At the RESTART conference in Kyiv, they discussed the key mistakes of startups.
The RESTART technology conference, held in Kyiv on October 24-25, became a platform for discussing the most important aspects of investing in startups. Experts from various funds talked about critical mistakes that make investors refuse to collaborate with founders.
The panel discussion titled Reverse Pitching gathered leading investors from Ukraine, including Andrii Zinchuk from ZAS Ventures, Valeriia Fadeienko from Angel One Fund, among others. The speakers shared that most often, investors refuse startups not because of a bad idea, but due to the lack of proof of the team’s commitment to its work. Not only the support of the idea is important but also the indicators that show how the founders fulfill their promises.
Among the key aspects that founders should pay attention to are demonstrating personal investment in the project, clear communication with investors, and the validity of the idea in the market. Investors emphasize the importance of honesty when discussing financial rounds and the reputation of the founder, which often becomes decisive in decision-making.
Additionally, the conference emphasized the importance of a defined hierarchy in the startup team. Having clear responsibilities and dynamics between co-founders helps avoid conflicts that could harm business development.
Investors also advise starting to build relationships with them in advance so that both parties can assess each other’s approaches to work and make decisions based on the collected information.
At the end of the conference, founders received several pieces of advice on improving their presentations for investors:
| Recommendation | Details |
| Show progress | Invest your resources and demonstrate results even before attracting investor funds. |
| Maintain follow-up discipline | Communicate in a “say–do–say” format and regularly update the investor on changes. |
| Market validation | Prove the product’s demand in the market through Customer Development. |
| Be honest | Honestly share about statuses and participation of well-known investors. |
| Maintain reputation | Avoid aggressive statements in the public space. |
| Clarity in the team | Clearly define who is responsible for what in the team. |
| Communicate with investors in advance | Establish communication 3-6 months before raising a round. |
| Show trusted numbers | Present 1-3 key metrics that can be trusted. |
The RESTART conference was implemented with the participation of numerous partners, including: Molfar, “PrivatBank”, “Oschadbank”, “Sens” bookstore, idealers, “Your Circle”, and others.
