Every early-stage entrepreneur would have experienced this scenario: Investors want to meet you to discuss your startup and the possible funding opportunities. How do I prepare for my first investor meeting—and impress the potential funders?
Well, we’ve compiled a few key considerations and best practices:
Tip 1: Be Prepared. The Focus Would Be On You & Your Entrepreneurship Journey
Investors want to hear about your idea, the vision, the problem statement your startup is solving, etc, but they would be interested to know about you. Because, ultimately, they are investing in you, the entrepreneur, and your idea. When you’re asked to introduce yourself, be ready with a clear response that demonstrates your skills, knowledge, ability, and expertise to lead your company. Focus on your achievements and accomplishments that illustrate your abilities to take your startup to the next level.
Always know that investors appreciate honesty and authenticity. Again, they’re investing in the entrepreneur. Sharing your stories – both successes and failures along your entrepreneurial journey can make it easier to connect with investors on a personal level.
Tip 2: Tailor-made Your Presentation Because Every Investor is Different
Every investor has a unique mission, vision, culture, and area of interest. Take the time to do some research about your investors: What sectors do they invest in? At what stage do they invest in a startup? How much funds do they typically invest? Knowing your investors will help you better prepare for how to position your company.
Few investor groups also provide guidelines that detail how they would like the entrepreneurs to provide information to them. Adhere to those guidelines to appeal to their interests or presentation style. You can also try to connect with companies they’ve already invested in for insights and tips on how to prepare for the meeting.
Tip 3: Showcase Your Potential
Your presentation should clearly showcase your startup’s potential for success. Investors usually look for the following information in the pitch deck:
- The problem statement your startup is solving
- The competitive landscape
- The value you’re providing your customer
- The potential for market growth.
- The intellectual property around your innovation.
- The cost and profit margins for your product or service.
- How much funding do you need—and how do you plan to use it.
- The talent and expertise of your team.
- The plan for returning their investment.
Plan to answer multiple follow-up questions about the information you provide. Be prepared with examples, stories, research findings, or case studies to support your answer, thereby further illustrate your potential for success. It’s advisable to have your senior team members present with you to help answer questions, not in your area of expertise.
Tip 4: Understand & Articulate Your Startups Timeline
It’s normal for many startup entrepreneurs that they haven’t yet taken their innovation to market for various reasons. It can be that your product/service is still in the testing phase and will be in that stage for some time. Again, there are many reasons for a prolonged timeline, however, the question still remains—how do you negotiate investment when your product won’t immediately be available?
This is why you should have a clear understanding of your timeline before you go for that first investor meeting. Articulate how long it will take to complete testing before taking your product/service to the market. Break down the complete process into stages and give a timeline for each stage. This would show investors that you have a clear road map to scale.
If you are a first-time entrepreneur, we understand all these obstacles can seem like an uphill battle to conquer. We, at The Venture Studio, are co-founders. We bring ideas, resources, and expertise together to create companies that solve big problems. Witness your venture come to life with our end-to-end start up services.
Read our article, “What is a Venture Studio & How Do They Work? to understand what we do and how we can guide you in turning your ideas into reality.
