Before the round: what investors read on your website first

A website will not close a funding round. It can slow one down. Every investor who opens your deck will also open your site, usually for less than a minute, and what they find either supports the story you are telling or quietly contradicts it.

We have worked with founders before, during and after a raise. These are the five things we check first.

1. One sentence that says what you do and for whom

Not a tagline. A plain sentence at the top of the page that a person outside your industry could repeat. If the deck says one thing and the homepage says another, the homepage is the one that gets remembered.

2. Proof near the top

Customers, numbers, partners, the team. Whatever is true and strongest today should be visible without scrolling far. Early-stage companies often hide their best proof on an inner page.

3. The product, shown

Screens, a short film, a real workflow. Descriptions of a product ask for trust. A product on screen earns it.

4. The same company in every place

Deck, website, product and LinkedIn should look and sound like one business. Inconsistency reads as a company that changes its mind.

5. Signs of care

Speed, mobile layout, working links, no typos. None of these win a round. Each one that is missing gives a careful reader a reason to wonder what else has been left unfinished.

If two or more of these need work and the round is weeks away, a full redesign is the wrong answer. Fix the first screen, the proof and the consistency. The rest can wait until after the close.