Guidance

Track 1: Investor Readiness Do's and Don'ts

Published 2 December 2025

PREPARING FOR INVESTMENT 

INVESTOR READINESS DO’S & DON’TS 

Successfully attracting and securing investment requires more than a great idea; it demands rigorous preparation to meet investor expectations and stand out in competitive funding environments.  

This content guides founders and leadership teams through the essential steps to build credibility, demonstrate traction, articulate clear market opportunities and present robust governance and financial discipline. Preparation includes developing an evidence-backed investable thesis, understanding and defending your niche, refining your pitch for clarity and proactively addressing regulatory and operational risks. By following these practices, businesses not only increase their attractiveness to investors but also position themselves to navigate the fundraising process efficiently and secure the capital needed to scale. 

DO’s - How to get investor ready 

Investors back preparation, not improvisation. The Do’s focus on building credibility through clarity, consistency and evidence. This means understanding your numbers, aligning your story with your financials and demonstrating progress with real traction. It’s about running a transparent, well-governed business that shows discipline and foresight, from a clean data room to a clear use of funds. Following these best practices helps you stand out as a confident, capable team ready to scale responsibly with investor support. 

Connect your vision to a credible market opportunity 

Use the Problem → Solution → Market framework to anchor your pitch. Start by clearly defining the customer pain point your business solves, how your solution addresses it and the size of the market opportunity. Explain the problem simply and in non-technical language, if investors can’t understand it quickly, your thesis isn’t ready. 

Provide credible market sizing with TAM, SAM and SOM 

Investors expect evidence-backed market sizing, not inflated claims. 

• Total Addressable Market (TAM): The overall revenue opportunity in your sector (top-down, cite reliable sources) 

• Serviceable Available Market (SAM): The specific segment or geography you target within that total 

• Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM): The realistic portion of the SAM you can capture in the next few years, typically 1–5%, based on bottom-up data. 

Support your market assumptions with credible evidence such as government contracts, customer adoption rates, or industry benchmarks. Keep this concise, one or two slides maximum and focus on defensible numbers, not speculation. 

Back claims with bottom-up evidence   

Investors trust data, not descriptions. Use real contracts, paid pilots, signed Letters of Intent (LOIs), or repeat customer usage data with dates and values to demonstrate traction. Hard evidence of customer demand beats oversized market claims every time. Be transparent about risks or weaknesses and clearly explain your mitigation strategies. 

Think internationally from day one   

Even if you start domestically, investors want to see international potential. Identify one or two priority export markets and explain any regulatory or licensing considerations, such as ITAR, export licences, or spectrum access. This shows foresight and preparedness to scale globally within the space sector’s unique regulatory environment. 

Pick and defend your niche   

Focus on dominating a defined beachhead market you know well before expanding. Clearly articulate why you win, whether it’s through intellectual property, proprietary data, cost advantages, or regulatory barriers and why competitors can’t easily replicate your position. Investors value focused execution over broad ambition. 

Present a strong, balanced management team   

Highlight a team that blends technical depth with commercial experience, supported by proven track records in scaling businesses, securing funding, or commercialising technology. A balanced leadership team signals maturity, credibility and capacity for sustained execution. 

Highlight space-specific growth drivers   

Show your understanding of the sector’s momentum by referencing tangible demand drivers: falling launch costs, growing NATO and ESA budgets, new government contracts, or the expansion of secure communications markets. Linking your business to these sector trends positions you within a credible, fast-growing ecosystem. 

Keep your investable thesis clear and simple   

Summarise your investment case on a single page and ensure it can be explained in 60–90 seconds. Focus on 6–8 key strengths, each backed by a fact and a clear “so what?” that highlights its commercial relevance. Avoid long, text-heavy sections, concise statements, data points and supporting visuals make the story easier to digest and more memorable. 

Know your numbers and stay consistent   

Be fluent in your financial model, understand your unit economics, cash runway, margins and funding milestones. Your pitch, financials and data room should align perfectly. Consistency across every document reinforces credibility; discrepancies erode it instantly. 

