How do CEE founders settle VC concerns?
With evidence, not a plan. On pitch and diligence calls between founders and BADideas, a concern the founder answered with evidence (a number, a customer, a result) was settled on the call 36% of the time. Answered with a plan for what the company will do, it was settled 9% of the time.
The figures
| What investors raised a concern about | Share of pitch and diligence calls |
|---|---|
| What stops others copying you | 55% |
| Competitors and large incumbents | 40% |
| Traction so far | 34% |
| How you find and win customers | 32% |
| Business model and pricing | 27% |
| The product: what it does and how it works | 26% |
| Evidence that customers want it | 24% |
| Market size | 18% |
| How the founder answered | Concern settled on the call |
|---|---|
| With evidence: data, a customer, a result | 36% |
| By reframing the question | 16% |
| By conceding the point | 15% |
| With a plan | 9% |
Most concerns are not settled on the call at all: only 16% were. In BADideas founder calls, a concern usually travels to the next meeting, and the answer that closes it is a fact the investor can check.
What it means for you
- Prepare evidence for the obvious doubt. The most common concern is what stops others copying you; bring the proof you have: switching costs, data, a customer who chose you over an incumbent.
- Do not answer a doubt with a roadmap. "We will build" rarely settles anything; "we did, and here is what happened" does.
- Concede what is true. Saying plainly what you have not proven yet keeps trust, and the concern can be closed later.
- Follow up in writing. Most concerns stay open after the call; a short note with the evidence the investor asked for closes them.
Related questions
How do I answer “what if a big company builds this?”
It is the most common doubt: defensibility came up as a concern in 55% of pitch and diligence calls, and competitors or incumbents in 40%. Answer with what you already have that a large company would not: speed, a focus they will not take, customers who chose you. In a crowded category the better executor usually wins, so show how fast you move.
What concerns do investors raise most on a pitch call?
Defensibility, competition, traction and how you will reach customers, in that order.
How we measured it
- Source: applications founders sent to BADideas, plus public information where we found it.
- Limits: only early-stage companies that applied to a single fund.
- On this page: A concern is a doubt the investor side states about the business; settled means the investor accepts the answer on the call. Whether a concern was settled is read from the conversation, not from the investment decision.
- Updated: 13 October 2026.
BADideas.fund, "How do CEE founders settle VC concerns?", updated 13 October 2026. https://badideas.fund/answers/answering-investor-concerns-cee
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- How do CEE founders run a first VC call?
Who we are
We are a pre-seed and seed fund for founders in Central and Eastern Europe. We have built and sold companies ourselves, and since 2022 we have backed more than 40.
We back founders who see something about their market that others do not see yet. They want to change how a whole industry works, and they start small.
Good founders rarely fail on the idea or the product. They fail on selling it. We give your company hands-on help from go-to-market operators who grew Zendesk, Square and Scale AI.