“Let me tell you how we got here…” This is the most useless part of a startup’s pitch. But you’d be amazed how many founders spend a ton of time on it!

“Well, we started with furniture sales, then we pivoted to eVTOL sandwich delivery. But the FAA shut us down, so now we’re a B2B SaaS for accountants.” I’m left scratching my head.

It’s Not Relevant

Unless someone asks, you never need to explain how your company got to where it is today.

Where you’ve been doesn’t matter. It’s where you are now that counts.

Talking about prior iterations of your company risks losing your audience.

“What do I care about the platform you scrapped last year?” they’ll be thinking. And once you lose your audience, it’s hard to get them back.

It Takes Too Much Time

Startup pitch meetings are usually short. Mine average about 20 minutes.

You only have so much time to show the investor that your company is special. Remember, you have to beat 200 other founders to get that check.

If you only have 20 minutes, why spend 10 on something irrelevant that isn’t getting you closer to a check? That won’t leave enough time to talk about what really matters.

What to Talk About Instead

So what really does matter?

Three things drive a company: team, product, and customers. If you’re not talking about those things, you’re wasting your precious time with the investor.

Talk about why your team is the right one to tackle this problem. Show off your awesome product. Tell me who your customers are and why they love your product. Dig into details on revenue and sales strategy.

If you cover all this, you won’t have time for anything irrelevant!

Wrap Up

Your time is precious. So is that of investors.

Use it wisely. Don’t tell meandering, irrelevant stories.

Your company’s history matters a lot to you. But to everyone else, I’m sorry, but it just doesn’t!

Stick to what’s important: team, customers, and product. Save the rest for your diary.

What do you talk about in pitch meetings?

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