How a Strong Engineering Team Can Help Your Startup Secure Funding

You’ve got six months of runway, two investor conversations in play, and a product that still needs work. Who’s writing the code?

Most early-stage founders outsource. It’s faster, cheaper, and gets the MVP live. But when funding rounds start, investors look at the team behind the product. If they don’t see in-house engineering capability, they start questioning how the business will scale.

A strong software engineering team can be one of your most persuasive assets in a funding conversation. In this blog, we break down why your engineers matter to investors, what they expect to see during technical due diligence, and how the right hiring decisions can support your funding strategy.

Why Investors Care About Your Engineering Team

If you're a founder preparing to raise, your software engineering team will be under scrutiny before investors look at revenue or traction. In 2024, global VC funding dropped 18%, and early-stage deal volume hit a four-year low. Investors became more selective and more focused on technical strength.

Startups that could explain their startup tech stack, walk through hiring decisions, and introduce in-house engineers, moved forward. Those relying on agencies or interim help often stalled. According to Harvard Business Review, 95% of venture capitalists say the founding team is one of the most important factors in deciding whether to invest. For tech startups, this includes the engineers who build and scale the product.

A strong software engineering team instills confidence in investors. It reduces delivery risk, demonstrates internal support for the product, and facilitates a more accurate assessment of the business's growth potential. Teams with clear technical ownership are more likely to raise, especially when funding is competitive.

A visible team validates the product

Investors need to assess how the product is built, maintained, and developed over time. If everything has been outsourced, it becomes difficult to evaluate code quality, scalability, or the team’s ability to adapt.

Founders who can introduce internal engineers and explain technical decisions provide a clearer picture of how the business operates. This helps investors assess both the current product and its future viability.

Certain roles shift the conversation

Early-stage companies are not expected to have whole engineering departments, but there is an expectation that technical leadership and ownership are in place.

At minimum, investors will expect:

• A CTO or founding engineer responsible for architecture and technical direction
• A software developer involved in ongoing development
• Someone capable of handling technical due diligence

These roles demonstrate that the business can maintain momentum, respond to issues, and support scaling plans without relying on third parties.

Engineering recruitment signals long-term intent

When startups depend solely on agencies or contractors, investors raise concerns around knowledge retention, delivery stability, and long-term ownership.

Founders who have made even one or two key technical hires present a stronger position. It suggests a focus on sustainable growth and shows that engineering is integrated into the business model. That structure helps de-risk the investment and gives investors more clarity around delivery capability.

Strong engineering improves fundability

Ideas are important, but execution is what secures funding. Your software engineering team is part of that proof. Investors want to see that the business can evolve the product, resolve issues, and build efficiently as it grows.

You are likely to be asked:

• How the current stack will scale with user growth
• What risks exist in the current architecture
• Who manages performance, deployment, and technical debt

Startups with in-house engineers who can answer these questions directly and confidently tend to make faster progress through funding conversations.

How does your engineering team support the fundraising process?

During a raise, your software engineering team becomes part of the pitch. Investors want to see what’s been built, how it’s maintained, and who’s responsible for improving it. A stable product is expected, but confidence comes from knowing the team behind it can support the next phase of growth.

If you’re raising for a tech startup, your engineers should be present and prepared. Founders who defer technical questions or rely on legacy contractors often lose momentum. Investors are looking for in-house capability, not promises to hire later. Teams that can answer confidently tend to progress through the process more quickly.

Your engineering team should be ready to:

• Walk through the product during demo sessions
• Explain architectural decisions and known limitations
• Answer questions about performance, roadmap, and delivery
• Show how systems are managed, documented, and improved

Who should be in the room:

Investors expect technical representation, even at seed stage. Your CTO, lead engineer, or founding engineer should be part of the conversation and able to explain what has been built and why.

They should be prepared to:

• Provide a technical walkthrough of the product
• Speak to risks and future plans
• Clarify how engineering supports commercial goals

What your MVP says about you:

A working MVP shows more than progress. It reflects how your team approaches product delivery. Investors will assess whether it’s something that can be iterated on or something that needs replacing.

They’ll be asking:

• Was it built by the in-house software engineering team?
• Does it reflect a scalable, intentional approach?
• Can the team adapt it quickly post-funding?

Can the system scale?:

You don’t need enterprise architecture, but you do need answers. If the startup tech stack can’t support growth, or no one on the team can explain what happens at scale, that becomes a blocker.

Expect questions around:

• Infrastructure and load handling
• Where the system needs investment
• How the team plans to scale responsibly

How prepared is the team for due diligence?: 

As funding progresses, expectations become more formal. Your engineering team should have the basics in place and be ready to walk through them without delays.

