So you are ready and energized to go find investors for your startup, believing that nothing can stop you from raising start-up capital.
Before you start, have a look at a couple of key areas that investors want to hear about. Do not skip on these if you do not want to fail.
Your public image
Investors want to know more about you beforehand. Your social media involvement such as Twitter, LinkedIn and others. Your webiste.
Do they believe you can build a great startup?
Solution offered
The core business focus of your startup should be to solve a problem. What solution are you offering?
Investors want to see that the problem is serious and widespread enough to justify becoming involved.
Production
Can you create a minimal viable product or launch a pilot phase to show that your idea is worth scaling up.
Are there similar products in the market. Are your better?
Founders Team
Investors rather get involved with an amazing team with an average idea, than with an average team with an amazing idea. Over time market dynamics change and startups have to adjust and change their products constantly, so an idea is temporary.
Skills and expertise are enduring.
Financials
Have you got your own skin into the game by investing your own capital?
Have you already raised capital?
A business is not a charity, so investors need to make sure you are financially healthy and that the company will make enough profits to give them returns on their investment.
Traction and KPIs
An important indicator for evaluating any startup is seeing how they perform over time.
You are already a year in existence, what did you do in that time?
Did you grow your user and revenue base?
How did your product develop over time and did you reach important milestones?
If you cannot show exponential growth, investors would rather pass on you.
Pitch documentation
The reality is that most pitch decks are unread as investors are flooded by them.
Even when you did everything right before and got them to read it or you can present it personally, these documents need to have the right content, structure, length, and design.
If you are jumping around without a clear narrative, or you are missing key information such as your business model, an investor will quickly move on to the pitch of the next start-up.