Most investors will tell you to be flexible about your solution. Stay open to pivoting. Don't get too attached.
Marlon Evans at Nex Cubed takes that further. He has a phrase he uses with every founder he works with:
“Marry the problem, not the solution. What you think now may change over time — and that's okay if you can keep that North Star.” — Marlon Evans, Nex Cubed |
Marlon is a Partner at Nex Cubed, an accelerator-style fund operating at pre-seed with cohort investments across enterprise, SaaS, AI, and consumer. He's seen hundreds of founders through the program. The pattern he watches most closely isn't the idea — it's how the founder listens.
The fastest way to lose him in a conversation is to start answering before he finishes asking a question.
He told me this is the most common reason he passes: founders who can't listen. Who are so locked into their solution that they can't take in new information. Who are already mentally preparing their next answer while someone is still talking.
It's not a personality critique. It's a signal about how that founder will handle customers, advisors, and the inevitable moments when the original plan stops working.
What he does want to see is momentum — evidence that other people have raised their hand:
“If nobody else in your ecosystem has signed on in some form, that's a red flag. What other humans can you rally around your vision who believe in it as much as you do?” — Marlon Evans, Nex Cubed |
This matters more than most founders realize. Marlon isn't just asking about customers — he's asking about advisors, angels, early employees, accelerator program directors, anyone who has seen what you're building and decided to put something behind it. Time, money, or reputation.
If the answer is "nobody yet" — he wants to understand why. And if the founder can't explain that clearly, it raises questions about whether they can sell at all.
The practical implication:
Before your next investor conversation, make a list of every person who has committed something — a check, an advisor agreement, a letter of intent, a co-founder joining. That list is evidence. The length of it is a signal. The quality of the people on it is another.
If the list is short, that's not disqualifying. But you need a clear explanation for why — and a plan for how you're going to lengthen it.
Who's on your list right now? Reply and tell me.
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🎙️ Chris