How to Craft Your Pitch to Attract Big Investors
Executive Summary
Shopify Masters episode in which host Esther Schang talks with Ellie Truell, co-founder of the pet food brand Made by Nacho with chef Bobby Flay and founder of the food-focused fund New Fare Partners, about pitching investors from both sides of the table. Truell advises finding investors with an emotional connection beyond returns, researching each fund's stage and check size before reaching out, and keeping cold emails short with the founder's personal motivation up front. She recommends practice pitches with funds you do not expect to close, choreographing co-founder roles, tracking every conversation in a shared sheet, back-channeling portfolio founders, treating mismatched term sheets as trust breakers, and sending monthly investor updates that show discipline when headwinds stretch the raise. Shopify Masters is Shopify's own show, with no separate sponsor read in this episode. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the captions cover most of the conversation, but this summary highlights the fundraising tactics only. These are the guest's own views, not independently verified, and nothing here is investment or financial advice.
Key Takeaways
Motivation first
Truell says she needs to understand why a founder risked everything, not just the return math.
Match the fund
She says pitch investors tied to your sector and stage; a growth fund is wrong for a pre-revenue seed.
Short cold emails
She wants tight emails with a distilled founder story, since investors read hundreds a year.
Practice on real funds
She suggests rehearsal pitches with investors unlikely to close, so co-founder choreography gets tested.
Be a student of the fund
Her team tracks each fund's partners, check sizes, stages and portfolio before any call.
Terms reveal the partner
She says a term sheet that ignores what was agreed in person is an immediate trust breaker; be ready to walk.
Updates build resilience
She credits monthly investor updates showing cash discipline with preserving companies through slow raises.
The Conversation Breakdown
Motivation first
⏱ Untimed topicTruell says she needs to understand why a founder risked everything, not just the return math.
Match the fund
⏱ Untimed topicShe says pitch investors tied to your sector and stage; a growth fund is wrong for a pre-revenue seed.
Short cold emails
⏱ Untimed topicShe wants tight emails with a distilled founder story, since investors read hundreds a year.
Practice on real funds
⏱ Untimed topicShe suggests rehearsal pitches with investors unlikely to close, so co-founder choreography gets tested.
Be a student of the fund
⏱ Untimed topicHer team tracks each fund's partners, check sizes, stages and portfolio before any call.
Terms reveal the partner
⏱ Untimed topicShe says a term sheet that ignores what was agreed in person is an immediate trust breaker; be ready to walk.
Updates build resilience
⏱ Untimed topicShe credits monthly investor updates showing cash discipline with preserving companies through slow raises.
Core Frameworks & Ideas
Connection beyond return - Truell's filter
Seek investors motivated by your category and story, because pure return-seekers manage risk differently.
Choreographed pitch - her team test
Founders should know who answers what; practice rounds expose the gaps.
Quarterly-minimum communication - her update rule
Regular honest updates through headwinds are what keep investors supportive for a decade-long relationship.
Actionable Next Steps
- ✓Write your two-sentence founder motivation and put it at the top of your pitch email.
- ✓Build a spreadsheet of target funds with stage, check size and portfolio fit.
- ✓Book one practice pitch with an investor you do not expect to close.
- ✓Send your investors a short monthly update, especially when the news is hard.
Notable Quotes
“it's so important for me as an investor to understand the motivation”
“walking into the conversation as a student of the fund”
“just be ready to be resilient”
The One Thing to Remember
Ellie Truell's pitch playbook: lead with why you are building, court investors who care about your space, and be ready to walk away from bad terms.