What investors expect from founders in 2026? - Part IV

Welcome back to our series of articles featuring insights and lessons from European investors. In the previous parts, we explored the biggest wins investors celebrated, the hard lessons founders had to face, and the fundraising misconceptions they saw most often in 2025. 

Now, we turn to what comes next. AI has accelerated how fast companies can build and ship products. Capital is still available, but the bar for earning it has risen. Investors are looking more closely at how companies operate, how quickly they execute, and how clearly they understand their path to building a real business.

For founders, this means expectations are becoming more defined. Speed alone is no longer enough. Investors want to see disciplined execution, strong fundamentals, and clear thinking about how a company will grow, compete, and eventually create durable value.

To understand what this looks like in practice, we asked a group of investors a simple question: What will you expect from founders in 2026?

Think about liquidity at the early stage

For a long time, most founders thought about liquidity only after the company was well established. But going into 2026, investors expect that conversation to start much earlier. 

This doesn’t mean founders need a fixed exit plan right away. But investors want to see that founders understand how value will eventually be returned to shareholders. That could happen through M&A, secondary sales, or other exit strategies. Thinking about these paths early helps avoid difficult conversations later.

Rando Rannus, General Partner of Siena Secondary Fund, explains:

“It is better to do it rather earlier (e.g. seed, series A round) than later.”

Move fast and use resources wisely

In 2026, investors expect founders to operate with a high level of focus and efficiency. The environment is more competitive, and outcomes can change quickly. That means execution speed, smart decisions, and the ability to get the most out of limited resources matter more than ever.

At the same time, investors expect to play a more active role in supporting companies. The best founders don’t only reach out during fundraising. They use their investors as an ongoing resource for hiring, partnerships, compliance, customer introductions, and expert advice when needed.

As Viktor Minchev, Investment Principal at Eleven Ventures, mentions:

“Founders are operating in an environment where execution speed, leverage, and decision quality matter more than ever. Investors increasingly expect founders to run extremely lean teams while still moving at a category-defining pace - and to actively use capital as an operating advantage, not just runway. 

‍Governance becomes less about oversight and more about compressing decision trees. In a market where weeks, not months, can define outcomes, investors back founders who systematically extract maximum leverage from their resources while maintaining velocity and clarity under uncertainty.

Show clear thinking about the market and risks

Investors in 2026 continue to look for one thing above all: clarity. Founders are expected to have a sharp understanding of their first market and a clear explanation of where early revenue will come from. 

It’s not enough to describe a big vision; investors want to know who will actually pay for the product first, why the timing is right, and what current solution the company is replacing.

As Ytsen van der Meer, Principal at Cottonwood Technology Fund, says:

“Strong clarity on the first market—who’s going to pay first, why now, what you are replacing or what is competing with you today—and honest framing of risk.” 

Show resilience and adaptability

If recent years were about moving fast, 2026 will increasingly be about proving that speed can turn into a real business. Investors are increasingly focusing on unit economics and long-term sustainability, not just on growth or product momentum.

As Martina Vitezova, Managing Partner at Next Play and Chief Strategy & Value Officer at Everbot, mentions:

“In many of the most competitive segments, investors will back companies before full durability is visible, which means the decisive factor will be the credibility of the path to sustainable performance rather than the historical data itself. It is still too early to show evidence in many segments of the AI wave.”

In 2026, investors are paying close attention to how founders operate under pressure. Markets remain unpredictable, and conditions can change quickly. Because of that, investors are looking for teams that can stay focused, adapt, and keep executing even when things don’t go as planned.

As Daniel Gockler of Nesprit Ventures adds: 

Operate with discipline and transparency

In 2026, investors want to see founders running their companies with clear plans and strong financial discipline. Instead of focusing only on long-term vision, founders are expected to show exactly how the company will progress over the next 12 to 18 months.

As Thanos Paraschos, angel investor and Managing Director at Startup Greece says, that usually means: 

• Clear, measurable 18-month plan with milestones that map to the next fundraise
• Strong capital efficiency: burn discipline, runway management, and downside planning
• A repeatable go-to-market motion (or credible distribution advantage), not just pilots
• Transparent, high-quality communication: concise updates, early risk flags, and specific asks

Prove traction with efficient use of capital

A more challenging funding environment is raising the bar for startups. In 2026, investors are paying closer attention to how founders manage their resources and how much progress they can achieve with the capital they have.

