Top takeaways for pitching & building an early-stage company
- Founders should think, "What is strongest about my company?" and put that first (it gets the investor's attention, just like why action movies start with a bang).
- Most startups try to solve too many problems at once. Focus.
"The number one thing I end up talking to people about is, how can we do fewer things, but do them faster and better." - Charles Hudson
"You have this bundle of energy as a founder; we just need to make it into a laser, not a grenade." - Jason Calacanis.
- A pitch has to be crisp. Give rich memorable examples and be clear on who you help, what you charge, how many customers you have, & why your customers use your solution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwl7W6TzaPY&t=1797s
Questions to answer in a pitch
- Why are you doing this? Who does your product help, what is the problem your product solves, and how does it do it?
- If your business has multiple revenue streams make sure to highlight the main focus of the business and which part is the most profitable.
- Be clear about the maturity of the company. Is the product live? Is the product in development? Or is it in beta?
- Are people already paying?
- Who is the buyer? How do you price your product?
Organizing a Pitch
Founders should think, "what is strongest about my company?" and put that first (Action movies start with a bang).
- If you have traction, put it first. It changes the narrative in the investor's head during the rest of your pitch. When an investor sees a company with many users and usage, their brain treats that company differently. They no longer ask "why would anyone use this" because they start with the knowledge that "20,000 people installed and use this."
- Example (Traction): Put the growth chart up. "We are a chat SaaS platform with 17,000 paying customers. And this is how it has grown quarter over quarter in seven quarters. Let me show you how it works."