Unlike founders, investors monitor average market benchmarks and are likely familiar with specific multiple benchmarks for your industry, stage, and geography. You should know them too to justify your valuation.

Never say you don’t have any. This suggests either you didn’t do your homework or your market is too small to scale.

Your revenue demonstrates two main things: the stage of your company and its market valuation (remember that investors always know the multiples). Most investors focus on companies that meet certain revenue benchmarks, so you need to prove that you fit their investment criteria. The larger the share of your revenue that is recurring, the closer your startup is to the investment grail: Product-Market Fit.

Investors seek a certain share in the round that typically aligns with their investment strategy. They want to know whether they will lead or follow other investors. Additionally, they always assess the adequacy of your ask and how long it might take you to close the round. If you’re raising $1 million, pitching to an investor with an average check size of $50,000, and no money has been committed yet, the investor may assume they have at least a year to decide whether to invest or simply observe what happens next.

Your business model shows how much money you are likely to make and how challenging it will be to attract new customers and scale. Some business models scale more effectively than others.

Although employees are very important, most of them will eventually leave. Investors want to be confident that the core founding team—the shareholders—have the experience and competencies to grow the business and achieve a successful sale or IPO.