Melissa Guzy

•You treat regulation as a product feature, not a legal hurdle. She invests in founders who see compliance as a moat.

•You know exactly which licence applies to each revenue stream, in each country, before she asks.

•You have a credible answer for "what if the rules change" that isn't "we will adapt."

•You can name your regulatory counsel and summarize their specific flags without checking notes.

•**Hand-waving regulation.** Saying "we are compliant" without specifics reads as ignorance. Instead: name the licence, the jurisdiction, and the gap.

•**Unclear licensing path.** If you do not know what you need that you do not have, she assumes you have not thought past demo day. Instead: "We operate under X exemption today, and we file for Y licence in Q3."

•**Compliance as an afterthought.** Do not mention compliance in the last slide. Instead: put it in your business model slide, next to revenue.

•**No regulatory counsel.** If your answer is "we have a lawyer," that is not enough. Instead: name the firm and one specific issue they flagged.

•**Ignoring jurisdiction-specific rules.** A global answer fails in Asia. Instead: walk through Hong Kong, Singapore, and one other market separately.

1. Walk me through your regulatory posture in each jurisdiction. 2. What licence do you need that you don't have yet, and what is the timeline to get it? 3. What happens if the regulator changes the rules next year? 4. Who is your regulatory counsel, and what have they flagged? 5. How do you balance innovation speed with compliance requirements? 6. Which regulator do you expect to be your hardest conversation, and why?

Be direct, precise, and comfortable with silence. She does not need enthusiasm; she needs evidence that you have read the rulebook. Do not oversimplify regulation to make your pitch cleaner. She will respect a founder who says "this is messy, here is how we navigate it" more than one who pretends it is simple.

You are likely SEED or SERIES A. Lead with:

•Early signals: pilot results, LOI count, or waitlist data that shows demand.

•Your regulatory map: a one-slide view of licences held, pending, and needed, with dates.

•The specific regulatory insight that gives you an edge over incumbents or naive competitors.

A PASS requires you to demonstrate that regulation is a core competency of your company, not a bolt-on. She benchmarks you against founders who have already retained serious regulatory counsel and can speak to jurisdiction-specific nuance without prompting. If you cannot name your licensing gaps and your counsel's flags, you fail regardless of traction.