For every startup founder, the most significant pain today is the lack of funds to run the operations. Even though there are ample opportunities, but still, 94.3% of startups struggle in securing capital.

Do we really know as a founder where we lag, or what the investor actually looks for when investing? It is important to remember that every investor has a different checklist when it comes to investment in any startup.

Many important factors attract investors. Let us have a look at some of them.

Are you passionate enough?

Many angel investors look for passionate founders who invest in their own money to kick-start their startup. If an investor sees a founder has invested their own money in the initial phase to build the product, they might feel more inclined to invest. This is then followed by the experience of the founders.

Validation

Investors look for validation! Before pitching for investment, a founder should validate their product in the market. Thorough market validation will surely save a lot of capital of both the founder and investors. In this day and age, there is a very less chance that a market is untapped, and therefore, it is easier to validate than before. A startup has to be disruptive to get the immediate attention of any investor whether an angel or a VC firm.

Every founder should talk to as many mentors, VC firm heads and other entrepreneurs and share the idea briefly, which will surely help in validation. Any startup should build a minimum viable product with a website, and a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, which is considered the minimum nowadays. Then they can carry on the market research before pitching, which also helps in the validation of your idea.

Do you have the best team?

At an early stage, the investors look for a great team.

“A great team and an average idea are preferable as they will be able to execute it instead of an average team and a good idea” says Mr. Sanjay Nath, Co-Founder, and MD Blume Ventures. Therefore, at an early stage, the executing team is the top priority of investors.

Defensibility and Competitive Advantage

A founder should know their competition, and how better they are from them. Defensibility helps you to sustain and stay longer in the market facing that competition. Unique team, patents, engaging content, and capital buzz, are some of the defensibility advantages. When the market size is enormous and majorly untapped, then more than two players have to compete for an extended period to acquire more customers and retain them, as we see in the case of Zomato and Swiggy in India.

Scalability

A startup should have a scalable model. VCs and Angel investors fund in those businesses which are highly scalable, which means they have a high growth rate in the next few years. Therefore, it is critically important that those ventures that are in a position to exploit a massive market opportunity, do so without fail., Many companies fail because they run out of money or because they were unable to scale profitably. Scalability is important for most investors since it gives the investment the best chance of multiplying quickly.

It’s risky for investors!

Profits or ROI do matter. Every founder should understand that the investor community is the most risk-taking community. Fewer investors hesitate to fund any non-funded startup which ensures the risk is minimum. Even idea stage startups are funded by many angel investors and early-stage investment firms. If we take the reference of mentors and ecosystem enablers, they play a significant role in helping the founders convert these investors. The founders should focus on the quality of funding. Rather than going for a higher value of capital, one should go for a better investor who adds a higher value to the startup.

How perfect are you at pitching?

A bad pitch is not a huge concern for investors if you have a solution to a problem, and you have the right team to execute it. But pitch decks play a very important role in attracting the investors virtually before the first meeting. A founder should ensure the deck should perfectly convey the story of the startup in as less time as possible.

Exit Strategies

The last, but not the least thing that investors look for is the exit strategy. Every investor expects hefty returns, which they can take and exit the startup. This usually happens when the startup gets acquired or achieves another level of funding. So, an exit strategy is also one of the major factors that make an investor invest in your startup.

Getting investors to invest in your startup will be difficult, as numerous startups are pitching against each other for funds. It is a matter of patience and how your startup can bring a change. It is important to be pitch ready before you pitch to an investor and it’s a no harm in outsourcing a pitch deck as it saves both money and time of the founders.

Easy To Pitch (One stop solution for pitching) is an organization backed by IIM Alumnus that have served 200+ Startups pan India. They help all stage startup founders in India with a perfect deck and also in reviewing various important aspects of your startup like Business Model, Target Market, and Financial Projections. With Easy to Pitch, you can be assured that the first impression you leave on the investor through your pitch deck will be the best impression.

You can follow them on

Website: www.easytopitch.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/easytopitch

Instagram: www.instagram.com/easytopitch

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/easytopitch

If you are a startup and going for a fund raise, the first thing you require is a Pitch Deck. A Pitch Deck is nothing but a brief presentation providing a quick overview of your business plan. It is the most crucial part of any pitch, and it can either make or break a deal.

One can find 100s of templates of pitch decks from open sources, but are they the best choice for your startup? Templates can help you with the pattern or a format of the presentation, but instead of just thinking about the format, the focus should be on what is being presented in the deck. Since you will not be present physically to explain the investor about your startup, your pitch deck is prepared to do the talking in the initial stages of communication to pave way for further conversations with any investor.

The major components of an Investor Pitch deck are the Business model, Target market and Financial projections of your startup. Every founder should be able to convey his message in these three slides when going to pitch to any investor. In order to have a perfect deck, the founders either have to hire a MBA Grad or go look for mentoring in various startup programs organised by incubation or accelerators. Also, at an early stage it becomes difficult for startups to spend big money on hiring Graphic Designers to make Presentations or Decks or paying agencies for finances or on boarding mentors with stakes. And if by any chance the founder is unable to afford these or do not get selected by these institutions, they have to keep struggling and waste more time in making their deck.

While I agree that skills are required when you are making a deck, but it is less of writing skill and more of presentation skills. Founders should understand that a typical startup investor only spends an average of 3 minutes and 44 seconds on each pitch deck. That automatically means your deck should be not more than 10-12 slides. Your Pitch Deck should have focussed approach with short and concise content with facts and figures.

