Latest / The Series A Show with Fexingo: Early-Stage Funding, Pitch Decks, and Startup Milestones / Why Startups Are Raising Money Without Pitch Decks
Transcript
- Lucas: So, last week I was talking to a founder who raised a two-million-dollar seed round, and she never once opened PowerPoint. No deck, no slide deck, no nothing. And I thought, is this becoming a thing? So I started digging. Luna: Wait — no deck at all? How did she even get meetings? Lucas: Warm intros and a data room. She had a clean Notion page with her metrics, team bios, market sizing, and a link to a Loom video of her explaining the product. That was it. Luna: That's interesting because for years the deck was sacred. Like, you couldn't even get a meeting without a polished fifteen-slider. Lucas: Right. And there are signs this shift is real. Two headlines from yesterday: Mach Industries, the defense tech startup, hit a one-point-eight-billion valuation, a four-times jump in a year. And that was on a very lean raise — I'd bet they didn't lean on a traditional deck. Luna: Mach is also in a hot sector right now. Defense tech is attracting a lot of capital. Lucas: Exactly. But it's not just defense. I've seen this across SaaS, climate tech, even biotech. The common thread is that investors are increasingly saying, 'Show me the numbers, not the design.' Luna: So what's driving this? Is it just that investors are tired of flashy decks that hide weak fundamentals? Lucas: Partly. But there's a structural shift too. The rise of rolling funds and venture debt has changed the power dynamic. Founders can now raise smaller amounts more frequently, and they don't need to make a big splashy pitch to a room of partners. They can do a series of close conversations. Luna: And I think the data room approach actually signals confidence. Like, 'I'm not hiding behind a narrative — here are my real metrics, go verify.' Lucas: Exactly. And for investors, it's efficient. They can quickly decide if the numbers are worth a deeper look. One VC told me he can review a data room in fifteen minutes, but a deck takes thirty minutes of context-switching. Luna: But there's a downside, right? If you don't have a strong narrative, a data room is just a bunch of numbers. Lucas: That's the key nuance. The deckless raise works best when your story is inherently compelling — either because you have incredible traction, or because your founder-market fit is so obvious that the numbers tell the story on their own. Luna: So for a first-time founder with no traction, a deck is still probably the way to go. Lucas: I think so. Unless you have a co-founder with a strong track record. But let's talk about what goes into a good data room. Because it's not just a dump of your QuickBooks. Luna: What are the essentials? Lucas: First, your unit economics. Investors want to see customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, payback period. Second, your growth metrics — month-over-month revenue growth, retention cohort analysis. Third, your team — not just bios, but why this specific team is the right one. Luna: And market sizing. That's a big one. Lucas: Yes. But in a data room, you can link to third-party sources. Like, 'Here's a Gartner report that says the market is twenty billion by 2030.' It's more credible than just throwing a TAM slide together. Luna: I also think the video component is underrated. A three-minute Loom where you walk through your product and your vision can be more compelling than ten slides. Lucas: Totally. And some founders are even including a 'warts and all' section — risks, challenges, what they don't know yet. That builds trust. Luna: Speaking of trust, I want to bring up something you mentioned earlier: the warm intro. The data room is only effective if someone actually opens it. And that requires a relationship. Lucas: Right. You can't cold email a link to your Notion and expect funding. The deckless model works best when you have an existing network or you're building one through events, accelerators, or angel investors. Luna: So it's not a shortcut. It's a different process. Lucas: Exactly. And I think it's a healthier process in some ways. It forces founders to focus on the fundamentals and to build relationships before they need capital. Luna: Let's talk about the numbers behind this trend. Are there any stats on how many rounds are closing without a deck? Lucas: Hard to get precise data because not every fund tracks it. But I spoke to a partner at a top-tier seed fund who said that roughly a third of their recent investments were made without a formal deck. And that's up from maybe five percent three years ago. Luna: That's a huge shift. And it aligns with the rise of data-driven decision-making in venture. More firms are hiring data scientists, building automated analysis pipelines. Lucas: And you see it in the growth of platforms like Carta and Pulley that make it easy to share cap tables and financials securely. The infrastructure for a deckless raise is getting better. Luna: I want to go back to Mach Industries for a second. Their valuation jump — four times in a year — that's insane. How much of that is just sector tailwinds? Lucas: A lot. Defense tech is red hot. But also, the founder — Ethan Thornton — he's a former SpaceX engineer. That founder-market fit is undeniable. He doesn't need a deck to explain why he's the right person to build hypersonic drones. Luna: Right. So for founders who aren't ex-SpaceX, a deck might still be necessary. Lucas: For now. But I think the trend is clear: investors are becoming more comfortable with less curated materials. They want to see the raw data, the messy reality. And that's a good thing for honest founders. Luna: At the same time, I worry that this could create a two-tier system. Founders with strong networks and obvious credentials can skip the deck, while everyone else still has to go through the old grind. Lucas: That's a real risk. But I also think the deckless approach can be democratizing if done right. Tools like Notion and Loom are free. A warm intro can be earned through genuine engagement — attending events, helping others, writing thoughtful content. Luna: Yeah, that's true. It's not just about who you know, but who you're willing to become. Lucas: Speaking of which — if you're a founder listening, and you're thinking about your next raise, I'd recommend building a data room even if you plan to use a deck. It's good practice, and it might save you when an investor asks for the raw numbers. Luna: And it also makes you more disciplined about your metrics. You can't fudge the numbers in a data room the way you can in a pitch deck. Lucas: Exactly. And honestly, that's a win for everyone. Investors get better data, founders build better businesses. Luna: You know, conversations like this are exactly why I love doing this show. It's practical, it's real, and it's free for anyone who wants to listen. Lucas: Absolutely. And that's only possible because of listeners who chip in a couple of bucks. A few dollars a month genuinely keeps these episodes ad-free and accessible — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, if you've gotten something out of them. Luna: Yeah, every little bit helps, and it means we can keep digging into topics like this without any sponsor pressure. Lucas: Alright, back to the data room. One more thing I want to touch on: how to structure it. Because just throwing files into a Dropbox folder isn't going to cut it. Luna: What's the best format? Lucas: I've seen a few approaches. Some founders use a simple Google Drive with clearly labeled folders: Financials, Team, Market, Product. Others use a Notion page with a table of contents. The key is navigation — make it easy for an investor to find what they care about. Luna: And include a summary page? Like an executive summary? Lucas: Yes, a one-pager at the top. That's your replacement for the deck's narrative. But keep it to one page, no more. And link to the detailed docs from there. Luna: I've also seen founders include a 'frequently asked questions' document. Answers to common investor questions before they're asked. Lucas: That's a smart move. It shows you've thought through the objections. And it saves time on both sides. Luna: Alright, so to recap: deckless raises are growing, driven by data-first investors and better tools. But they require strong fundamentals, a warm network, and a well-organized data room. Lucas: And they're not for everyone. If you're pre-revenue and pre-product, a deck is still your best bet. But if you have traction, consider ditching the slides and letting your numbers do the talking. Luna: It's a nice shift toward substance over style. Lucas: Couldn't agree more. Next time, we'll look at how one startup used a data room to close a five-million-dollar Series A in two weeks. Until then.