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When investors get your cold email, read your deck, or hear your pitch, they’re watching like hawks for a few key things that immediately tell them you are NOT worth their time. And the worst part–they probably won’t even tell you if they find them. They’ll just cut their losses, thank you for your time, and never speak to you again. Which sucks. So here are the things that should be IMPOSSIBLE to find in your deck: 1. Unqualified or non-committed team.
Do you and your team actually understand what you’re getting yourselves into? Does anyone on your team have experience with the type of thing you’re building? Are you all genuinely devoted to building this thing, or is this something you do for fun every few days for a few hours? Is equity fairly split? Are roles clearly defined? All of these questions tell the investors whether they should take you seriously or not. 2. Unclear business model and too much overall complexity.
I get it; you’re excited about your product and you know a lot about it. That’s amazing. But your investors’ knowledge about it is likely starting at absolute zero. Ask yourself, “How would I explain this business and its potential to a 5th grader?” The simpler your deck is, the greater number of eligible investors there are to join your round. 3. Unrealistic financial projections.
It’s easy to get caught up in the mindset of “Well all projections are made up, right? If everyone else is going to fake it, I am too!” It doesn’t sound too risky to put some bogus hockey stick growth chart in your deck, but remember that if the investor moves you to further diligence, you’re going to be expected to back it up with as many facts and as much data as possible.
So the gist is this: be honest and explain things as simply as possible. And if you can’t be honest and make a compelling deck at the same time, you may need to reconsider what you’re working on. If you want us to take a look at your deck for free, send it here. We’ll give you our feedback and some tips to level it up. Best, Nathan
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