I'm a Startup Scout. Test Your Investor Blurb On Me.
I scout for a handful of investors in Silicon Valley. One of my jobs is to cut through the noise and surface the gems. Every so often, someone sends me a blurb that’s crisp, compelling, and makes me want to learn more. When that happens, I usually take a meeting—and sometimes even make intros.
That said, most blurbs I see… aren’t great. Founders are flying blind because no one’s willing to be brutally honest with them. Let’s fix that.
This is a space to share your blurb and get real feedback—from me and the community.
If you’re a founder and want to test your blurb, drop it in the comments. I’ll give you the most honest feedback I can muster. You might not love what I say—but at least it’ll be real (my version of real, anyway).
Comment your blurb below, and I’ll get to it. Feel free to chime in on others, too—let’s build a space where founders can actually level up.
Replies
Stacks
At Stacks, we enable users to aggregate and own their digital footprint. Your digital footprint makes you unique, and Stacks helps you translate your browsing behavior into hyper personalization for AI assistants and agents.
In our pilot, we captured and studied 4.5 million+ intents from 5,000 users to learn about what they value in a particular piece of content. Now, we want to grow our user base from 5,000 to 500,000.
I’m an NYU CS grad with 10+ years of experience building products at Zillow, Citeline, and Genome Digital among other startups. Our team is based in Mumbai, India. Our deck is attached, and you can learn more about our work at https://betterstacks.com.
Thanks,
Tanay Lakhani
PS: With every person being either a content creator or a content consumer, we don't need more information, instead, we need:
- Better ways to use the information we already have.
- Tools that help us turn what we learn into action.
- To focus on applying knowledge, not just collecting it.
Stacks
@mat_sherman thoughts? Do your worst, I can take it :)
Devize is a platform for building full-stack web apps visually with AI as your sidekick. We've all had the thrill of asking AI to build an app. It's magical to see a simple prompt explode into set of UI and features. But anyone who's actually tried to launch a product, knows its the experience after the initial prompt that matters. In most tools users are thrown into a text based game of wack-a-mole, trying to get one feature done without yeeting others into oblivion.
Devize keeps you in control, giving you the tools to edit your app without coding, so you can take over when AI gives you back the joystick.
Do your worst Mat!
Product Hunt
@ryleyrandal22
Not bad! Here are my thoughts:
What’s Good
You explain things in layman’s terms — that’s great. Super approachable!
What Could Improve
It’s a bit too product-focused. I’m missing the bigger context of the business opportunity
You don’t really establish credibility — I’d love to know more about you, your team, or any backing.
You’re going down a funnel of the same features — not opening up new surface area or educating me on the market.
I think you’re over-educating on the problem though, which i dont think is necessary . More and more folks get AI coding now. Lean harder into what makes you different.
Overall, it felt like you were pitching me as a user, not as a scout. For that reason, if i got this in my email, i would pass.
At Drive Health, we have commercialized an agentic AI nurse (controversial, I know) that goes beyond scripted chatbots—delivering personalized care coordination, education, and engagement at scale. Avery (our agentic nurse) is contracted in multiple health systems, starting with low-risk workflows like post-discharge follow-ups and purposeful rounding.
Unlike others in the space, we’re not pretending to replace clinicians—we’re augmenting them with tech to enhance productivity. Our regulatory strategy is built for flexibility and safety with a human-style credentialing approach alongside a major university, enabling us to deploy across complex care settings without the restraints of an SaMD.
We just raised a $7.1M seed from a large strategic and additional non-dilutive funding from Google to scale with some big players in healthcare—and we’ve rounded out a powerhouse exec team to do it. If you’re watching the intersection of AI agentic labor and care delivery, keep an eye out for Drive Health.
Product Hunt
@kevin_longoria1 This is pretty much perfect. You:
✅ Explain your product in layman’s terms
✅ Address misconceptions I might have as someone in the market
✅ Stay one step ahead — you keep addressing concerns I’d likely have as I think more deeply about your company while reading the blurb
✅ Establish credibility by sharing funding amount, name-dropping Google, and mentioning your team
The only suggestion I have: name-drop just a bit more. Share one of your investor names or where one of your execs worked — it’s missing that splash of social proof that can tip a scout’s decision. Personally, I'd definitely lean in and help out with your raise!
