do not need 20 slides to raise money. You need 5. Most seed decks are bloated with 25 slides of academic theory, generic market sizing, and feature checklists. Investors do not read them. They skim slide 1, jump to traction, look at the team, and mentally check out. If you cannot explain your business in 5 slides, adding 15 more slides will not save you. Here is the exact 5-slide structure that closes seed rounds: 1. The Real Pain (The Problem) Not a vague industry trend. Who is losing sleep, wasting hours, or losing money right now without your product? State it in plain words. 2. Your Advantage (Why You Win) How do you get your foot in the door without competing head on with giants? What is the one thing you do that nobody else can touch? 3. Proof of Traction Not cumulative website clicks. Show real momentum: customer retention, signed contracts, or steady month over month growth. Three recurring users beat fifty dead signups. 4. The Numbers (The Business Model) How do you make money, and what does it cost to get each customer? Prove that adding more customers brings in cash rather than burning it faster. 5. The Milestone Ask (The Use of Funds) Do not say: "Raising €1.5M for 18 months of runway." State what the money actually buys: "Raising €1.5M to hit €100K MRR and expand into two new European markets by Q3." Clarity is power. Every slide that does not answer an investor's doubt is just an obstacle between you and a check. -------------------------------------------------------------- 👉 Want an objective review of your deck before sending it to investors? Book a Pitch Review: https://lnkd.in/dren8giv → How many slides is your current pitch deck, and which one feels hardest to explain?

Sibilla StrupuleOct 1, 2026

Unpopular opinion: 80% of founders raising a seed round do not need capital. They need to learn how to sell. Every week I speak with founders who tell me: "If we just raise €1.5M, we can hire two engineers, finish the feature set, and then start commercial outreach." This is how good companies quietly bleed out. Money cannot fix a product nobody wants to buy. More features do not convince a customer who does not care about the problem. Fundraising is seductive because pitching an investor feels like progress. You build a sleek deck. You book calls with associates. You collect flattering compliments like: "This is super interesting, keep us posted on your next milestone." It feels like validation. It feels prestigious. Selling to an actual customer is terrifying by comparison. Because an enterprise buyer will not politely pat you on the back. They either wire the money or they tell you your solution does not help them. If you cannot sell your product before you raise capital, you will not be able to sell it after you raise capital. You will just burn other people's money while failing more loudly. Stop treating fundraising as an excuse to avoid commercial outreach. Close the customer first. Then raise on your own terms. -------------------------------------------------------------- 👉 Ready to stop guessing and pitch with real proof? Apply for Startup Vetting: https://lnkd.in/dct756vA → Be honest: are you fundraising because you need fuel to scale, or because you are avoiding the grind of direct sales?

Sibilla StrupuleOct 5, 2026

The year we won 20 awards was the loneliest year of my life as a founder. On paper, everything looked like an undeniable triumph. We were featured across major international media. I was invited onto global stages from Oslo to Dubai to London. We won top industry honors, backed by global institutions. My inbox was flooded with congratulatory notes from people who assumed we were swimming in cash. Here is what nobody saw behind the gala photos: I was checking our bank account balance three times a day. Contracts with enterprise clients were taking eight months longer to sign than promised. Regulations we had bet our entire company on were completely stuck. And every morning, I had to put on a tailored suit, walk into a room full of people, and act like everything was perfect. Praise is addictive. It makes you feel successful while your actual company is running out of money. You smile for the photographer. You collect the glass trophy. And then you sit alone in a hotel room at 1:00 AM wondering how you will pay your team in sixty days. It took going through a public bankruptcy to realize: Applause does not pay the bills. Press coverage is not revenue. And trophies do not save companies. The biggest trap as a founder is falling in love with awards while ignoring what is actually in the bank. If you are grinding right now, feeling isolated while everyone around you only celebrates the highlight reel: you are not broken. You are just doing the real work that cameras never show. Keep your eyes on the scoreboard, not the applause. -------------------------------------------------------------- → What was the biggest gap between how successful your company looked from the outside versus what was actually happening on the inside?