What do I need before pitching a seed round?

A problem stated in one sentence, evidence real customers want it solved, a business model that shows how money is made, numbers you can defend, and a specific ask with a use of funds.

What goes in a seed round pitch deck?

Roughly ten slides: problem, solution, why now, market, product, traction, business model, competition, team, and the ask with use of funds.

How long does it take to get investor-ready?

For most founders it is several working sessions, not one. Customer proof and defensible numbers take the longest.

Session track

Getting your concept investor-ready

Someone asked what it takes to put a concept in front of investors for a seed round. The honest answer: the deck is the last part. What takes the work is the thinking behind it.

This is a track we run at the table — the same weekday blocks, the same format. You bring the idea, we work one stage at a time until you can say it out loud and hold up under questions.

To be clear about what this is not: we don't raise money for you and we don't introduce you to investors. We help you get the concept ready to present.

Start here

Email before you book

Tables are reserved for serious parties. Email cory@cobuildtable.com to schedule a 30-minute call first — every call is qualified before a seat is held.

Sessions are free. Weekday blocks, 12–2pm or 2–4pm, at a coffee shop table around Richmond, Pinole, Hercules, Vallejo and Benicia — or on a call.

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The work

Six stages between an idea and a seed conversation

Stage 1

The problem, in one sentence

Who has it, how often, and what it costs them today. If it takes a paragraph, the pitch is not ready — and no deck design fixes that.

Stage 2

Proof someone wants it

Conversations, waitlist signups, a pilot, a paying customer. Seed investors fund evidence, not enthusiasm. We work out what proof you can realistically gather in the next 30 days.

Stage 3

A model that makes money

Who pays, how much, how often, and what it costs you to serve them. One page, in plain numbers you can say out loud.

Stage 4

Numbers you can defend

A simple forecast you built yourself and can explain line by line. The follow-up question is where pitches fall apart, not the slide.

Stage 5

The ask and the use of funds

How much, for how long a runway, and the specific milestones that money buys. Vague asks read as unprepared.

Stage 6

Say it out loud

Ten slides, ten minutes, then questions from people who are not being polite. Repeat until it stops being a performance.

Most founders need several sessions, not one. Stages 2 and 4 — proof and numbers — take the longest, and they're the two investors press hardest.

The deck

Ten slides, and what each one has to earn

1Problem
2Solution
3Why now
4Market
5Product
6Traction
7Business model
8Competition
9Team
10The ask and use of funds

Build them in this order and each slide answers the question the last one raised. Build them in any other order and you end up designing before you know what you're saying.

Why here

Worked by someone who has built and sold the thing

Cory runs a compliance consulting business serving 225+ business customers across 14 years, and three SaaS ventures — Reg Review, Invest Prep and AD Scanner — with paying customers and 100+ users. The product, pricing and go-to-market questions on this page are ones he's answered with his own money on the line.

That's the point of the table: you're not workshopping with people guessing. You're working next to someone who has shipped, priced, sold and had to defend the numbers.

Next step

Bring the concept to a table

Email cory@cobuildtable.com with one line about the concept and where you're stuck. We'll set a 30-minute call, decide which stage you're actually at, and put the next session on the calendar.

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