An inside look at a high-stakes session with top founders where tough questions and real experience came together for soonami founders.

Founders presented their ideas to Philipp Zentner, Founder and CEO of LI.FI, and Michael Priem, entrepreneur and technology executive. From the first few minutes, it was clear this would not be a routine session.

Philipp, who leads LI.FI as it builds infrastructure for seamless asset movement across blockchains, consistently pushed founders toward clarity.  Can you explain what you do in a way that someone outside your category immediately understands?

Several founders began with technical explanations or broad narratives about the market. Philipp repeatedly brought them back to the same point. What is the exact problem. Who has it. Why is your solution better than what exists today. If these answers were not clear, everything else in the pitch lost weight.

This emphasis on simplicity revealed a common pattern. Many founders had spent months building but had not spent enough time refining how they communicate. In early-stage companies, this gap becomes a real constraint. If a founder cannot clearly articulate the value of what they are building, it becomes harder to attract users, partners, and investors.

Michael approached the session with a different lens. His questions focused on execution and real-world behavior. He was less interested in what could happen in theory and more interested in what is likely to happen in practice.

Who is the first customer. How do you reach them. Why would they choose you over existing alternatives. What is the cost of acquiring them. What happens after they sign up. Do they stay.

These questions often exposed assumptions that had not been fully tested. In several cases, founders realized that their understanding of the customer journey was incomplete. They had thought deeply about the product, but less about distribution and retention.

One of the more important themes that emerged from the session was the difference between vision and credibility.

Almost every founder had a strong vision. Large markets, ambitious goals, and the potential to scale. But what separated the stronger pitches from the rest was the ability to translate that vision into a believable path forward.

The founders who stood out were those who could break their journey into steps. What does success look like in the next three months. What is the smallest version of the product that delivers value. Which specific user segment will you win first. These answers created confidence.

Another recurring theme was the importance of focus.

Some founders tried to do too much at once. Multiple user segments, multiple features, multiple revenue streams. While this can sound impressive, it often signals a lack of prioritization. Both Philipp and Michael pushed founders to narrow their scope.

If you had to win one market first, which one would it be. If you had to remove half your features, which ones would remain. These questions forced founders to think about what truly matters in the early stages.

The discussion around differentiation was also notable.

In crowded markets, it is not enough to be slightly better. Founders were asked to clearly define what makes their product meaningfully different. Is it speed, cost, user experience, access, or something else. And more importantly, does that difference matter enough for users to switch.

In some cases, founders realized that their differentiation was not as strong as they believed. This is difficult to confront, but essential. It is far better to identify this early than after months of building.

For founders, this is where the real value lies. Polite feedback rarely changes direction. Direct feedback, when taken seriously, often does.

At the same time, the session was not about criticism alone. It was about helping founders improve. In several instances, a question led to a sharper articulation of the problem. A challenge led to a more focused strategy. A moment of uncertainty led to a clearer next step.

This is the ideal outcome of a session like this. Not just identifying gaps, but moving closer to better answers.

For soonami, sessions like these are a core part of the journey.

The goal is not just to provide exposure, but to create environments where founders are pushed to think harder, communicate better, and build with greater intent. Access to experienced individuals matters, but what matters more is the quality of interaction.

Cohort 9 benefited from both.

They walked into the session with ideas at different stages of development. They walked out with sharper thinking, clearer priorities, and in many cases, a more realistic understanding of what it will take to succeed.

Progress in early-stage companies is rarely linear. It comes from moments like these, where assumptions are tested and refined.

And for Cohort 9, it raised the bar.

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