Show a clear use of funds and measurable milestones   

Explain exactly how the capital will be used and what progress it will unlock, new hires, product development, or market expansion. Investors fund clear, outcome-based plans, not vague aspirations. 

Stress-test your thesis with advisors   

Before presenting to investors, review your full narrative, numbers and market assumptions with experienced mentors or advisors. Constructive scrutiny helps refine your message and anticipate tough questions. The strongest founders let evidence do the talking. 

Don’ts - Common fundraising mistakes to avoid 

Small missteps can quickly erode investor confidence. The Don’ts highlight common pitfalls, from overinflated forecasts and messy documentation to ignoring cash flow or downplaying risk. Avoiding these mistakes is about honesty and control: know your limits, address weaknesses openly and never oversell what you can’t deliver. Investors respect realism over hype, and avoiding these errors shows that you’re a founder who manages capital and expectations with discipline and integrity. 

Use overly technical language for the problem statement   

Avoid explaining your product or market in terms that only engineers understand. Investors need to grasp the customer pain and solution in plain, relatable language. For example, instead of describing complex orbital mechanics, say, “Flood risk causes insurance claims worth millions annually.” Link your solution to its real-world business benefit, not just its technical specifications. 

Rely on inflated or vague market size claims   

Don’t quote headline figures like “space is a £1 trillion market” unless you can connect them directly to your target buyers and your Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM). Avoid excessive slides or detail, market sizing should be concise (one to two pages) and evidence-backed. Overblown or unsubstantiated numbers suggest inexperience or exaggeration. 

Present heroic adoption or market share without evidence   

Avoid claiming market dominance or unrealistic customer conversion rates without proof. Investors look for named accounts, signed contracts, or confirmed purchase orders, not vague claims or optimistic assumptions. 

Use unproven deals or MoUs as evidence of traction   

Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) are non-binding and rarely impress investors. Replace them with tangible proof, paid pilots, signed contracts, or recurring customer usage data. Investors fund traction that demonstrates commitment, not potential. 

Attempt to address every market at once   

Avoid claiming that you can sell to “everyone.” Investors prefer a focused market entry strategy that shows discipline and depth of understanding. Spreading too thin undermines credibility and makes your go-to-market plan look reactive rather than strategic. 

Ignore competitors or overclaim moats   

Never skip a competitor slide. Investors will benchmark you anyway, and ignoring competition suggests naivety. Instead, acknowledge rivals and show how your advantage is defensible, through intellectual property, unique datasets, switching costs, or regulatory barriers. 

Neglect to address gaps or weak points   

Pretending weaknesses don’t exist damages trust. Investors expect transparency about risks, limitations and mitigation strategies. Admitting known gaps and showing how you plan to address them builds confidence in your leadership and governance maturity. 

Make your thesis longer or more complex than necessary   

Overly long, text-heavy presentations dilute your message. Keep your investment thesis concise and digestible, investors should understand your key points in under two minutes. Use visuals, evidence and structure over volume. Simplicity and focus always win attention over density. 

Overinflate forecasts or ignore cash flow reality   

Unrealistic growth projections or disregard for cash flow timing are immediate red flags. Model your runway carefully, base assumptions on data and show awareness of working capital cycles. Investors reward accuracy and penalise exaggeration. 

Neglect preparation and consistency   

Inconsistencies between your pitch, financial model and data room, or missing documentation, undermine credibility. Keep all materials aligned and reviewed before presenting. Diligence-ready companies close faster and on better terms. 

In Summary 

Investors value clarity, focus and evidence over ambition or complexity. Businesses that clearly articulate a real customer problem, show measurable traction and present a defensible market position build far more trust than those relying on big claims or technical jargon. Credibility comes from consistent numbers, transparent governance and a team that can execute with discipline. Overstatement, vague market sizing and ignoring weaknesses quickly erode investor confidence.  

Ultimately, the businesses that succeed in raising capital are those that communicate simply, back every claim with proof and demonstrate control, not just vision.

This information is a non-exhaustive summary of some of the factors which may be relevant to seeking investment in the space sector. Persons should take independent legal and professional advice before seeking any such investment.