Andrii Hryshchuk, Investment Manager at Defence Builder Fund, delivered a workshop on fundraising for defence tech founders at the European Defence Tech Hub hackathon in London. The session, titled "Raising Successfully", set out nine practices that shape how a fund evaluates a startup, from the timing of the first conversation to the response after a rejection.

Hryshchuk advised founders to open conversations with investors 12–18 months before they need the capital, since funds make decisions after observing how a team delivers over time. Teams that start eight weeks before they run out of cash negotiate against the clock and lose leverage over terms. Before reaching out, founders should check a fund's mandate and exclusions on lethal systems, hardware and jurisdictions, its ticket size and stage, whether it leads rounds, and how limits set by its LPs affect export. A warm introduction through a portfolio founder, co-investor or programme works better than cold contact.

The workshop covered the first email to a fund in detail. Investors usually read the first two lines on a phone, so the email should state in five lines what the product is, what proves it works, why this fund, the parameters of the round and one specific ask. Founders were advised to avoid mass mailings and requests to sign an NDA before the first call. The pitch deck should cover the product's function, its TRL and aggregated results, while detailed data goes into the data room after an NDA is signed. Classified data, unit identifiers and locations should never leave the company.

Between meetings, Hryshchuk recommended a one-page monthly update covering numbers, product, procurement, team and asks, sent in weak months as well as strong ones. Investors compare what a team promised in its second month with what it achieved by the sixth. To show a path to repeat contracts, founders should name the buyer, the budget line and the next order, report progress on codification and supply contracts, and demonstrate that they can produce at the volume those orders require.

The round itself should be tied to milestones: tests, certification, contracts and production capacity that will price the next round, with enough runway after closing to avoid another rushed raise. Due diligence typically proceeds through validation, procurement, unit economics, IP and export control, and rounds most often stall on IP assignments and export classification. Founders should close IP gaps with co-founders, staff and contractors early and open the round once the data room is complete. Of the six most common reasons a fund declines a deal, only two concern the startup itself: an evidence gap or the structure of the round. Hryshchuk advised founders to return after a rejection with the fund's original reason, the change against it in numbers and one ask.

The workshop continues Defence Builder's cooperation with the European Defence Tech Hub, which also includes the joint online workshop series Validated & Fundable.

Defence Builder Accelerator is accepting applications for Batch 4.0 until 30 October 2026. The four-month programme starts in November and will bring together 10 defence and dual-use teams from any country with a working prototype at TRL 4 or higher. Participants work through two tracks: a military track with field testing and demonstrations to procurement officers and end users, and a business track covering unit economics, IP, export, production and fundraising. Once their evidence is ready, teams are introduced to more than 100 investors.

Programme details: defencebuilder.com/batch4
Application form: defencebuilder.com/batch4-application-form