“In all reality all that stuff is sort of assumed like we wouldn't even be looking at your pitch or at your idea or concept or whatever if those things weren't already met the bar is just higher now existing does not mean anything.”

Good Design Is Zero — Journalists Only Care About What You Did Above Table Stakes

Matthew Panzarino receives ~500 pitches per day at TechCrunch. Solid design, a working app, and a clear problem — none of that is a hook anymore. Those things get you to zero, not to coverage. The only thing that earns a story is the differentiation layer on top: the specific clever thing you did that nobody else did. Founders who lead with fundamentals waste the pitch.