So you've gotten through the door. Investors want to meet with you and hear about why they should invest in your company. Here's the three things you want the investor to remember from your pitch!
Size of the opportunity
The opportunity should communicate your ambition for the company, the size of the market you are addressing and the severity of the problem that you are trying to solve.
It should tell the investors what you do. Make it clear to them what the company is selling, what services it is providing and who its customers are.
Team
Investors primarily invest in people. They are looking for a relationship with you.
Are you someone they want to work with?
Are you able to attract and retain talented people?
Can you sell the mission and vision of the company for a chance to be part of something special?
Traction
Whether its dollars, user acquisition or engagement, the traction of your company should always be presented with numbers.
A common VC framework for start-up companies post revenues the Triples x 2, Double x 3 metric. This means that after your first full year of revenue, investors want to see how you can triple that in years 2 and 3, then double each year in years 3, 4 and 5. This means a $1m revenue company becomes a $100m revenue company after year 5.
Forecasts are great but will usually be heavily discounted by potential investors when determining a valuation. The best way to minimise the discount applied is to show you have met your forecasts before. Prepare a forecast, then measure and report on it each month and build the story around how the business has performed and what you have learned.
Sounds boring, but investors LOVE IT.
