Guest
Amanda Schupf
Amanda Schupf is Music Tech Advisor, as introduced on the show.
Episodes (1)
Music tech advisor Amanda Schupf explains why founders misdiagnose problems, what makes a pitch deck work, and why fundraising takes months to close.
Questions these episodes answer
Why do founders often misdiagnose the real problem their startup should solve?
Schupf says people rarely understand a problem they have not personally lived, and the music industry is such a nuanced business that it is difficult to fully grasp from outside it. She adds that many pitches over-index on abstract fan-facing ideas while ignoring what actually affects rights holders and artists day to day.
What should a founder include in a simple, effective pitch deck?
Schupf recommends keeping a deck as simple as possible: clearly outline the problem, the solution, and who the customer or user actually is. She says a deck's real job is only to get a first meeting with an investor rather than to close the deal on its own, so clarity matters more than polish.
What is a red flag that makes investors distrust a startup's pitch?
Schupf recalls a deck that described a company as tech enabled without explaining what the technology actually was or how it worked, which she says was an immediate red flag. She advises founders to be specific and honest about what they have built rather than lean on vague, impressive-sounding language.
How long does it typically take to turn a first investor meeting into actual money?
Host Jakob Wredstrøm shares his own numbers: across his fifteen investors, the average time from a first meeting to an actual investment ran around eight months. Schupf points to that example to warn founders against expecting a quick intro, meeting and investment, since real investor relationships take far longer to build.