Overall: 9.5/10. Really well done, Kevin! 🔥
Love this. Finally, a safe space to get roasted and grow. Appreciate you doing this 🙏
Artefact is the fastest way for product and engineering teams to align on complex projects. We replace chaotic Google Docs and endless comment threads with smart, AI-assisted, and structured documentation that tracks sign-offs, clarifies ownership, and gives teams visibility into what’s shipping and why.
Product Hunt
@royesegal This is a solid start — here are a few thoughts:
👍 What’s Good
You explain the product clearly and in layman’s terms, which is a big plus. From your description, I’m picturing something like Basecamp or Asana, but AI-native — am I on the right track?
👀 What Could Be Stronger
Right now, it’s all product, but as a scout I need more context to gauge founder-market fit and legitimacy. Some quick additions would really help:
Your background (or your team’s)
If you’ve raised, how much and from whom (especially if notable)
Any standout traction
A link to the company or at least your LinkedIn
If you are Basecamp/Asana but AI native, why are you better than a company who already has distribution? I hate that questions but i think its relevant. Product doesn't make a company, customers do. Easier to build product than get customers. That's just my opinion.
Honestly, it’s not bad — I just would’ve archived it due to the missing context above.
@mat_sherman This is the kind of feedback I was hoping for — thank you for taking the time to write it out.
We're not building a project management tool and definitely not trying to replace Basecamp or Asana, but we are focused on one very specific use case they don’t handle well — technical documentation (PRDs, tech specs, etc.). The stuff that lives in Google Docs, gets commented to death, and slows teams down. Artefact brings structure, signoffs, and insights to that process — AI just makes it faster and less painful.
As for context:
• I’m a former creative exec from The Atlantic and NBCUniversal
• My co-founders are a former Lyft PM and Acorns SWE
• We’re bootstrapped but backed by deep domain experience
• And yes — we’re very aware that product ≠ company, which is why we’re obsessing over pain, not just polish.
Appreciate you pushing us to tighten the pitch and you absolutely nailed it: easier to build a product than get customers. Brutal, true, and motivating 💪
Ok mate, roast away.
We started Rainfall because brands weren’t ready for the GS1 2D barcode sunrise 2027 mandate. Frankly, most still aren’t. EVERY retailer and brand needs to move from 1D barcodes (black vertical lines) to 2D (GS1 QR Codes).
We’re their “easy button.” Scan any product (wine, jackets, you name it) and see its entire life in an Instagram like feed. Traceability, authenticity, storytelling. No extra hardware. Simple QR/NFC/image recognition tech, pre-integrated into Salesforce, SAP, etc. The only startup of this kind to be both a Salesforce and GS1 partner AND on their AppExchange.
Already powering the Oscars, GRAMMYs, fashion, spirits, grocery, even Reid Hoffman. Built on Google Cloud, compliance-ready (GS1, EU DPP, FDA FSMA).
Physical things deserve a digital life. We’re making it easy.
Hit me with the truth mate.
Product Hunt
@christian_oswald
First sentence, you mention the GS1 2D barcode sunrise 2027 mandate. WTF does that mean? I’m already lost. I keep reading, hoping to better understand, but you just assume I know what’s going on. With this as the basis of the whole blurb, I lose you the entire time. I think the main issue you have here is you’re assuming I already understand these things. Then, by the time you get to the good stuff, like social proof, I have no idea what you do and am just completely lost.
I think if I were you, I’d reframe like this:
Every brand that has a standard barcode will need to change their labels to GS1 2D barcodes by 2027. This is not a well known trend but if you Google "2D Sunrise 2027", you'll see this is a massive incoming change in the industry for those who sell real world products that rely on barcodes. Rainfall is going to be the product that millions of these brands switch to, as we already have GS1 2D barcodes in market. We’re already working with the Oscars/Grammys, various spirits and cigar stores, and even LA28. The technology is built, our team comes from Salesforce and Cisco, and we’re raising XYZ to scale this up, meet the moment, and help these brands make the transition."
