Specify
Never deliver a pitch which fails to focus on the business plan, but instead slips into serial name-dropping, sound-bites and unintelligible jargon.
What truly makes my heart sink are 20-page pitches containing generic references to ‘the industry’, rather than a specific description about which pain point a product or service is solving.
Simplify
We also often see entrepreneurs who have overly-complex conditions or company structures (sometimes driven by personal tax arrangements) or worst of all, side businesses – subsidiaries or holding companies – where there isn’t alignment between these and the business the investor is backing.
Make it simple, and show the VC how their capital and relationships enhance your efforts and help you build a great business together as partners.
Smile
Finally, not being friendly and open enough when I have questions is a deal-breaker. As is leaving parts of an answer for later.
Being evasive always undermines trust and it’s crucial to start building trust from that first handshake at the first meeting.