Establishing a start-up is not a job of a day. Vigorous efforts, constant brain-storming and ineffable hard-work are extremely essential to bring alive your dream. And one of the very prime and crucial steps that are to be taken while establishing your own company. Grabbing attention of the investors and acquiring appropriate funding is one of the most important things that linger on anyone’s mind who is planning to start-up. And while this can be intimidating, if you strike the right cords, you have a lot to look forward too!
Here’s a list of things to keep in mind before going for an investor meeting from Praveen Kumar, Founder and CEO of tech-travel start-up TripHobo:
Have A Terrific Teaser
First impressions are often the last impressions; so make sure you have a perfectly well-drafted teaser mail that will invoke the interest about your product. A good teaser mail will also increase the probability of getting a meeting scheduled!
Be Crystal Clear About What Problem Your Product Is Solving
You need to be extremely clear and precise about the idea behind your product.
You should know the real-world problem your product is solving.
Example: Getting a taxi at your doorstep, that can take you anywhere you want and at anytime- a crucial day-to-day problem faced by everyone. Taxi service provider like Uber stepped in to solve this problem and that’s made them big!
Know your product inside out, chalk out the specific stages that the product will go through in near future and be very pragmatic about your anticipations from the product. Investors will be deeply interested in the efforts put by you to conceive the product, so keep the research data handy, surveys at the place and numbers right on your mind.
Do Your Homework On The Investors
Do a detailed study about your investors. Peek through the history of their investments, what their philosophy is and what is the factor they look for while investing. You can find out whether they invest in a product that’s already making money or are they ready to experiment with a projected revenue model. This will help you to understand the investors and you can be prepared with the kind of questions they might ask during your meeting.
Recommended Read: 5 Key Traits To Look For In An Investor
Keep Your Product Deck simple
Keep your presentation crisp. The Investor will probably spend only a couple of minutes for your presentation and you have to make sure each of those counts! Explain the product yourself; be generous with words, since this is where the investors will click with your ideas!
Make sure your Deck discusses the revenue model if you already have one , else discuss the revenue potential
You have to discuss the monetization capabilities of your product. Discuss the market potential of your product and whether the problem solved by your product is big enough.
A Working Prototype Always Helps
Nothing nails a presentation more than a demo! Be ready with a prototype, demonstrate the operation and working of the product, it will definitely grab more interest in the investors since then can actually see the working rather than simply imagining.
Have a clear roadmap about how you are going to spend the money you get
While it seem overwhelming to begin with, you have to be extremely unambiguous about out-flow of the investment. Whether you are going to use the funds for product development, talent acquisition, R&D, marketing, sales or branding; you have to have a pretty good road-map of which activities will require what amount of money and for how long.
Project A Strong Team
Along with building a strong product, it is crucial to have a strong team with apt skill sets working for you. At the initial stage, the investors want to look at a strong team standing behind the founder. This will not only develop a trust of a successful delivery of product but will also help to earn the trust of your potential investors. Plus, with a set of experts, experience comes handy!
Always Follow-up
After your meetings, have a conversation with the investors; try and understand their take on the product. Send them regular updates about your product and this will ensure they have you in their radar. Develop a relationship with the investors and always open a dialogue with them.
