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The Real Reason Your Fundraising Pitch Sucks
Hint: you’re probably not helping investors solve their biggest problem
“Can you give me feedback on my fundraising pitch?”
I get that request at least a dozen times each week. I get it from my students. I get it from my former students. I get it from friends who know I do startup-type-things. I get it from random strangers on the other side of the world.
At the risk of seeming like a narcissistic jerk, I actually like the requests. They make me feel like people value my opinion, and who doesn’t enjoy that feeling? So I listen to as many fundraising pitches as I reasonably can, and, after listening to lots of them, I’ve got a good sense of why so many suck. And, yes, the vast majority truly suck, including yours.
How do I know your fundraising pitch sucks? Well, the fact that you’re reading some random stranger’s fundraising advice on the Internet is certainly a good clue. After all, if you already had a great fundraising pitch, you wouldn’t be here, would you?
I rest my case.
To be clear, by telling you your fundraising pitch sucks, I don’t mean your slides aren’t beautiful, I don’t mean you’re bad at public speaking, and I definitely don’t mean your startup isn’t good. I just mean that if your…