The Pitch Doctor helping investors raise funds

Startups spend hours pitching their startups through decks, competitions, and endless meetings with investors. But the folks they woo also have to raise funds, in an environment where fundraising has become increasingly complex. And just as hard, if not harder. But now there's a pitch doctor to help investors raise funds. 

Pitch Me First is a European advisory and marketing firm that specialises in helping private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) funds successfully attract investors and raise capital. 

It's the brainchild of former institutional investor Tülin Tokatli, who I spoke to to find out more. 

From institutional investor to pitch Coach

Tokatli previously served as a Limited Partner (LP) at the European Investment Fund (EIF) and has extensive experience evaluating and managing investment opportunities.

At EIF, Tokatli screened a lot of the proposals that EIF received. She explained:

"It's a three-step approach and takes between 12 to 18 months, and every step needs to be handled very carefully because competition is high. 

EIF receives about a thousand applications annually and only invests in 80 to 100. So what happens to the other 900?"

After working there for five years, doing this daily, she decided to launch her own company in 2023. 

"Pitching is competitive, so let's look at proposals early, identify risk areas, and improve before presenting to LPs."

Fundraising has gotten harder

For VC funds, the ability to generate returns for Limited Partners (LPs) remains the ultimate benchmark of success. However, many limited partners are holding back on new fund commitments, squeezed by lower returns from earlier investments and tempted by more attractive high-growth opportunities outside of venture capital.

Meanwhile, market turbulence — driven by stock volatility and disruptive trade policies — has shaken investor confidence, slowing down fundraising efforts and pushing IPOs further down the road.

VC fundraising in Europe experienced a slow start in Q1 2025, with only €2.3 billion raised across 24 funds, suggesting a potential decline compared to 2024's totals. 

Private equity funds globally amassed $179.1 billion in Q1 2025, a decline of $21.7 billion compared to the same period in 2024. ​

Funds targeting Europe accounted for 19 per cent of the total capital raised, amounting to approximately $34 billion.

However, while fundraising is far lower than a few years ago, so far in 2025, we've seen several notable fundraises across diverse sectors:

• Spanish investment firm IDC Ventures (IDCV) launched VC4 FoF I, its inaugural fund of funds with a size of up to €150 million.
• Climatetech VC 2150 secured nearly €200 million for its second fund, aiming to invest in sustainable urban solutions across North America and Europe. 
• Junction Growth Investors closed its first fund at €115 million. 
• Last week early-stage industrial VC KOMPAS VC closed its €150M second fund.

We also saw the launch of several smaller funds this year. For example, First Momentum Ventures, originating as a student initiative, closed a €35 million Fund II, and former Accel investor Candice du Fretay launched Outlier Grove, a $20 million fund designed to help European B2B startups expand into the US market from their inception. 

How Pitch Me First helps Fund managers

Pitch Me First provides expert guidance on investment strategy, market positioning, and fundraising approaches, while supporting clients through the application and due diligence process by reviewing documents such as pitch decks and portfolio models. 

They also deliver market analysis, benchmarking, and facilitate introductions to potential limited partners through their industry network.

Pitch Me First revamps investor websites, boosts online visibility with content and SEO, and streamlines reporting through analytics, real-time dashboards, and customised CRM solutions.

The company provides hands-on support, including training, mock interviews, and workshops, to ensure fund managers are fully prepared for investor engagement and due diligence.

According to Tokatli, it's like getting a driver's license: 

"You practice with sample questions before the real test. Every fund is unique, so we tailor the coaching. We do rehearsal meetings, predict the questions they might get, and prepare strong answers.

Sometimes it's even mediation between partners — they challenge each other, and I help manage that too."

Common mistakes in investor fundraising pitching

According to Tokatli, alot of investors approach investment optimistically but with a lack of coherence:  

"There's a pot of money, so they want to set up a fund with their best friends. 

But it needs to be based on something solid. What they want to sell with the fund has to have coherent links. Often one part might make sense, but four other parts don't match."

Track record is important — past performance isn't a guarantee, but it's still a good indicator. 

Tokatli asserts that investors need to show that they have the network to raise funds and the business acumen to help companies grow. 

"They also need to position themselves uniquely because the market is very mature now. 

Sometimes, they even undersell themselves, and I help bring their strengths forward. Everything lies in the details, and good preparation is key."

Warm introductions aren't everything 

While Tokatli contends that relationships help — "if you're a good salesperson, it's a big advantage" — relationships alone don't make an investor move. 

"Maybe it's 20 per cent relationships, but 80 per cent is the foundation: the fundamentals need to be strong. 

I've seen managers try to use personal connections to influence decisions, but for example, at EIF, we stayed professional. It was always about the facts and the material submitted. No favouritism."

Further, pitching strategies differ depending on whether the audience is private equity firms, angel investors, or sovereign wealth funds. For example, screening timelines are different. 

Tokatli explained that Angels or smaller investors usually move quicker and focus more on relationships. But institutional investors — government institutions, sovereign wealth funds, Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) — have much lengthier and formal processes, easily three to four months or more.

The importance of diverse, complementary teams

However, in an era where investment is focused in increasingly complex and niche sectors within deeptech, quantum computing, and defence, Tokatli cautions that teams need complementarity.

"You can't have only scientists if you're investing in deep tech — you also need someone thinking commercially, someone who wants to build and sell businesses.

And the team has to be close to the target market — you can't operate a regional fund out of London if you're investing in, say, Eastern Europe."

Also, institutional money comes with mandates. EIF, for example, has a strong focus on climate, innovation, and defense. So ESG is unavoidable. Funds must understand the EU taxonomy and show how they contribute. 

Even deep tech funds not directly doing climate investments are expected to allocate a portion toward ESG-aligned sectors.

Tokatli contends that diversity is also important:

"Today, having no female partners at the decision-making level really limits your chances. But it has to be merit-based, not tokenistic."

Startups might smirk at the idea of VCs struggling to pitch — but in today’s fundraising climate, everyone has to hustle for a yes. And the more VCs succeed, the more funds they can allocate to startups.