They optimized for LLMs, not just Google.

FAQs. Comparison pages. Transparent pricing. LinkedIn presence. These aren't vanity plays. They're what gets you cited in ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude when your buyers are researching, your investors are looking, and your future hires are deciding where to work.

Download the free AEO Playbook for Startups from HubSpot and get the exact checklist. Five minutes to read.

Unlock the playbook

Let me give you a number that reframes everything about the fundraising process.

Craig Cummings at Moonshots Capital triaged 5,901 deals in Fund 2. He invested in 17.

That's the top 0.29%. And he's not an outlier — that's roughly standard deal velocity at an active seed fund.

Craig is a West Point graduate, former NSA intelligence officer, PhD from Columbia, and co-founder of RideScout, which was acquired by Mercedes-Benz. He co-leads Moonshots Capital alongside Kelly Perdew, focused on deep tech, dual-use technology, and software companies at seed stage, writing lead checks of $1M or more.

Most founders hear a number like 5,901 and think the answer is to send more pitches. Craig would tell you the answer is the opposite.

I asked Craig directly: with that kind of deal volume, what creates the shift from watching to moving? His answer wasn't about pitch quality or deck design.

He's talking about the moment when an investor stops evaluating and starts acting. And what creates that shift is almost never the pitch itself. It's the signal that other people — people the investor trusts — are excited about this company.

That's why warm introductions close five to ten times faster than cold outreach. It's not just about access. It's about the social signal that comes with the introduction. When multiple people in Craig's network are talking about the same founder, it creates the kind of momentum that makes him act. A cold email, no matter how well-written, structurally cannot create that signal.

He receives 300 to 500 emails a day and 100 to 150 texts. The founders who get past that noise aren't the ones with the best subject lines. They're the ones who show up through trusted relationships, with a story that the network is already amplifying.

The rest of this breakdown — including what Craig looks for once a company gets his attention, the specific signals that tell him a founder is venture-ready versus venture-curious, and the three practical steps to build the social proof that makes investors move — is for Inside Access members.

Inside Access members also get live investor sessions every month with investors from my network. 15+ already confirmed through end of 2026. Upgrade to get in the room.

Getting past the noise is step one. What happens next is where most founders still lose the deal.

Craig's thesis at Moonshots is built around what he and Kelly Perdew call "extraordinary leadership." It's not a vague concept — he has a specific definition of it shaped by 17 years of military service and his experience building and exiting a company. He's looking for founders who have operated under pressure, made decisions with incomplete information, and shown evidence that they can lead other talented people through hard conditions.

That's not a credential check. It's a judgment assessment. He wants to see how you think, how you handle pushback, and whether you have a clear mental model for why you're the right person to build this company in this market right now.

He's also ruthless about venture fit. One of the most common reasons founders fail to get his attention isn't because their company is bad — it's because their company isn't built for venture capital. If your path to a great outcome doesn't require institutional capital, Craig knows that. And he'd rather tell you directly than waste both your time.

The founders who make it through his process can answer three questions without hesitation. Why is this market venture-scale? Why is now the right moment? And why is this team — specifically these people with these backgrounds — the one that wins?

If FOMO powers investor decisions, your job before you pitch is to create the conditions for FOMO. Here's how.

Step one: Get in the portfolio network. Every investor has a portfolio of founders they trust. Those founders talk to each other, they talk to other investors, and they share deals. Your fastest path to an investor like Craig isn't through his inbox — it's through a founder in his portfolio who knows what he looks for and can say your name first. Identify two or three portfolio companies, reach out to those founders genuinely, and build a real relationship before you need anything.

Step two: Create sequential momentum. The reason FOMO works is that investors talk to each other. When you're building your outreach calendar, sequence it intentionally. Start with investors who are well-networked and well-respected, even if they're not your primary targets. A conversation with a respected angel who's excited about you creates a social signal that travels. By the time you're pitching your A-list investors, the network has already been warming up.

Step three: Get your advisors working. The highest-leverage warm introduction usually comes from someone who is already in the investor's orbit — a co-investor, a mutual advisor, a founder who has worked with them before. Map who your advisors and angels know. Ask them directly: who in your network should we be talking to, and would you be comfortable making that introduction? A good advisor intro from a trusted source does more work than any pitch deck.

Your first goal isn't to impress Craig Cummings. It's to get into the network of people Craig already trusts. The pitch isn't where the decision gets made. The decision gets made in the conversations around the pitch — what other investors are saying, what founders in the network are saying, what the social proof looks like before you even walk in the room.

Most founders spend 90% of their energy on the deck and 10% on the network. The founders who close efficiently invert that ratio.

Reply and tell me: how are you building social proof right now? Who in your network has relationships with the investors you're targeting? I read every response.

🎙️ Chris

Check out the podcast on Apple Podcast | Spotify | YouTube

If you want to know exactly where you stand with investors before your next pitch — book a free 30-minute Fundability Review. I'll look at your score, tell you your biggest gap, and show you what closing it looks like. Book here →