S1.E1.2 - The PitchRoom: Q&A on the 5+2 Framework
Going deeper into the framework - answering some questions
If you are new to my substack and reading this first, then read the previous post to understand the context.
During the Diwali break, I chose a quiet celebration — no emails, no WhatsApp — just a much-needed reset.
That pause led me to start LVX School, a space to share what I have learnt from my investing journey. One post became eight, written in sequence so anyone curious about startups could follow along. We also launched a small WhatsApp community.
What surprised me was the flood of thoughtful questions — proof that learning is better when done together, not just scrolled past.
We will now have a Q&A after every post. Let’s get started.
The toughest question: Pre-seed and Intent
“How do I get investors to commit when I’m still at idea stage? How do I demonstrate my capability and intent? What is the magic of pre-seed?” Early stage investing discussions are never complete without this question.
My honest answer to investors— don’t commit, unless there is trust or track record.
If you don’t know the founder, or the domain, don’t write a cheque at pre-seed. Spend a few weeks with the founder. If they get frustrated or disengaged during the process, that’s a signal too. Intent shows up in behaviour, not words. There is no way to measure intent otherwise.
Personally, I either spend months working with a founder before investing or co-invest with people whose judgment I deeply trust. Here is when co-investor signal works the strongest. Pre-seed investing is art, not math. This is the hardest category in private market investing and swinging this will not deliver results. Ask the founder - if you were to invest in yourself, would you?
How being a founder shaped me as an investor
Deeply.
Our experiences shape how we think. I’ve seen founders with perfect intent, and funding walk away within three years — because they could not handle the grind. I’ve also seen founders who just don’t quit — who surprise you every time with their resilience.
Founders, like people, change. A decision made today can feel right — until priorities shift. My rule: respect the founder. I may disagree, but I do so kindly. They are the ones taking the risk.
When I was raising funds as a founder, I learned this:
Be authentic. Know your space deeply. Be fully present in every conversation. You have to believe you are building something valuable and solving a real problem. Backing with real data always helps.
A “no” from an investor is not rejection — it is just a mismatch. This is something I like to term as “founder-investor mismatch”. There HAS to be alignment in mission and vision.
I always remind myself that we are building a business where the focus is to build an institution that shapes how private markets in India will look like. And institution building is always a longer journey !
Let’s go deeper into the first signal — Clarity + Capability
I had few questions on the framework. So going deep will help demystify this.
If I had to simplify the 5+2 Framework further and pick just 2 - it would be Clarity and Capability. If a founder lacks these 2 traits, no other signal matters.
Clarity is not about fancy communication. It is about how deeply the founder understands the problem they are solving — and whether they can explain it in 30 seconds. Great founders anticipate challenges before others even spot them. They might not know every answer, but they know where to look.
Think of Steve Jobs introducing the iPhone. His clarity of vision, not just his storytelling, created one of the most aspirational products of our time. Storytelling is central to entrepreneurship — with investors, employees, and customers alike. And true storytelling comes only from deep clarity.
Let’s now unbundle Capability:
I have a more detailed post later on how we can evaluate founders. For now, a summary view - As an investor, I often say — the founder card trumps everything.
If a founder can clearly show why they are the best team to win in their space, that’s 75% of my decision. The remaining 25%? It’s alignment — of values, energy, and trust. You can’t quantify it easily, but you can sense it.
Private market investing is high-risk. If I have to risk capital, I’d rather back people I genuinely like and respect.
On Continuity
Someone asked what this means. Simply put, continuity is another way to describe product–market fit. (I want to avoid investing jargon, hence this word to bring clarity) - It’s when customers return naturally, not because you spent marketing dollars to get them back. It is when the process and product can be made repeatable and can deliver the same result over and over again. It is when something just “clicks.”
That’s the first sign of potential magic.
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Coming up next:
In our next episode, we will break down the myth of TAM further and how we evaluate TAM.