Why “Broad Applicability” Is Killing Your Fundraise

You walk out of the pitch. The partner was engaged. They asked technical questions about your model weights and latency. They nodded.

But then, the email comes:

“This is really impressive technology, but the go-to-market strategy feels a bit unclear to us right now. Let’s stay in touch as you get more traction.”

They didn’t say no to the product. They said the path to money was invisible.

Most technical founders read this and think: “They don’t get it. I need to explain the architecture better.”

That is wrong. They get the tech. They just don't believe you know who buys it.

The Diagnosis: Generic Ambition

"Unclear" is investor code for a specific red flag: Generic Ambition.

When I audit decks that get this feedback, I almost always see the "Target Market" slide looking like a census, not a strategy.

• “We provide Generative AI automation for the Enterprise.”

• “We are a horizontal platform for all knowledge workers.”

This isn't a target; it's a list of people who have budgets.

Investors know that a Seed-stage startup with 18 months of runway cannot attack “The Enterprise” simultaneously. When you pitch broad applicability, you aren't showing massive potential. You are showing that you haven't made the hard decision of who to ignore.

You are selling the capacity of the model (what it could do) instead of the inevitability of the business (who must buy it now).

The Cost of Inaction

If you don't fix this "Unclear" label, you enter the “Friend Zone” of fundraising.

Investors will keep taking your calls because they don't want to miss out if you figure it out. But they will never wire the money. You will burn six months on "relationship building" while your runway evaporates, waiting for a "Yes" that requires a strategic decision you haven't made yet.

The Solution: Trade Optionality for Inevitability

To get the check, you must trade the safety of "everyone" for the risk of "someone specific."

You have to stop saying, "We can help any department." You have to say:

• “We win specifically with Legal Operations teams who are currently drowning in contract review backlogs.”

• “We are the only solution for Customer Support Directors needing to reduce Tier 1 ticket volume by 40%.”

Specifics feel risky because they feel small. But to an investor, specificity looks like a de-risked bet.

The Fix

Go back to your deck. Look at your Market slide.

If you are leading with a massive $50B TAM figure, you are hiding. Keep the TAM to show the ceiling, but focus your pitch entirely on the SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market)—your Beachhead.

Name the one, desperate buyer you will close in the next 90 days, and exactly why they cannot say no.

That is clarity. That gets funded.