“Investors like numbers”

89% of the startup founders lag in something or the other when making the deck for their startup. Not being from the management background or finance background and facing such a struggle is understandable, and thus coming up with problems like analysing valuations and ROI and putting it in the deck which needs an expert’s hand along with validating the business model.

“Get your Pitch Deck reviewed”

Before you send your deck to any investor its very important to get it reviewed. You can get it reviewed by the various founders who have raised any funding or organisations/supporters other then incubation and accelerators that help startups to have build a proper pitch deck. It is never a harm to spend a minute amount for the review of the Pitch Deck than hiring mentors or MBAs and giving them good cuts of investment or salaries. If you fear that your idea may be compromised, it is advisable to sign NDAs with those supporters or organisations. If you think it is too much of a hassle, please remember it is better than facing a rejection from an investor due to an imperfect deck.

“At early stage your pitch deck is all you have to attract any investor”

It is vital to remember that while the design or font of our Pitch Deck will make the first impression, what matters most is what is inside the deck. Ensure that the deck has all the details what the investor wants to know, which is what your business idea is, why there is a need of investment and what benefit does it brings to the investor. If you are an early stage startup, you may not have enough numbers to show in your pitch deck, so make sure your major focus is on the problem you are solving, how you are going to solve it and how the investor can help. In the end, it is important to make the investor understand how he can add value to your idea.

“Show your growth projection graphs”

After seeing the slides of Business model and Target Market, the next thing the investor will look for is the growth projections of your startup for the next few years, and thus consider the valuations. If the projections are missing in your deck, you might miss your chance of another meeting with the investor. Investors appreciate such efforts by the founders, as it helps them to understand more about your startup and saves time.

Above are the few points to be kept in mind when it comes to building your pitch deck before sharing to investors, hope they might be of some help.

Easy To Pitch (One stop solution for pitching) is an organization backed by IIM Alumnus that have served 200+ Startups pan India. They help all stage startup founders in India with a perfect deck and also in reviewing various important aspects of your startup like Business Model, Target Market and Financial Projections. With Easy to Pitch, you can be assured that the first impression you leave on the investor through your pitch deck will be the best impression.
You can follow them on
Facebook : www.facebook.com/easytopitch
Instagram : www.instagram.com/easytopitch
LinkedIn : www.linkedin.com/company/easytopitch

Do not forget to hit the clap!

Its 2:30 am on the clock and it is again a sleepless night.

Never thought I will be writing like this some day. This entrepreneurial life makes you do everything and the best part is you so love to do !! The entrepreneurs reading this might relate it I am sure.

I pen this down as I soak in the gamut of emotions pinching my mind. My mind, that doesn’t let my heavy eyelids rest until I voice myself out.
‎
Recently I was offered by few to be in their team or be their co-founder for their firm . It sounds good doesn’t It??? People approaching you with such opportunities when you really want to make it big in life! Should I be happy that my potential is recognized or should I be sad thinking that what I want is not even acknowledged??!!

There is so much to confuse you around!!
On one place you work hard for your dreams and on other place when people see you working hard and think you are so talented and full of potential that they want you to join them in their team considering you as an asset to make their dream ventures go to heights.

One of the gentleman says" this dream is very close to my heart" with deep emotions and says he wants me to join him to make it a come real!

I want to ask him!!!

What about my dreams?? Aren't they close to my heart??? I am emotional too about them!! Why should i join you??? I have my own dreams too !!! So what if I am struggling right now!?

And So I refused !! And then he comes saying " I am giving you a good percent that can be used to fulfill your dreams and you are refusing for it ".

This makes me think once again .They are offering me good that can help me to make my dream come true and can help me to take my own dream venture to heights! But for that I have to work for their dreams first!

Do I really want that???
‎
No!! I have already done that before! Working so hard for a firm like its my own but never got a little satisfaction! And they want me to do the same by letting me be a small part of their dream by offering some percent!!

"If you don't build your dream, someone will hire you to help build theirs."

I want to tell him that
I cannot accept your offers not because your dream is not that good enough to work for but i have my own babies to take care off and they need my full love and care at present! No matter i am capable enough to feed them properly or not! But i just want to make it less difficult ! We cannot sail in two boats at the same time.

May be the journey is tough! The path is very long. I might not sleep for years and I am sure finding shortcut is difficult but il remain after my dreams till i reach there ! Il definitely keep motivating my self or follow inspirations .
I might be very good at multitasking. I might have good skills , I might be a smart worker , Might be an asset for your dream venture! But I dont want to be that person again working for someone elses dream day !!
I love failing over and over again but just cannot be the one to work for your dream. And I am sure about this decision! Please don’t ask me to rethink about it!
‎
‎ ‎"Looking at the clock"
‎
Its 5 in the morning and I am still thinking and writing. Have an important meetings around 10.
I guess I should try to sleep now!

I would just like to say in the end,
Being an Entrepreneur and living an entrepreneur journey is what i always wanted. Living and working for my passion is what makes me happy. But at the same time its a difficult journey too. Facing failures everyday is really tough to go through but reading qoutes on google motivates me and listening to Entrepreneurs inspires me.

You should Follow your dreams and passion no matter what good offerings you get in life because I am sure even if you reject that offering you might be somewhere at a better place . Work for your own dreams forgetting how hard it is!! It will give you much more satisfaction, Trust Me!

If you can relate and connect yourself with it do not forget to hit the 👏.