Guide: How to Pitch Your Startup to Investors
One of the biggest things holding you back from your startup dreams is money. When you don’t have any savings, and all you have is a lot of faith in your idea, it can be difficult to get your company off the ground.
It’s why so many people choose to seek investors.
But getting investors to put thousands of dollars into your business is no easy feat and it will need a killer pitch. So, if you’re preparing to pitch your startup read our checklist of what you should (and shouldn’t) do.
1. Keep It Short and Simple
Investors are very busy people and they have heard hundreds of pitches in their lives. They do not want to sit and hear you pitch your startup for what feels like forever, so keep it short and simple.
When you write your pitch, revise it and edit it until it only includes the need to know information. By the time your draft is done, you should have an elevator pitch. It’s a short and to the point message about what you offer that’s between 30 seconds and 2 minutes. Just like an elevator ride. If you can pitch your startup in that time or in 10 slides or less, good job. Any longer and you risk sending your investors to sleep.
2. Use Facts, Not Feelings
Investors also don’t want hear about what you think or what you feel. They want hard facts that they can look at and say ‘hey, this startup is going to make me money’.
When you walk into that pitch room, you should have memorised all the important figures. Including estimated revenue and projected growth. If you don’t know the answer to a question ensure the investors that you will research it and get back to them. That’s better than saying ‘I don’t know’.
3. Know Your Market
One key question that investors will ask you is what your market looks like. Pro tip: ‘we don’t have any competition’ is not a valid answer while you pitch your startup to investors.
Even if there is no one in your specific niche, even if you’re creating a new market, there are always potential rivals. Your investors will want to know how and why you are better than your competition and why they should invest in you and not them.
You should know everything you can about the market and your competitors. And you should be prepared to outline their weaknesses.
4. Surround Yourself With Experts
But what do you do if you don’t have the answers to some of their questions? What if you have questions about your market? Then you need to surround yourself with experts.
Your investors aren’t just investing in your idea; they’re investing in your entire team. They need to have faith that your team knows what they’re doing and that you can make the tough decisions up ahead. So when you pitch your startup you must ensure investors that you are making the right decisions. Tell them about who you have on board and why they should have faith in you.
5. Phrases to Avoid
And finally, here’s a quick checklist of phrases to avoid when you pitch your startup:
- ‘Uh’ — investors want you to sound confident, don’t give them a reason to worry.
- ‘I think’ — don’t think; know. Believe in your ideas and back them up with facts.
- ‘Honestly’ — if you use honestly, it makes it seem as though everything else you said was untruthful.
- ‘Obviously’ — not everything is obvious and using this word may seem condescending.
- ‘Guarantee’ — it is impossible to guarantee that something will happen. Instead, show the investors why the outcome is likely.
