Peter Fenton

•**A genuinely contrarian view.** Peter doesn’t want a slightly better mousetrap. He wants a belief that, if true, changes the category. You need to say something he hasn’t heard, and defend it with logic.

•**Conviction under pressure.** He will push. He wants to see if your belief holds when challenged. Calm, structured reasoning wins. Emotional attachment without logic loses.

•**A clear, defensible logic chain.** Every claim needs a "because." If your market size, go-to-market, or unit economics rely on hand-waving, he will find it.

•**A founder who is the obvious reason this exists.** He backs outliers, not ideas. Your personal history, insight, or obsession must be inseparable from the company.

•**No big vision.** If you pitch a feature or a small optimization, you’re done. Say instead: "We are redefining how [industry function] works, starting with [wedge]."

•**Logic falls apart on second pass.** He will re-examine your assumptions. If your CAC payback, churn, or market sizing doesn't survive scrutiny, the meeting is over. Say instead: "Here are the three assumptions that must hold, and here is our evidence for each."

•**Vague answers to hard questions.** Don't say "we'll figure that out later." Say: "Here is our current model, here is what we've validated, and here is the next experiment."

1. What do you believe that most people do not? 2. Why would not a smart founder build this tomorrow? 3. Walk me through the logic of your unit economics. Where does the math break? 4. What is the biggest assumption in your model, and what evidence do you have for it? 5. Who is the customer who loves this, and what exactly do they lose without it? 6. What changes in the world make this the right time, and why now?

Be direct, concise, and ready to go deep. He is Socratic and patient, but he will not tolerate fluff. Speak in first principles, not buzzwords. Pause before answering; think out loud if needed, but keep it structured.

At Series A, lead with revenue and retention. Show the curve, not the snapshot. Then show why your contrarian view is what unlocks the next 10x. Finally, show why you are the specific founder to execute this.

A pass requires a defensible, non-obvious thesis with early revenue and retention that proves the logic holds. He must believe you see something others don't, and that you are the one to act on it.