Flat5

The biggest mistake I made was trying to pitch music-tech as "just another SaaS." Investors need to understand why this market is different — licensing complexities, creator economics, platform dynamics. My advisor helped me build a market education slide that got investors up to speed in 60 seconds instead of losing them in jargon.

Generic startup advice can actually hurt you in niche verticals. "Just charge a subscription" does not work when your users are musicians who are used to free tools. My advisor understood the creator economy model and helped me design a revenue structure that aligned with how musicians actually spend money — which is very different from typical SaaS buyers.

My monetization story. I went from "we charge $10/month per user" to a hybrid model with freemium, premium features, and revenue sharing from content distribution. That shift showed investors I understood the market deeply, not just the technology. It also opened up a much larger TAM because the business model matched the industry structure.