Questions

In our upcoming VC meeting, both myself (CEO) and my partner (CTO) are attending. I would like to know: 1. Which one of us should start the talk? 2. What aspects of the business should each of us talk about? 3. Who should answer to the questions? Does the VC usually address one of us specifically or he may throw a question and expect an answer from either one?

You, the CEO should do all the talking. Period. At this point, no one cares about the CTO.

You may certainly introduce your CTO and explain that he is here should any investor have any questions, but they likely will not. At the initial pitch, the investors assume the product works as you describe it, and if they have any serious questions about the product, they will save that for later discussion.

Right now, the only thing the VC is interested in is whether your company will make money. The actual product is only one issue, and usually not the most important one. The management team is.

Every investor I have ever spoken with has stressed that they would rather invest in "A" class management team with a "B" class product than the other way around. That's because a mediocre management team won't be able to sell or market even a top notch product.

So this isn't about the product, it is about you and your management team.

You should only spend about 20% of your time talking about the product. The rest of your time must discuss your experience and your management teams network and experience in selling and marketing products of a similar nature. You must talk about who the customer is and what your plan is to reach them directly. You must talk about how much money you will make, when you will be profitable, what the money you ask for will be used and so on.

Remember: the investor is investing in your company, not your product. There is a big difference.


Answered 8 years ago

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