At the IIT Kharagpur Spring Fest, Sayan joined a panel on venture valuation, seed funding, and pitching dynamics. Sayan shared behind-the-scenes insights from WTF's Shark Tank S2 pitch and discussed when founders should raise outside seed capital.
1. Know Your Numbers
Sharks and investors check your unit economics within the first 60 seconds of a pitch:
- Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and Lifetime Value (LTV).
- Monthly burn rate vs current cash runway.
- Gross margins and distribution channel cuts.
2. Bootstrap as Long as Possible
VC money is not free; it comes with aggressive growth expectations and dilution of control. Only raise seed capital if:
- You have proven product-market fit.
- You need capital for inventory scaling or distribution expansion.
- The growth path is clear and cannot be achieved organically.