The power of world-building
Pitching for capital is about constructing a plausible, investable future – one that pairs a compelling vision with measurable drivers and a credible delivery plan. Storytelling draws attention; metrics make the story investable.
And just as the best fiction authors craft worlds with unique histories, dynamics, battles and cultures, a founder must craft a narrative that plausibly provides a world in which their business wins. The protagonist of the founder’s narrative is the start-up, and the key to a successful fundraise is drawing people in to make them believe in something extraordinary that the protagonist is undertaking to do.
As readers immerse themselves into a fantasy world, complete with rich backstory and compelling characters, investors are irresistibly drawn to businesses with strong narratives and intrigue. We want to read into the passion behind your vision, understand the challenges you’ve overcome, and believe that the world you’re building is better than the one we’re in today. Your pitch deck is the chance to weave that story, bringing us along carefully and quickly to where the hero’s journey will end – and by implication painting us into that world… if we are indeed the investment partners you seek.
Here is how to apply this practically:
- Your vision should be believable, immersive and achievable within a few years
- Complexities, risks and uncertainties must be explained clearly to allow for appreciation of insight
- Investor partners need to co-create the future you’re pitching – so target those with complementary skills to fill in the character gaps your story is missing.
Incorporating agency
George Mack writes about agency regularly. His newsletter was one of my favourites, and he describes two types of friends: Treadmill Friends, leave you buzzing with so much energy that you need to burn it off. And then there are Couch Friends, who leave you drained, desperate to lie down and recover.
The difference is energy transference. And your world-building needs to encompass exactly that.
We don’t often name it, but we all feel it. Some people are like a triple espresso; others like a triple sedative. Think of the stories people tell at funerals: “He made you feel like the only person in the room.” Or “She was the first person who believed in me.” It’s not the words they remember, it’s that feeling of energy.
Your job as a founder is to build your world with such intensity, conviction and optimism, and you’ll shift how we as investors see the future. Show evidence of your being a Treadmill founder, with a strong cadence of delivery, and evangelical tendencies.
Consider debt capital
A fascinating learning for me in the past year has been the necessity of debt to the most basic form of human progress. Investors get it. Founders often do not. Don’t be afraid to ask for capital that you can repay in order to end the relationship with the investor at some time in the future.
Imagine a society of just a few people. One person grows food, another makes tools. If the farmer has surplus food today, they can lend it to the toolmaker, who doesn’t yet have output but will produce later. The loan allows the toolmaker to eat now, stay alive, and eventually make tools, which can then be traded back to repay the debt.
Debt bridges time mismatches between production and consumption. It does not replace the need for high-risk funding.
Debt needs to be repaid, so should be limited to funding productive working-capital type activities – those activities that take time but are assured of high cash conversion.
Why does this matter in building your world? Investors want to match their capital to your company’s needs. Debt is a means of achieving ready-for-offtake production. Ask for it if your world is demonstrably close to final build.
Targeting the ‘right’ investor
Great investors are those who can clearly explain back to you how your company makes money. This should be translation of your strategy, your sustainable competitive advantage, and the immersive world you’ve carefully built for others to understand.
Offer metrics and report on deliverables. Building a world requires detail and investors need to calibrate by keeping score. Work with investors who will jointly track your forecasts and grade them with you on outcome and expectation. This builds understanding, sharpens your own decision making, and shortcuts feedback cycles when things are going poorly.
Success comes from curiosity, concentration, perseverance and changing your mind on new information. The right investor sits alongside you to do all four. Carefully consider which investors’ skillsets will be most valuable in the world you’re building.
Sep 2025