Startups Decoded #45: There Is No Perfect Pitch Deck - What You Actually Need, with Robert Harary, CEO and VC - Decko
Robert Harary found his first venture deal while in high school detention, and hasn’t looked back since.
Today, he sits at the center of the venture ecosystem as both an investor and founder, with a decade-plus obsession for making access to capital more transparent, efficient, and equitable.
Robert is the #2 at Evolution VC Partners, where he’s been part of 300+ Culture Tech investments. He runs Timeless Ventures as GP, and has investments in companies like Colossal, Figure AI, and Sindarin. On the founder side, he co-founded DECKO (helping 300+ startups and funds raise $1.2B+) and Raisi (bringing founders in front of 2,000+ investors monthly).
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In this conversation, we break down:
- Why access to capital, not ideas, is the biggest bottleneck for founders
- How Robert evaluates moonshots (and why he backed OpenAI early)
- Lessons learned from co-founding DECKO and Weraise
- Where the venture ecosystem is failing—and what needs to change
- His belief that democratizing capital will unlock the next wave of transformative companies
Chapters
- 00:00 The Utopian World of Fundraising
- 06:40 The Evolution of Pitch Decks
- 13:16 Crafting the Perfect Pitch Deck
- 20:12 Understanding Investor Psychology
- 21:59 Cold Outreach and Investor Engagement
- 23:50 The Three Pillars of Startup Success
- 26:08 Effective Cold Email Strategies
- 28:29 The Art of Storytelling in Fundraising
- 32:40 Investor Marketing as a Relationship Game
- 39:14 Building Long-Term Investor Relationships
Guest Bio
Robert Harary is an investor, founder, and venture capitalist obsessed with making capital access more equitable. He is a GP at Timeless Ventures, #2 at Evolution VC Partners (300+ Culture Tech investments), and an angel investor in moonshots, including OpenAI and Colossal. He has co-founded DECKO and Weraise, platforms that have helped 300+ startups and funds raise $1.2B+ from Sequoia, a16z, Accel, YC, and others.
Who Should Listen
- Founders frustrated by investor access or gatekeeping
- Investors curious about democratized deal flow
- Operators interested in the “deck science” behind successful fundraising
- Anyone tracking moonshot bets reshaping the future
Music Credit
“Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia)
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