How to pitch to investors locally and most importantly foreign investors who can pump millions of hard currencies to see where it takes your idea internationally is a big deal for any founder.
Knowing how to pitch your idea traditionally to an investor in some cases isn’t the magnet you need rather it is knowing exactly what might interests them.
So how do you even reach that investor?
Thanks to social media and VCs. One of your fundraising tactics would be trying to contact one via social media DMs or cold emails trying to build a relationship.
Guess what? For investors like Brian Backeen, the general partner of Lightship Capital, in an article by TechCrunch+, DMing might be a waste of time.
Spend your time building a great business and you will gain investment. I don’t need new friends – Brian Backeen
But let’s say your luck shines and you find yourself in the room or on Zoom getting ready to kill it and become the next Elon. Knowing what may interest your potential investors is vital.
Here some of the things you should expect in the second quarter of 2023
Things are changing. Why not hear from your potential foreign investors themselves?
Founder and general partner, Day One Ventures, Masha Bucher’s response on How To Pitch Me by TechCrunch:
What kind of investment opportunities are you looking for in March 2023?
Good Speakers Vs Survivors
During a healthy fundraising environment, the founders that do the best often lean into their storytelling prowess and can convince investors with their charisma. They’re the ones who are naturally good speakers and are articulate with their vision.
There’s a second type of founder with a different background. They’re often heads-down, scrappy and resource-oriented. I call them “survivors.” Survivors are often immigrant founders, people of color, women or others from underrepresented backgrounds.
I believe the survivors are the types of founders to back during a downturn. They’ve been pushed to be scrappy and survive their whole lives; they’re especially equipped to handle what the current times demand of them. They’re good at making something out of nothing and are extremely cost-efficient.
I’m looking for paths to monetization, business models and avenues to profitability. Investors are paying much more attention to numbers, business models and how well founders manage finances. Expect many more questions challenging the business model.
I’m looking at how much revenue comes from product quality versus marketing. Founders who generate virality based on the product’s quality show they can make money with little marketing spend.
We love companies with high EBITDA. We love companies like Quinn, which grew to millions in revenue in just a year from launch with viral, zero-cost marketing on TikTok.
How do you prefer to be approached by a founder with their initial pitch: a cold email, a warm intro or another method?
How to create a life-changing spark with cold emails or warm intros
Cold email works great, but it’s surprising how few people can do it right. In a cold email, every single sentence should be convincing me to take a meeting. With every word and every sentence, you need to create the desire for an investor to meet you in person. You have to show a clear reason why they need to meet you now, not next month.
Response from Brian Backeen, general partner, Lightship Capital
What kind of investment opportunities are you looking for in March 2023?
AI is a thing. Don’t sleep on it
Like many investors, we are bullish on AI. We made two AI-related investments in April and continue to look for opportunities in that space.
How do you prefer to be approached by a founder with their initial pitch: a cold email, a warm intro or another method?
Lucky for you. You don’t need the cold emails
We have an online portal at lightship.capital that founders can use to apply for investment. We do that to prevent an issue with VC investors called “network bias.” Founders should apply on our portal and follow on Twitter.
What’s one traditional fundraising tactic that founders should remove from their toolkit — something that no longer works but is still a common practice?
Stick to an online portal if the VC has one
Asking for warm intros and trying to “build a relationship” with investors. Spend your time building a great business and you will gain investment. I don’t need new friends.
Tell us about the best pitch you’ve received recently. When during their presentation did you realize you were going to invest?
Can you get a stranger to give up his life savings for your idea 💡
I was pitched by a firm called MuseTax recently. Excellent founders, subject matter experts, the real deal. They made me want to invest in the first 10 minutes. They are in diligence now.
Can you share one piece of advice that can help a first-time founder stand out?
Three words: Design. Design. Design
Don’t focus on investment; focus on design. Don’t let your engineers build you an ugly product with a great password reset function but limited user value.
Don’t let the engineers tell you it’s not ready; it is. Push it out and learn.
Design it well and users or investors will follow. Engineer the first version well and you will end up with lots of engineering bills and no progress.
What are you reading/watching/listening to right now?
Quoting a line from a book/series/podcast while pitching might light up eyes in the room
I keep rewatching season 1 of “Billions.” You know, before it got weird 🙂. Great show.
By Elijah Christopher
