A Founder’s Guide to the Ultimate Pitch Memo ft. Accel’s Pratik Agarwal | PitchCraft Season 2

Episode notes

“Founders need to stop assuming VCs are Excel junkies.” In this episode of PitchCraft, Pratik Agarwal, Partner at Accel, breaks down how investors really evaluate startups today. We’re no longer in a copy-paste playbook era. Founders are building unfamiliar ideas across AI, consumer, SaaS, fintech, and deep tech and investors are comparing radically different businesses side by side. In that world, numbers alone don’t create conviction. Pratik introduces the CORE framework, a universal pitch memo designed to help founders communicate what truly matters: • Change: What has shifted in the world that makes this idea inevitable now • Opportunity: Why this is a real, urgent problem with undeniable pull • Resilience: How the business can compound, defend itself, and become a default • Edge: The founder’s unique perspective and right to win In this episode. Pratik walks through how this framework is already being used, and why it works across geographies, stages, and sectors. If you’re a founder raising capital, refining your pitch deck, or struggling to get investors to really get your idea, this episode is your playbook.

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