You dial into Zoom, palms sweating. This is your big moment.
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What should you say in a meeting with investors? How do you impress them?
After meeting hundreds of founders, here are my top tips:
Time Management
First, manage the time effectively.
You want to present for 1/3 of the time and save 2/3rds for questions. If you have a 30 minute meeting, you can take them through the deck for 10 minutes, then take questions for 20.
Some investors prefer to jump straight to questions. Be prepared for that as well.
The biggest mistake I see founders make in meetings is not leaving time for questions.
Every investor has objections. You have to overcome them to get a check.
But how can you overcome them when you don’t even know what they are? That’s why taking questions is so important.
How to Answer Questions
Each answer should take about as long as the question did. Here’s a good example:
Investor: “What’s your current ARR?”
Founder: “We’re at a $1 million ARR run rate.”
And here’s a bad one:
Investor: “What’s your current ARR?”
Founder: “The down market has been really crazy, right? We started off 2022 with some amazing traction, but we ran into some headwinds in Q4. Customers were reducing their SaaS budgets and really battening down the hatches. But we managed to get a great new sales guy and revenue is up! We’re also working on a pivot to enterprise. I think we’re going to have an awesome Q2. This can only last so long right?”
You won’t believe how often this happens. Investors get long, meandering responses that never answer their question in the first place.
We’re left to assume the news isn’t good.
Answer questions directly and concisely. It gives investors the info they need and respects everyone’s time.
Qualify the Investor!
You have to sell the investor. But never forget that you’re going on a 10 year journey with this person.
Why does this person belong on your cap table?
Feel very free to ask investors how they engage with portfolio companies. How do they like to add value?
You’re also well within your right to ask for founder references. Any solid investor should be able to provide them.
Wrap-Up
These meetings can be the difference between banking millions for your startup or coming away empty-handed. If you manage time well, answer questions directly, and get the right investors involved, your chances of success skyrocket.
Best of luck!
What challenges have you seen in founder-investor meetings? Leave a comment and let us know!
Have a great weekend everyone!
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