Why Founders Waste Months on the Wrong Investors

Jan de Vries · 2026-10-16

Any founder who's raised money knows what investor due diligence feels like from the receiving end. The questions about the model, the customer contracts, the gap in your CV, the calls to people you worked with years ago. Investors do that work because they're making a long-term bet on your abilities. However, the same isn't true in reverse. In two decades supporting founders as they raise, I've found the majority could tell me everything about their own metrics, ambition for the business or ideal team hires, but very little about the people they approached for funding. So, why is this? DocSend's research on pre-seed rounds found founders contacted an average of 71 investors to close a round. Our own founder survey revealed a quarter of founders spend more than half their working week on fundraising. With so much time taken up, only about one in three do any serious research on investors. That can cost founders dearly. Months pitching investors who were never a fit for their stage or sector, time that should have gone into building, and potentially years unravelling a misaligned relationship. ### The market has made founders less likely to check Today it's an investor's market, and that's where the challenge starts. According to research, European startups raised €21.41 billion ($24 billion) in the second quarter of 2026, two thirds more than a year earlier, but 65% of it went to just 42 companies raising €89 million ($100 million) or more, while early-stage deal numbers fell. When capital concentrates in fewer, larger deals, angels hold the leverage, and that's precisely when founders ask the fewest questions and most need the answers. Founders often tell me they can't afford to be picky. They don't have time for due diligence, and asking too many questions or running background checks might put an investor off. I understand the pressure. Fundraising is fiercely competitive, and when capital is hard to secure, it can be tempting to pursue every opportunity that comes along. But this is precisely why a little research upfront matters. Knowing an investor's criteria and track record tells you whether the approach is worth a week of your time at all. The ones you do pitch arrive at diligence already warm, and the process moves faster because of it. ### What you're actually checking for Start by deciding what you want from each investor. If you're raising from 10 angels, for example, you might want two or three to take an active role, with the rest remaining silent backers. Then check the basics. Is this person who they say they are, and do they invest at the level and stage they claim? A depressing number of the conversations founders agonise over turn out to be dead ends. Next, look at their track record. Which companies have they backed, which have they run, and where have they sat on the board? Sector experience matters more than general enthusiasm. Then comes the step founders often skip because it feels too subjective: do you actually get on? We talk constantly about product-market fit, but much less about investor-founder fit. Last comes alignment. Do you both want the same thing from this company, on a similar timeframe, with a realistic view of how it grows and how it might exit? Agreeing that at the start is what stops the relationship souring later. > "We talk constantly about product-market fit, but much less about investor-founder fit." ### How to do it without interrogating anyone Most of this work happens quietly, before the first meeting. LinkedIn, company websites and the public registers will tell you a great deal. In the UK, Companies House shows directorships and filings, and the European e-Justice Portal searches company registers across the EU. None of it takes any of the investor's time, and none of it feels intrusive, because they never see it. The most useful step is finding the companies an investor has already backed and speaking to those founders, through an introduction or by asking the investor for a reference. A founder who has worked with your investor will tell you in ten minutes what a pitch deck never could. - Confirm the investor's stage and check size match your round - Review their portfolio for sector relevance - Ask their founders about board behavior and follow-on support - Test whether your goals and timelines actually align None of this replaces the pitch. It just makes sure the pitch is worth your week.