Investors will review:

• Deployment and release practices
• Documentation, version control, and system access
• Security and compliance standards

The Investor Checklist: What Great Engineering Teams Demonstrate

Once you're in conversation with investors, the focus shifts from what you've built to how well your software engineering team can support what comes next. A strong pitch deck and confident founder will get you into the room. What moves things forward is the structure behind your product: the decisions you've made, the team in place, and the way you deliver.

Investors assess engineering maturity in specific ways. Even if the product is early, they want to see whether the team can scale it, improve it, and manage risk. 

If your engineering recruitment strategy has already brought in the right capability, that becomes part of your advantage. This checklist outlines what most early-stage investors are evaluating. If you're navigating common funding challenges for startups, these are the questions your team needs to be able to answer.

Product execution and speed

• Has your in-house team shipped the core product, not just contractors?
• Are you iterating quickly and consistently with internal engineering support?
• Can you show how your software engineering team contributes to delivery beyond MVP?

Ability to adapt and pivot

• Has your team adapted the product in response to feedback or commercial shifts?
• Can your engineers revise roadmap priorities without disruption?
• Is your current setup flexible enough to support changes without major rebuilds?

Unique tech or IP

• Have you built proprietary systems, internal tools, or integrations?
• Can your engineering team explain how your tech differentiates you in a tech startup market?
• Does your IP strengthen your position in funding for tech startups?

Scalability and architecture

• Can your team explain how the startup tech stack will scale post-raise?
• Do you have clear limitations mapped out with a plan to address them?
• Are future tech startup jobs aligned with your growth roadmap?

Security, quality, and documentation

• Is access control managed internally and documented?
• Can your team walk through release history, incidents, and recovery practices?
• Are you ready for technical due diligence with documentation owned by your engineering recruitment hires?

Clear, well-supported answers help investors move faster and with more certainty. It shows them the team behind the product is already thinking at the level they need to fund.

Building a Fundable Software Engineering Team

Every hiring decision tells a story. To investors, it’s a story about how your business works, how you plan to grow, and whether your product is being built with long-term goals in mind. Early-stage team structure is rarely perfect, but it should be intentional.

This is where your approach to software engineering recruitment truly matters. Whether you’re hiring your first in-house developer or building a small engineering function pre-raise, investors will look at how those decisions were made. A well-structured hiring plan, supported by the right recruitment partner, provides them with a solid foundation.

1. Start with the roles that show ownership

At pre-seed or seed, you don’t need a full engineering department. But you do need someone responsible for technical direction. This could be a CTO, a founding engineer, or a lead developer who owns system decisions and represents the product internally.

• These roles should be active, not advisory
• For seed to Series A, investors expect to see engineering leadership and hands-on contributors
• Someone should be able to speak clearly about how the product is being built and improved

2. Don’t outsource the wrong things

Outsourcing is useful early on, but it cannot replace internal ownership. If no one on your team understands the codebase or infrastructure, investors will see risk.

• A contractor-built MVP is acceptable, but internal hires should manage growth
• Without in-house technical knowledge, due diligence becomes slower and more difficult
• By Series A, investors expect permanent engineers in place with full product visibility

3. Show that hiring supports the roadmap

Strong engineering recruitment shows that you are building around your actual needs, not just reacting to blockers. Your team should reflect what the business needs to ship in the next 12 months, not just what it needed last sprint.

• Pre-seed and seed hiring should focus on flexibility and coverage
• As the product gains traction, new hires should match infrastructure or performance goals
• Hiring misalignment creates doubts about delivery and scale readiness

4. Build a team that believes in what you’re building

Retention and engagement matter. Investors notice when your team is aligned with the product vision. Engineers who understand the business build with more focus and stay longer, which supports momentum post-raise.

• Belief in the product helps with delivery consistency at an early stage
• Commercial awareness improves how engineers prioritise and collaborate
• For any engineering start-up, this is one of the clearest ways to reduce long-term hiring pressure

Recruitment supports delivery, but it also shapes how your startup is perceived. If your software engineering recruitment reflects structure, ownership, and growth, it becomes part of your funding case. Investors notice when the team is built with intent.

Closing Thoughts on Software Engineering Recruitment and Funding

Building a product is only part of the challenge. To secure funding, you need to show that the team behind it can scale, adapt, and deliver under pressure. That starts with the decisions you make around software engineering recruitment.

Investors want clarity. They look at who you’ve hired, how the team operates, and whether your current setup reflects what the business actually needs. A well-structured, in-house team shows long-term thinking and lowers the risk in the eyes of investors.

Closing a funding round is never just about the pitch. It's about proving the business is ready to grow.

Ready to Build a Team That Supports Your Next Raise?

We help startups find the engineers who move products forward and make funding conversations easier. Whether you're hiring your first in-house developer or expanding an existing team, we’ll connect you with people who are ready to deliver.

Get in touch today to start hiring with confidence.