Most early-stage founders worry about where to find investors.
Far fewer ask a more fundamental question:

“Am I actually ready to raise?”

It’s not always an easy question to sit with.

A recent video by Heini Zachariassen, the founder of Vivino, explains this with refreshing directness. It’s worth watching in full, particularly if you’re about to begin outreach.

Watch the video here:

by the Raw Startup Blog

This article distils five of the clearest readiness signals investors look for, why they matter, and how founders can use them to judge whether raising now will actually help.

1. Evidence of execution, not just an idea

Investors rarely fund ideas alone. They look for signs of progress:

• prototypes,
• early users,
• small tests,

or anything tangible that shows you can move from concept to execution.

This doesn’t require a polished product. It simply shows you can build with limited resources, which is a signal investors consistently value.

Consider:

What have we built that someone outside the team can see or try?

What progress have we made without external funding?

2. A model that can scale without linear effort