Dr. Jan Engels, Senior Investment Manager at HTGF, says:

“A challenging funding environment increases the importance of capital efficiency. Startups that can endure these market conditions, streamline expenses, and demonstrate real traction will be best positioned to raise capital.” 

Prioritize execution over everything else

In 2026, investors are putting even more emphasis on one core trait: execution. Access to capital is still important, but it is no longer the main differentiator. What matters most is how quickly and effectively founders can turn ideas into real products and results.

As Adam Radzki, Angel Investor & Chief Growth Officer at HearMe, mentions:

“Investors expect speed and execution excellence. Thanks to AI, building and shipping solutions have never been faster.” 

Sarah Finegan, Associate Partner at Antler, also mentions the following expectations:

• Execution obsession over fundraising focus: Speed of execution is now the primary concern, not capital availability. Investors want founders who can "go further, faster."
• Global talent recruitment: Aggressively pitching culture to self-select ambitious team members regardless of geography, as demonstrated by successful European startups building diverse international teams.
• Technical capability: With 94% of the world's fastest-growing software companies having technical founders, investors increasingly expect founding teams with strong technology backgrounds.
• "Front-loading" mentality: Willingness to make extreme sacrifices now during this historic moment of AI transformation, with the understanding that balance can come later after seizing the opportunity.

Focus on the fundamentals

In 2026, investors are placing more weight on fundamentals than on ambitious narratives. The focus is shifting toward startups that can show real results, strong advantages, and disciplined execution from the start.

Patricia Pastor, General Partner at NextTier Ventures, highlights this:

“In 2026, we expect teams to show: measurable ROI, proprietary advantages (data, vertical workflows, deep integration), repeatable traction, and extreme capital efficiency (small teams, optimized compute per dollar).”

Build real defensibility

In many ways, what investors look for in founders hasn’t changed. Strong teams, a clear vision, and the ability to execute are still the core fundamentals. But as markets evolve, the way investors evaluate those qualities is changing as well.

One area that is becoming more important is defensibility. Investors want to understand what makes a company difficult to copy and what will allow it to grow stronger over time. This means founders need to think earlier about what will truly compound as the business scales.

As Mircea Ghita, Principal at Metis Ventures, mentions: 

“At a high level, investors will continue to look for the same fundamentals in founders - strong teams, clear vision, and the ability to execute. What changes is how those qualities are evaluated as market conditions shift. However, defensibility becomes increasingly important.” 

Founders will be expected to be grounded operators

In 2026, investors are looking for founders who combine vision with strong operational discipline. The focus is shifting toward founders who understand the fundamentals of building and running a company, not just the story around it.

As Dan Mihaescu, Founding Partner at GapMinder, says:

“In 2026, investors expect founders to be much more grounded operators. That means:

• Founders who personally understand and often drive early enterprise sales and product marketing
• Clear command of burn, runway, unit economics, and what a “well-sized” round actually looks like
• Teams that are intentionally small and highly efficient, using AI to amplify output rather than headcount
• A global mindset from day one: building products that are compliant, export-ready, and relevant beyond local markets
• And the ability to adapt fast, without emotional attachment to ideas that no longer work

The founder–investor relationship may become more balanced

Not every investor believes the conversation should focus on what founders must deliver. Some argue the dynamic should actually go the other way. Instead of investors setting expectations for founders, founders should also be clear about what they expect from their investors.

This perspective reflects a broader change in how many people view the founder–investor relationship. The best partnerships are built on alignment, trust, and mutual value, not a one-sided list of demands.

As Tichomir Jenkut, Partner, Presto Tech Horizons, mentions:

“I don’t have expectations for founders. And I don’t think investors should—the founder–investor relationship shouldn’t flow that way.“

How founders can meet investor expectations in 2026

Capital is still available. But investors are looking more closely at how companies actually operate. They want to see disciplined teams, efficient use of capital, and real progress—not just strong narratives.

The founders who will stand out in 2026 are the ones who:

• Move quickly, while constantly testing real customer demand
• Build small, efficient teams that get a lot done
• Focus on products with clear long-term advantages
• Track key metrics like burn, runway, traction, and unit economics
• Communicate clearly with investors and show a realistic path to building a sustainable business

Meeting these expectations isn’t about having everything figured out. It’s about showing focus, constant progress, and adaptability.

With SeedBlink Core, founders can manage fundraising and investor relationships in a more structured way. Instead of relying only on pitch decks and scattered updates, founders can create a dynamic company profile that evolves with their progress and keeps investors informed along the way.