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# Green Flags, Red Flags: What Investors Look for in Founders
- URL: https://www.therecursive.com/green-flags-red-flags-what-investors-look-for-in-founders/
- Published: 2026-09-21T13:52:04.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-21T13:57:46.000Z
- Description: Heading to Bucharest for How to Web Conference 2026? Investors from Eurazeo, Passion Capital, and Acurio spill what actually gets deals signed, and the red flags that kill pitches fast. Hint: faking the details won't fly.
- Author: Ana Marija Kostanic
- Tags: Events, Investors, Startups, Founder's School, pitch, How to Web, HTW 2026

From October 6 to 8, [How to Web Conference 2026](https://www.therecursive.com/how-to-web-2026/) brings more than 3,000 founders, investors and tech leaders to Bucharest. For many founders, it is also the **place where a first conversation with an investor happens**, on [stage](https://www.howtoweb.co/spotlight-2026/?ref=therecursive.com), in the Expo Area or in one of the [1:1 meetings](https://www.howtoweb.co/dealflow/?ref=therecursive.com) booked through the event app. Last year’s edition alone generated more than **9,000 business meetings**.

The investors arrive early. The event opens on October 6 with the [*Investors Summit*](https://www.howtoweb.co/investors-summit/?ref=therecursive.com), a dedicated gathering of more than 250 international and regional VCs, LPs, executives and founders, focused on how AI is changing investment decisions, what makes companies worth backing today and where the next opportunities are emerging across Europe. Funds such as Atomico, Creandum, Eurazeo, Notion Capital, Credo Ventures and Dawn Capital will be on the ground.

So before founders step into those rooms, we asked three investors coming to How to Web Conference what makes them lean in, and what makes them walk away.

**Will Orde**, Partner at **Passion Capital**, is usually the very first check in the door for founders building ambitious software and financial infrastructure. **Raluca Ragab**, Partner at **Eurazeo Growth**, leads growth rounds across AI, data and security, and has worked with scale-ups such as Mobileye and WalkMe on their way to New York IPOs. **Piotr Bukański**, a London-based principal at **Acurio Ventures**, covers the UK, Germany and CEE for the Spanish-headquartered, operator-led fund, and launched a 200+ member London network connecting CEE founders and VCs.

## Green flags founders don't want to miss

Orde immediately points out that Passion Capital invests on day zero, so “*it’s all about the founder*”. What kind of founders? Ones with “*serious level of grit & determination, who get stuff done*”. And most importantly: “*The kind of people who don’t take no for an answer, who receive ‘it can’t be done’ as a challenge to overcome*.”\*

**The founder’s drive** is what Bukański sees as a priority as well: “*That slightly obsessive thing where a founder can’t stop thinking about the problem*.”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b8/ae/b8aee878-7ddc-40ad-8f68-92a28c560560/content/images/2026/09/raluca-ragab-htw2026.png)

How investors notice that in the first conversation? Bukański mentioned an example: when you ask one question, and they go three layers deeper than expected. **It’s hard to fake that level of enthusiasm and immersion**, as it only happens naturally to those that have been living in the field (or with a problem) for months or years. "*They know the details cold, and you can tell it’s not a pitch, it’s just what they believe."*

> “The market will move, the product will change ten times over, but that kind of depth is hard to fake. That’s why I pay less attention to a deck or an outreach email. I want to meet the founder to understand who they are and why they do what they do, what drives them.”

There is something about that first exchange between founder and investor, as Ragab shares her biggest green flag is when a **founder anticipates her questions**. Most founders will focus on preparing for the most common ones. However, the ones that, as Bukański mentioned, go few layers deeper, are the ones that have been cross-checking their own solution and plan with the same scrutiny of the investor jury.

For example, Ragab adds, it’s OK even if they don’t have the right answer at the moment, but if they present some strategies they’ve tried out, and prove they have been thinking about those challenges, that “*shows they have depth of understanding about what they want to do*”.

