Applying what I teach, and Teaching What I Apply!

I started Leveraged Growth to use my Finance knowledge in the Research & Consulting space. My experienced team, all my students, have been the ones executing, while I provide the direction, remove the hurdles where they get stuck, and review. It is a brilliant exercise, as teaching the different aspects of Finance lets me address all queries spontaneously and working with real time projects, helps me teach better.

Sharing the first post from this series for my students.

Lesson 01

Having worked with a range of start-ups in spaces like AI-driven cybersecurity, blockchain-based media & entertainment, automated home construction, tech-driven warehousing, FinTech (digital wallets and neo-banks), hyperlocal delivery, and many more, but it was especially a pleasure to work with two start-ups founded by my very students.

While I made my student/founder record his pitch on video (multiple iterations followed) for reviews, sharing some pointers on pitching your idea to an investor:

- Convey a story – how you got the idea, what problem you are solving, and your journey with the venture till date. 

- investors feel more confident if they know you are confident. The body language is important. I would personally never invest in a venture without meeting the founder in person.

- Keep your pitch in English – never speak in Hindi or a vernacular without confirming with the investor. You may absolutely use Hindi if the investor is comfortable. You need to communicate clearly not casually.

- Have command over the market, industry, and competition data and be handy with your revenue figures, growth rates, and traction – you cannot fumble when investors ask basic questions like CAC, LTV, Cash Burn, Runway, etc. You need to live your business and shouldn’t need to look for the basic numbers.

- Always upsell your marquee clients, revenue/ business in hand.

- Be dedicated to the investor – read about them and their previous investments before the meeting and casually slip it in to establish a personal touch. Do your homework well to tell them you are serious and diligent.

- If you lie, they will know, do not try to fool the investors, be genuine, be reasonable with your forecasts and projections. Do not fool yourselves or the investors or both.

Will keep sharing, and until next time, Read, Learn, and be truly Happy!

Invest in Yourself

Aswini Bajaj