There is an investor at every company stage. If you are the CEO, it’s your job to find and secure meetings with the right investors for your market, stage, and business model.
Extensive and insightful article on how to find the right investor.
You have spent months preparing meticulously for that crucial pitch to investors. The problem you are addressing is huge, your solution super-compelling, your pitch-deck stellar. And yet investors remain skeptical…
What is going on?
No matter how great your idea is, your most formidable obstacle is prospects’ adherence to the status quo. It’s that voice inside people’s heads that goes, We’ve gotten along just fine without it, and we’ll always be fine without it.
How can you help your audience overcome their resistance to change? One effective approach is to focus not so much on the “why” the world needs your idea, but why it needs it NOW. Find your “why now” and add credibility and urgency to your strategic story.
Great insights on successful pitching by strategic storyteller Andy Raskin.
Have you ever left a pitch and wondered what investors really thought about you?
According to a survey, nothing makes investors lose their interest faster than entrepreneurs who cannot clearly explain their business model, financials or metrics (the Financially Challenged).
But there are more aspects that are major turn-offs for investors. Like the inability to communicate effectively (the Ramblers); reacting defensively and being unwilling to accept feedback (the Know-It-Alls), or being too emotional or “salesy” (the Drama Queens). Here are the top 8 things that make investors cringe.
Read more about pitching to investors.
Pitching to investors? 3 critical things you need to pay attention to:
- Start by stating clearly what you are about—investors are an impatient bunch!
- Deal with the elephant in the room early in your pitch—and there is always an elephant in the room.
- Use slides that truly say what you want to say—no need to use all the 87 slides of your corporate deck.
Very insightful article by former McKinsey consultant and presentation designer Jan Schultink.
Read more on business presentations.