What Should I Send to Investors Before a First Meeting?

Send a concise pitch deck (10–15 slides) or a one-pager summarizing your startup.

Include your problem, solution, market size, traction, team, and ask. Keep it scannable, investors spend 2–3 minutes on decks before deciding to meet. Don't send detailed financials, lengthy business plans, or data rooms until requested. Less is more at this stage.

Why Pre-Meeting Materials Matter

What you send before a meeting shapes the entire conversation. Send too much, and investors won't read it. Send too little, and they'll arrive unprepared. Send the wrong things, and you'll waste the meeting explaining basics instead of building excitement.

The goal of pre-meeting materials is simple: give investors enough context to ask smart questions and arrive genuinely interested.

The Two Best Options

Option 1: Pitch Deck (10–15 Slides)

The pitch deck is the standard pre-meeting document. A strong deck includes:

Problem (1 slide). What pain point are you solving? Make it concrete and relatable.

Solution (1–2 slides). How does your product solve the problem? Keep it simple, features can wait.

Market size (1 slide). How big is the opportunity? Show TAM, SAM, and SOM with credible sources.

Traction (1–2 slides). What evidence proves this is working? Revenue, users, growth rate, retention, or key milestones.

Business model (1 slide). How do you make money? Pricing, unit economics, and revenue streams.

Competition (1 slide). Who else exists? How are you different? Avoid the "no competition" trap.

Team (1 slide). Who's building this? Highlight relevant experience and founder-market fit.

Ask (1 slide). How much are you raising? What will you accomplish with the capital?

Keep slides visual and scannable. Investors spend an average of 2–3 minutes reviewing decks before deciding whether to take a meeting.

Option 2: One-Pager

Some investors prefer a one-pager, a single-page summary covering the essentials. One-pagers work well for:

• Initial cold outreach before a deck request

• Busy investors who want the fastest possible overview

• Situations where you want to tease interest before revealing details

A strong one-pager covers the same topics as a deck but in compressed form: problem, solution, market, traction, team, and ask, all on one page.

For a detailed breakdown of what makes an effective one-pager, read our guide on what to include in a startup one-pager.

What NOT to Send Before a First Meeting

Detailed financial models. Save these for due diligence.

Full business plans. Nobody reads 30-page documents.

Data room access. This comes after they express serious interest.

Product demos or lengthy videos. A short demo link is fine; a 20-minute video is too much.

The first meeting is about sparking interest, not closing the deal.

How to Send Materials

Email body. Include a brief intro (2–3 sentences) explaining who you are and why you're reaching out to this specific investor.

Attachment or link. Attach the deck as PDF or use a trackable link (DocSend, Notion). Trackable links show when investors open and how long they spend on each slide.

Timing. Send materials 24–48 hours before the meeting.

Tailoring Materials to Investor Type

Different investors prefer different formats. Angels often prefer one-pagers, they move fast. Seed VCs want standard pitch decks with traction data. Series A+ investors may request detailed metrics appendices.

Research your target investor's preferences before sending. SheetVenture's investor intelligence helps you understand what different investors look for.

The Bottom Line

Before a first meeting, send a pitch deck (10–15 slides) or a one-pager. Cover the essentials: problem, solution, market, traction, team, and ask. Keep it concise, investors decide quickly whether to engage.

Save detailed materials for later. The first meeting is about connection, not documentation.

Want to identify which investors match your stage before reaching out? Explore our investor coverage data.

SheetVenture helps founders target the right investors, so your materials land with people who actually want to see them.