Accepted: Accepted into Techstars LA

Translunar

Auston Tighe · Aerospace & Defense · Pre-Seed · January 2026

How Auston refined his pitch deck through community feedback and went from early-stage founder to Techstars LA acceptance in under 3 months.

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~3 months

Time to Acceptance

From first upload to Techstars acceptance

4 versions

Deck Iterations

Each refined with mentor feedback

Techstars LA

Accelerator

Top-tier accelerator, <1% acceptance rate

The Journey

🚀

October 2025

Joined the Community

Auston uploaded his initial pitch deck for AI-powered analysis and joined the Discord community.

📝

November 2025

Deck Feedback & Iteration

Received structured feedback from mentors on market sizing, competitive positioning, and technical differentiation.

🎯

December 2025

Investor Matching

Matched with aerospace and deep-tech investors. Practiced pitch with community members before applications.

🏆

January 2026

Techstars LA Acceptance

Accepted into Techstars LA cohort with a significantly stronger narrative and deck than when he started.

“The feedback I got from the community completely changed how I positioned Translunar. The AI analysis caught gaps I never would have seen on my own, and the mentor conversations gave me the confidence to apply to Techstars.”

— Auston Tighe, Founder of Translunar, after Techstars LA acceptance

Lessons Learned

What made the biggest difference in your pitch deck?

Market sizing was my weakest point. The AI analysis flagged it immediately, and my mentors helped me build a bottom-up TAM model that investors actually believed. Most founders, including me at first, default to top-down numbers that investors see through instantly.

How did community feedback compare to solo preparation?

Night and day. When you prepare alone, you develop blind spots. Having mentors and other founders challenge your assumptions surfaces the hard questions investors will ask. I practiced my pitch response to "why now?" at least a dozen times before it clicked.

What advice would you give to founders applying to accelerators?

Start preparing 3 months before applications open, not 3 weeks. Use every resource available to refine your narrative. Your deck is a living document — the version you submit should be dramatically better than the one you started with. And join a community where people will give you honest, direct feedback.

Ben Wiggins

7x Founder · 1 Exit · Experienced Angel Investor · CIO Family Office

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