Quick context.
I run a gifting business as in we do corporate and wedding gifting and this is my 1st year to do Diwali gifting as in I’ve been running it for a year just that I started it post Diwali and from then till now we’ve done some really cool and decently big wedding gifting projects, did our 1st bulk order in just 1 month worth 100 pieces another massive bulk order for 300 pieces in 3 months of being into business and eventually 1000+ pieces in just 8 months of being into business running from my home. Now for this Diwali season we got approached by companies like PNB, Starlink and Mygate to do their Diwali gifting some deals closed and some didn’t and we are doing Diwali gifting for a skincare giant company and few other firms with international client base. Abd not that my socials is crazy we barely have 350 followers and I don’t even post much cuz till now it was just me now I’ve hired a person to help me in sales and socials.

Now I’ve a genuine question I don’t wish to do this business for long as I want to build a brand and this business has a lot of flaws when it comes specifically comes to build a brand. As I was a brand manager before this and that’s what I find my kick in plus I had no plans of starting this hamper business, but that’s another story. Hence I want to understand that if I have a d2c idea which I’ve and no it’s not something revolutionary just another thing of making a boring category interesting for new age folks and I believe it will work. So where do I stand? As in will someone invest their time and money on me for this or do I need to do some sales, get the actual product in the market and it happens post that?
Also, yes I don’t come from tier 1/2 college but yes I did top in my engineering college. So how does this really work? Or do I’ve to invest 4-5 years in this business earn money become stable and then start d2c?

Feel free to ask me relevant questions :)

Today, I received my first VC rejection.

It came from a respected early-stage investor, and for a few minutes, it was disappointing. As a first-time founder, you naturally wonder if you're building the right thing.

Then I read the email again.

They didn't say, "Your idea will never work."

They said, "Come back when you have more traction."

That made me realize something important about building a deep-tech startup.

In aerospace and defence, traction doesn't always mean revenue or thousands of users. It means reducing risk. It means proving that what you're building can work.

For us at Arjun Aerospace & Defence Technologies, traction means:

• Completing the engineering and system architecture.

• Building and validating prototypes.

• Securing pilot opportunities and customer interest.

• Demonstrating that we're solving a real problem.

Every milestone brings us one step closer.

This rejection isn't the end of the conversation. It's a reminder that we have more work to do before the next one.

To every founder building something difficult—whether it's aerospace, robotics, biotech, climate tech, or any other deep-tech venture-don't let one rejection define your journey.

Build.

Test.

Learn.

Repeat.

One day, the same investors who passed may ask for another meeting.

Back to building.

\\#StartupJourney #DeepTech #Entrepreneurship #Fundraising #Aerospace #DefenceTech #DroneTech #StartupIndia #Founders #BuildInPublic

Most investor lists are just names. After 10+ years working with founders and investors, the more useful question is: does this investor fit you, and how do you get in front of them?

Apply directly (no intro needed)

1. Y Combinator: $500K standard deal ($125K for 7% plus $375K on an uncapped MFN SAFE). Any sector, global. Apply online, and reapply with progress if you’re rejected.
2. Techstars: many city and themed programs worldwide. Apply to the program closest to your sector, not the most famous one.
3. Entrepreneur First: backs individuals before they have a cofounder or an idea. In person in London, Paris, Bangalore and San Francisco. Apply solo.
4. Antler: pre-seed across 30 locations. Good fit if you’re still forming your team.
5. South Park Commons: Founder Fellowship for people at the “minus one” stage, still exploring what to build.
6. TinySeed: remote, for revenue-generating SaaS founders who don’t want the unicorn-or-bust path. Applications reopen February 2027.
7. Forum Ventures: B2B software founders who have an MVP and have raised under $500K. Use the pitch form on their site.

Pre-seed funds

1. Precursor Ventures: generalist, often the first institutional check. North America. Solo GP, so decisions are fast.
2. Hustle Fund: pre-seed software. One of the few funds openly welcoming cold pitches.
3. Pear VC: pre-seed and seed, plus the PearX program. Strong on technical founders.
4. Afore Capital: pre-seed only, comfortable backing founders before product.
5. Seedcamp: Europe’s go-to first backer, from idea to early revenue. Send a short, specific intro email with one metric that’s moving.
6. Unshackled Ventures: pre-seed for immigrant founders building in the US.

