Question 1

Can you describe your product so a 5 year old can understand it, in under 50 words?

Accepted Answer

The fastest read on whether customer language has been built. A strong answer is under 50 words, zero technical terms, outcome framing rather than feature framing, and restate-able by an untrained listener. A weak answer is jargon, brand names, internal taxonomy, or feature lists.

Question 2

When buyer feedback last surprised you, what did you change because of it?

Accepted Answer

Founder posture is a hard gate. A strong answer names a real change made in the build, the narrative, or the go-to-market motion, treating feedback as data. Defending the original product or arguing the market does not yet understand the technology scores zero and routes to a referral.

Question 3

Does your commercialization path require FDA approval, defense certification (ITAR or EAR), or another regulator-gated clearance before first commercial sale?

Accepted Answer

Category fit is a hard gate. Regulator-gated paths such as FDA Class II or III, PMA, IDE, or ITAR-controlled defense articles do not fit the standard four-stage method cleanly, so they route to a clean referral rather than a poor-fit engagement.

Question 4

Before you raised capital, did you secure at least one signed letter of support, LOI, or paid pilot from a named target buyer at your stated price point?

Accepted Answer

Capital sequencing. Raising against assumed demand and looking for buyers later is the single most expensive sequencing error in hardware. A strong profile shows signed buyer letters before the seed round and equity raised against both buyer-pull and technical proof.

Question 5

What is your true landed gross margin today, and when was it last refreshed?

Accepted Answer

A strong answer computes landed margin including freight, duty, warranty reserve, RMA, install, and channel, refreshed quarterly and defensible to the board. Carrying bill-of-materials cost as the margin number scores zero.

Question 6

When your champion repeats your value to their CFO, can the CFO defend the decision to their board in one sentence?

Accepted Answer

Narrative durability. A strong motion has champion briefs and language that operates at technical, business, and board altitude. If you do not know what your champion says when you are not in the room, the deal dies between the demo and procurement.

Question 7

For the largest deal you have closed, can you name every role that touched the decision?

Accepted Answer

Buyer coalition mapping. The hardware buyer is a committee, not a person. A strong answer names the buyer-org size band and the full coalition with title, function, and decision criteria for each role.

Question 8

In your last pipeline review, who was the loudest voice, who got talked over, and who did not speak at all?

Accepted Answer

Truth-flow. If all voices aligned and no dissent surfaced, the organization cannot hear its own pipeline reality. A strong answer names the loudest voice, the dismissed critic, and the silent operator, with leadership running one-on-ones outside the room.

Question 9

Are your pilots designed to convert to production budgets, or do they require fresh procurement at the production stage?

Accepted Answer

Deal design. A strong pilot defines the production budget path at pilot signature with the budget owner identified. Pilots that require fresh procurement stall at the innovation-to-business-unit handoff.

Question 10

What is your AE base-to-variable ratio, on-target earnings, and the tenure of your last three sales hires?

Accepted Answer

Comp design fit. A strong plan runs a 70/30 or 60/40 base-to-variable ratio indexed to actual deal-cycle length and landed unit economics, with milestone-based variable. A SaaS-imported 50/50 plan burns hires before the first close.

Question 11

Could a new VP of Sales run your motion from documented systems alone, without the founder in the room?

Accepted Answer

Engine versus founder dependence. A strong motion has a documented runbook, qualification logic, narrative architecture, deal-design templates, and a comp plan, so a new VP owns it on day 30. Tribal knowledge scores zero.

Question 12

Does your board or advisor bench carry direct hardware operating experience?

Accepted Answer

Board composition. A strong profile has half or more hardware-native seats, or a documented hardware-native advisory bench with structured cadence. Zero hardware-native influence means every review defaults to SaaS heuristics that do not transfer.

Score your hardware go-to-market in five minutes.

Your motion

The written diagnosis.

Founders and CEOs at hardware, deep tech, energy, robotics, agtech, or advanced manufacturing companies.

Where the method does not fit.