As part of her role as a Supernovas Ambassador, Laurie Lancee engages with Europe’s investment ecosystem and the female investors shaping it. In this article, she shares insights gathered through conversations with female business angels Danielle Beijerbergen, Sacha Martina, and Tessa de Flines.
Through these dialogues, five recurring themes emerged about what angels value most in a startup pitch. The investors also highlighted a sixth, less conventional factor: authenticity and impact.
Introduction
If you are building a startup, pitching is part of the job.
Many founders worry about what slides they have to show, but pitching to angel investors is not about the slides. It is about making them believe in you and your mission.
Research shows that angel investors tend to focus on 5 core factors: the founding team, market potential, early signs of traction, financial insight and risk awareness, and the clarity of the value proposition.
Through AtVenture Dealflow conversations with active angels Danielle Beijerbergen, Sacha Martina, and Tessa de Flines these themes kept coming back. But they also highlighted a sixth, less conventional factor: authenticity and impact.
Here are the six things female angels pay close attention to when evaluating a pitch.
1. Strong team
“We invest in teams, not ideas” may sound cliché, but angels live by it. Experience, complementary skills, and resilience matter more than the first version of the business model.
Danielle underlines: “the one thing that is most important is a strong founding team. Business models can pivot, but the team is what remains.”
Tessa confirms this: passion and capability must go hand in hand. “Are they visionaries, but also able to execute? That combination is what I look for.”
For Sacha, the defining factor is a founder’s ability to get their idea and mission across: “Almost this delusional obsession… if you can make people who have no idea about your field believe in it, that’s the trigger.”
Diversity within the team also matters. Research shows female angels are 2–3x more likely than male peers to invest in mixed-gender founding teams.
2. Market potential & scalability
When it comes to market potential, angels don’t get distracted by impressive-looking TAM slides.
Tessa: “Is the market big enough, and can this become scalable? If not, we’ll never see the high-reward returns for the high risk.”
EIT and Dealroom data confirm that women-founded startups in Europe still face challenges in scaling up, with fewer advancing to Series A and beyond.
3. Traction & validation
Investors look for signs that the market cares.
That doesn’t always mean revenue.
Danielle points to pilots (even unpaid) as proof that a product solves a real problem: “If three corporates use your product and give active feedback, that’s traction.”
Tessa looks for signs that the product/solution is a “must-have” rather than a nice-to-have.
Letters of intent, early sign-ups, active beta testers, it’s all data that shows the market is pulling instead of the founder pushing.
This aligns with research data: startups showing early traction are twice as likely to secure follow-on funding within 18 months.
4. Financials & risk awareness
Optimism is part of every founder’s DNA, but unchecked optimism can be fatal.
Sacha explains: “Too many times founders only look at the amazing, positive perspective and not at the ‘what if’ scenario. You need to be ready for tough and even stupid questions.”
For Danielle, this also comes down to knowing your numbers. Every founder, regardless of role, should understand the basics of revenue, traction, and technology. A lack of knowledge in the founding team is a red flag.
This echoes investor checklists worldwide.
5. Clear value proposition
Most startups are working on brilliant, highly innovative ideas. Founders who know their product inside-out sometimes fall into the trap of overloading their pitch with technical details and jargon. That’s a fast way to lose your audience.
Angels need to understand quickly what you do and why it matters.
Danielle admits that after ten minutes she sometimes still has to ask: “But what is it you actually do?” Her advice: make your proposition “idiot proof.”
Sacha makes the same point. If you can explain your (very technical) solution in plain, accessible language, you show that you’ll be able to convince customers and investors later on.
Research also points that the ability to tell the story simply is a proxy for future fundraising success.
6. Bonus: Impact & values
One factor that came up repeatedly in DealFlow conversations with female angels, but is less visible in traditional research lists, is values alignment and impact.
Danielle has shifted to only investing in impact-driven businesses: “I want to invest in companies that add value to society, the world, the climate.”
Sacha won’t back ventures that “kill the world while making wallets fatter.” Tessa highlights “coachability” as essential; not because founders must follow every suggestion, but because being open to feedback shows integrity and long-term adaptability.
This reflects broader data: female investors are about 30 percent more likely than men to consider social or environmental impact when making investment decisions.
Conclusion: What founders should do
So, what does this mean for founders pitching to female angels? Six clear takeaways:
1. Invest in your team: show complementary skills, resilience, and diversity.
2. Prove that the market is large enough and scalable.
3. Show traction: even small pilots or letters of intent matter.
4. Balance optimism with realism: know your numbers and your risks.
5. Be clear: explain your business in plain language anyone can understand.
6. Lead with authenticity: align your mission, values, and impact.
Ultimately, female angels are not looking for perfection. They’re looking for founders who are real, prepared, and committed to building companies that last.
Tessa: “Remember, you are the special one. Money is a commodity, but your vision is unique.”
This article outlined the six themes that stand out. The next step is to explore the real differences between female and male angels: do they look at opportunities through a different lens? That’s what we’ll cover in a follow-up piece.
For founders and angels who want to dive deeper, tune in to AtVenture DealFlow. Episodes with Danielle, Sacha, and Tessa share firsthand stories and advice that go beyond the “top six” list.
𝘈𝘵𝘝𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘍𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵 & 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 Laurie Lancee, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥.
Laurie Lancee, Supernovas Amsterdam Ambassador
References
• British Business Bank (2024). Angel Investor Checklist.
• SeedBlink (2025). Angel Investment Insights.
• Dealroom (2024). The Landscape of Women-Founded Scaleups and Investors in Europe.
• EIT & Dealroom (2024). Women in Digital Deep Tech.
• Brex (2024). What Angel Investors Look For in a Startup.
• UK Parliament (2024). Written Evidence: Female Founders and Access to Finance.
• Supernovas (2023) | The Landscape of Women Founded Scaleups study. Women-Founded European Scaleups Grow 1.2 Times Faster Than the Rest.