Why do certain founders land investment while others fall short?

I sit down with Oli Hammond, Partner at Fuel Ventures, to unpack how seed VCs evaluate startups, and why early signals like revenue and customer references matter more than hype.

Oli shares what convinces him a startup is worth backing and how gross margin and churn data influence decision-making at the earliest stages. He also explains why pre-revenue bets now rest almost entirely on founder quality.

We dig into what founder-VC fit means and the realities of fundraising when you only have one term sheet on the table. Oli also shares his view on when to move beyond founder-led sales, and why, in most cases, the founder is still the best person to close deals between Seed and Series A.

If you’re building towards a seed round or want to understand how VCs like Fuel separate promising startups from the rest, this episode is for you.

Find out more:

Oli Hammond (guest)

Connect with Oli on LinkedIn

Find out more about the Fuel Ventures

Matthew Codd (host)

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Find out more about my business, Cosmic Partners