## Founders, be honest

Continuing on the questions being anticipated, **the way founders answer obviously matters**. Maybe even more so if you don’t have the right answers at the moment. Bukański highlights that **honesty and openness** matter to him almost above everything else: "*They’re what long-term relationships are built on, and that’s what we’re actually looking to create."*

> “*I can understand a founder rounding up a little, that’s part of selling a vision that isn’t fully real yet. What kills it is a straight lie; a fake customer, made-up numbers, a deal that was never actually signed, or several small lies piling up. *There’s a real line between ambition and dishonesty*.*”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b8/ae/b8aee878-7ddc-40ad-8f68-92a28c560560/content/images/2026/09/piotr-bukanski-htw2026.png)

Orde points out that this is one of his instant no’s and red flags too: "*The founders who don’t know the detail and then bluster to cover it up… We want to back founders who’ll listen, so it’s totally fine to say ‘we haven’t thought about that in depth’ and come back at the next call with more details."*

One of Ragab’s instant nos is also when “**someone \[is\] trying to downplay previous deviations from the plan**. It shows lack of intellectual honesty.”

> “Things not going according to plan is expected, and explaining them away too easily reveals a founder that is not intellectually honest.”

## Recipe for a mismatch

Moving from instant no’s, there are some red flags that, even if everything else looks good, still ruin investors’ interest in a deal. For Orde, a sure red flag is seeing a **fully tech-focused pitch**. "*It feels like they first decided what they wanted to build with, then looked around for a problem it could be applied to. First and foremost you’ve got to *solve for customer pain*."*

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b8/ae/b8aee878-7ddc-40ad-8f68-92a28c560560/content/images/2026/09/will-orde-htw2026.png)

For Ragab, alarms go off immediately **if founders show they aren’t good listeners or humble**. "*You can operate in the biggest market solving the biggest pain point with the right solution, but a founder that is not introspective, and who doesn’t take feedback, will stumble and ultimately deliver at best a mediocre outcome."*

There is one common disqualification factor that many founders underplay: **a VC mismatch**. As Bukanski explains, “*sometimes the round is simply too large for us to meaningfully participate in, given our check size or stage focus*.” Sometimes founders don’t do thorough due diligence when approaching VCs, so it’s not unusual this happens. What *is* unusual, not every investor will be considerate enough like Bukański when telling those founders off: “*That’s not a judgment on the founder or the company, so I try to be upfront about it as early as possible, out of respect for their time*.”

At How to Web Conference, the event app lets founders check who is coming and book 1:1 meetings ahead of time, which makes it **easier to do that homework** before the first handshake.

## The pitch that ticks all the boxes

How to avoid red flags, or trigger a green one if you are a founder pitching at How to Web Conference 2026?

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b8/ae/b8aee878-7ddc-40ad-8f68-92a28c560560/content/images/2026/09/Oct-01-2025--_1194--1--1.jpg)

Bukański is straightforward: **cut your pitch down to what’s essential**. “*Even the parts that are hard to let go of. It’s a natural instinct, you care about this business and every detail feels earned. But an overloaded pitch buries the strongest selling points under everything else*.”

> Also, **don’t undersell your story and how you got here**, at earliest stages it matters a lot.

Ragab focuses her advice on how to think about the company in more constructive way, no just how to make a better pitch. (The two are synonymous to a certain extent, though). She suggests **founders do a hypothetical post mortem**:

> “*Ask yourself if this company failed, what would have been the reasons and then try to take each of those reasons/obstacles with some strategy*.”

Orde concludes that founders should be aware **they will get better with practice**: “*your first pitch will be your worst pitch*.” Luckily, “*genuine passion for what you’re building*” is what makes a difference at the end of the day.

## Where to master the pitch

How to Web Conference has plenty of room for that practice. ****Spotlight** will put 20 of CEE’s top early-stage startups in front of the industry through live pitching, 1:1 mentorship, investor intros and Expo exposure. 

****Accelerate Fundraising** gives hands-on feedback to founders preparing their next round, while ****Accelerate Sales** pairs teams with seasoned sales executives to sharpen their go-to-market. The Startup Stage, Startup Showcase and Demo Area put products directly in front of investors and buyers on October 7–8.

Before that, on Day 0, the ****Investors Summit** gives the other side of the table its own room: investor-to-investor conversations on early-stage conviction and growth, new financing models and overlooked markets. It is open to holders of LP, Angel Investor, Investor and Executive tickets. 

For founders, the takeaway is simple: ****the investors will be in Bucharest, and they will be asking questions**. The best pitches will be the ones that already know how to answer.

[Learn more ](https://www.howtoweb.co/?ref=therecursive.com)