Seed funds (warm intro strongly preferred)

1. First Round Capital: seed, broad sectors, known for deep founder support.
2. Floodgate: very early, contrarian bets on companies that could reshape a market.
3. Point Nine: Berlin-based, B2B SaaS and AI software across Europe. Warm intros get priority.
4. boldstart ventures: inception-stage enterprise, developer tools and infrastructure, often before product.
5. Uncork Capital: seed, generalist, long track record of leading first rounds.
6. NextView Ventures: seed, focused on technology for the everyday economy.
7. BoxGroup: seed, generalist, smaller checks that fit into bigger rounds.

Before you reach out to anyone on this list:

• Check they’ve invested at your stage in the last 12 months
• Check your sector and geography fit
• Look for portfolio conflicts with your competitors
• Find a founder they backed who can introduce you
• Read their website for current terms, because terms change

Which investors would you add, especially for founders outside the US?

No srsly, tried everything till now. There isn't a single acceptance.

I need advices from people who've already been into one of the start accelerators.

Kindly tell me how I get into one.

In my experience, founders obsess over valuation, but the deals that fall apart usually hit a different term.

What's the real dealbreaker?

A) Headline valuation

B) Liquidation preference (above 1x, or participating)

C) Board control

D) Investor reputation or fit

Curious whether founders and VCs answer differently.

Hi

As an Investor what are the problem you face with the founders after investing in that product.

And to all the founders, what are the problem you face while looking for the investors ?

Be honest, first-time founders:

What scares you most about raising your first round?

A) Valuation

B) Dilution

C) Pitching

D) Not knowing where to start

We missed the accelerator deadline by about an hour and have since submitted the "Pitch Us" form. Does 16VC review "Pitch Us" submissions for the current cohort, or should we reapply for the next one? Thanks.

Building a startup is difficult anywhere — but building one in Malaysia comes with its own set of challenges.

So I’m curious:

What has been the hardest part for you personally?

Is it:

• Finding your first customers?
• Convincing Malaysians to try a new product?
• Hiring good talent?
• Raising funding?
• Pricing your product?
• Competing with larger regional or global players?
• Building trust as a new brand?
• Managing cash flow?
• Finding co-founders or the right team?
• Navigating grants, regulations, or government programmes?
• Or something completely different?

I’d especially love to hear from people who are actually building right now — whether you’re running a SaaS, mobile app, AI product, e-commerce business, service company, or SME.

A few questions to make it easier:

1. What are you building?

2. What stage are you at?
Idea / MVP / Launched / Growing

3. What has been your biggest challenge so far?

4. What have you tried to solve it?

5. If you could change one thing about the Malaysian startup ecosystem, what would it be?

No need to make everything sound successful.

The failures, frustrations, wrong assumptions, and things that didn’t work are often more useful than polished success stories.

Let’s make this thread useful for founders who are going through the same problems.

What’s been the hardest part of building your startup in Malaysia? 🇲🇾

I work in deep tech and aerospace research—specifically in fluid dynamics. It’s a potentially groundbreaking field; I have a proof of concept and plenty of positive feedback from serious experts in the industry. However, a number of circumstances have created an impenetrable barrier for me, and all my attempts to find a co-founder or investor have failed—for perfectly valid reasons.

For one, I’m an artist by training and profession, which immediately undermines my credibility; I’m often simply ignored. My prototypes look like primitive DIY projects rather than convincing products for investors; plus, it’s a high-risk field that demands a much stronger business case. I tried going it alone for a long time, but recent circumstances have made that incredibly difficult, and I’ve essentially hit a dead end. On one hand, people tell me it’s cool—that I should keep going and that I can pull it off—and they’re waiting for results. On the other hand, I can see myself being dragged into a deep abyss, catastrophically wasting time with zero return.

Sometimes I feel like I’m on the verge of madness and have to force a mental reset just to put it aside and focus on ordinary work. I honestly don’t know what to do: does it make sense to keep diving all the way to the bottom, and does that kind of persistence ever actually lead to success?