One founder wants you to have better parties and another wants you to use AI to find your best prospects. And both of them get unfiltered, critical feedback on their concept and their storytelling.

Because giving early stage startup founders feedback on their pitch is what The Feedback Loop is all about. Welcome to Episode 061!

Two startup founders have a minute each to pitch their business.

Then, they'll get questions and feedback from two startup investors – check-writing venture capitalists who live and breathe startup pitches every single day.

And who is it exactly, on the other side of the metaphorical table? John Frankel, the second-most tenured guest judge at The Feedback Loop and Founder & Partner at ff Venture Capital, plus our host Sherveen Mashayekhi (Founder & CEO of Free Agency). Buckle up and buckle in for direct questions, pointed critiques, and honest assessments about product vision, user adoption, and whether these bold concepts can scale to venture outcomes.

More on our guest venture investor for the episode, John Frankel:

​Prior to founding ff Venture Capital in 2008, John worked at Goldman Sachs for 21 years working on financial management, technology development, and reengineering, among other things. Specializing in seed and pre-seed investments, John has heard thousands of pitches and ideas from founders just like the ones you'll see present in this group. He brings that context, along with the wisdom of investing in early-stage tech businesses since 1998, to the stage.

Follow John on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnfrankel

Follow Sherveen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherveenm

Follow Sherveen on X: https://www.x.com/sherveen

What we get into in this episode:

Tackling an Overlooked Market – “Party of 10+” is often ignored by existing reservation systems; “narrative-based prospecting” is left behind by rigid filters. Hear how each founder can anchor their story around an unlock to an underserved niche.

AI is Not All the Same – A vertical AI product or workflow that focuses on specific data structures can produce results general LLMs or broad filters can’t match. Show how your domain knowledge + specialized embeddings = a defensible approach.

Don’t Let Distribution Kill You – Bars rarely advertise big group availability; existing sales tools rarely do “story-based” lead-gen. Both founders must prove they can onboard supply (venues/data) and drive demand (users) more efficiently than established players.

Zeroing in on the Core Problem – From bridging a supply-demand mismatch at bars to ditching the “hunt-labellist-outreach” routine in B2B sales, these pitches underscore the power of sharply-defined workflows that incumbents overlook.

Want to Pitch Your Startup Live?

Apply now at afterfeedback.com and join our growing community of founders and investors.

Thank you to these intrepid founders for stepping into the spotlight. The Feedback Loop is here to help refine your pitch, sharpen your go-to-market, and share battle-tested investor perspectives. Make sure to subscribe for more real-time, no-nonsense feedback on how to pitch your startup.

In a Job Search?

It’s more competitive than ever. Explore our newest channel for 2025’s ultra-competitive talent landscape: https://youtu.be/dlbfZJmY8t8

Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Always do your own research before making any investment decision.

If you’re exploring social innovation, AI-driven lead prospecting, or want to polish your venture pitch, you’ll find tons of insight here. Like, comment, and share — because feedback is a gift!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.