Obviously tweak as needed but you just cant assume that people know what's going on in such a short format (a blurb).
When GPT-3.5 hit, I saw the writing on the wall – AI connecting to everything was coming fast. But letting AI loose inside a company safely? That looked like a huge mess waiting to happen, especially using things like MCP (a way for AI to connect to the outside world). Who's calling? Can they touch that? How do you track it? Companies were going to need real answers, not just hacky fixes for every tool.
So I focused just on that: building the security guardrails. Ithena is an open-source kit (SDK) that adds those essential checks – identity, permissions, secrets, audit logs – to MCP setups. It cleans up the risky, custom code developers are stuck writing today.
The plan is simple: the free SDK helps people build securely now and gets Ithena known (and to become a standard framework). Later, we'll offer a paid platform that makes this stuff even easier for businesses to manage. The validation was immediate and surprising: we hit 85 installs on npm within 15 hours of publishing, with zero advertisement – purely from developers actively searching for MCP governance solutions. That tells me this isn't just a 'nice-to-have', it's a critical need. I'm all-in on building this foundational piece.
https://ithena.one
Elanah.AI is tackling the $50B+ veteran and military mental health crisis with a proactive, AI-driven platform delivering scalable, personalized coaching and resilience training. Addressing critical gaps where 50% of veterans go untreated, our veteran-centric AI overcomes access and stigma barriers 24/7. We've gained significant traction, securing elite 3-Star General advisors, advancing strategic deals with Booz Allen Hamilton and EBSCO (including potential investment), activating key GovTech channel partners, and finalizing preparations for our AWS beta launch. With our first external investment closing, we are raising a $1M SAFE ($6M Cap) to launch V1 and capture the immense DoD/VA and related enterprise markets.
OR
Elanah.AI is an AI-powered mental health and resilience platform purpose-built for veterans, service members, and their families. We deliver real-time, confidential support through adaptive AI coaching, helping users manage stress, build resilience, and prevent mental health issues before they escalate. Backed by Amazon and launching pilots with AWS and other strategic partners, Elanah.AI is positioned to address a $50B+ market with a scalable, high-impact solution for government and enterprise clients. We’re currently raising a $1M pre-seed round to expand adoption and accelerate growth.
Product Hunt
@josh_otero #2 is 100 times better than number one. Night and day honestly. I'll provide feedback on #2.
Some feedback
Pros
You get to the point in two sentences. A bit wordy, but I quickly understand what you’re building — didn’t feel like a waste of time.
“Backed by Amazon” catches my attention. If that means funding, that’s a strong signal. Even if it’s AWS support, still legit. Name-dropping works in your favor here.
$1M pre-seed is solid. Big enough to show traction, but not suspiciously large. Nicely done.
Cons
The product description could be simpler — fewer buzzwords. Something like “Calm.com for veterans” gets the point across with 90% fewer words.
"Backed by Amazon” is intriguing but also confusing. I didn’t know Amazon had a VC arm. Might be worth clarifying what kind of backing it is.
Market size callouts in the blurb come off as a little rookie-ish. Investors usually have their own POV — you’re unlikely to change it in a few sentences.
Phrases like “scalable, high-impact solution” feel like filler. They don’t add much and can dilute your message.
Nice work!
@mat_sherman how's this: Elanah.AI is an AI-driven mental health platform—think Calm.com purpose-built for veterans and service members—delivering confidential, culturally-informed support exactly when it’s needed, proactively engaging before stress escalates.
Our initial pilot is funded directly by Amazon and launching within the Amazon Warriors Program, uniquely positioning Elanah to address mental wellness in military communities through real-time, personalized AI coaching.
We're currently raising a $1M pre-seed round to expand our platform and accelerate partnerships.
Product Hunt
@josh_otero Very nice! Send me that over email and lets make something happen!
@mat_sherman Will do! Thanks!
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Thank you man! Love this 😊