Remember: Investors aren't your customers.

Investors: They're investors, not your customers. There's a few crucial differences.

First off, your customers are the ones who use your product or service. They care about how well it solves their problems, how easy it is to use, and whether it’s worth their hard-earned money. They’re focused on the here and now, wanting to know what your product can do for them today. Their feedback is gold because it helps you improve and grow your business.

Investors, on the other hand, are all about the future. They’re not looking to buy your product but to buy into your vision. They want to know how you will take that cool thing you’ve built and turn it into a money-making machine. They care about market potential, revenue streams, scalability, and your plan to dominate the industry. Their feedback is also valuable, but it’s more about strategy and long-term growth rather than product features.

Think of it this way: Customers are like the people who enjoy your cooking and come back for more. Investors are the folks who fund your restaurant expansion because they believe you’ll become the next big thing in the culinary world. One wants a delicious meal today; the other wants a profitable chain of restaurants tomorrow.

Treating investors like customers will lead to frustrating pitch meetings where you focus on product details when they’re more interested in your business model. Understand their different motivations and tailor your approach accordingly.

To wit...

This week’s TechCrunch pitch deck teardown was a textbook example of a startup attempting to sign up investors to their app, rather than convince them to invest in their company. It took 10 slides to get to the Raw Dating app’s solution slide, which came before the problem at slide 11, after a lot of slides about how a dating app works. Trust me: investors aren’t your customers. You’re selling the company, not the product.

This week’s Pitch Guide deep dive: Appendices

Unlock the secret weapon in your pitch deck arsenal with our latest article on why early-stage startup founders should include appendices. Discover how these often-overlooked slides can answer investor questions, enhance your narrative, and provide a safe haven for complex or sensitive information. Learn the best practices for creating and organizing appendices, and see real-world examples that highlight their importance. Whether you're preparing send-ahead decks or gearing up for a live pitch, this guide will ensure you're always one step ahead, demonstrating thoroughness and strategic foresight to potential investors. Dive in and elevate your pitch to secure the investment you need !

3 top fundraising tips

1. How should I order my slides?: There’s no definitive right or wrong way to order the slides in a pitch deck. However, depending on the story that you’re telling about your startup, there might be an obvious order that works best for you. I explain your slide order options here .
2. Get your go-to-market straight: Every pitch deck needs a clear and costed go-to-market strategy. You’d be surprised how many go-to-market plans I see that are no more than a stream of consciousness made pretty on a slide. Don’t fall into that trap. Here’s how to outline a killer go-to-market strategy .
3. Finding the right VCs: Every VC has a thesis, which dictates the type and location of startups into which they’ll invest. But finding the VC which is the perfect match for your company can feel overwhelming. With diligent research, good note taking, and the guts to send some cold emails , you’ll get there.?

Events!

We have two upcoming events that you might want to put in your diaries.

Live Pitch Deck Tear Down

Friday 21 June 2024?

08:00 Pacific | See your local time here

Join me as I look at two pitch decks and analyze them with my investor hat on. You get to see in real time what works and what doesn’t work when a VC looks at a deck.

This event is open to all Pitch.Guide members. Sign up here .

And if you want a taste of what a live tear down looks like, you can see the May tear down here .

Subscriber Q&A

Monday 1 July 2024

08:00 Pacific | See your local time here

Get together with other Pitch.Guide subscribers for a Q&A session with me. I’m on hand to answer questions ranging from how much is too much to raise to what should I do about soft nos??

This is a Pitch.Guide subscribers-only event. You can subscribe to Pitch.Guide here (a bargain at $29.99/month) and to the Q&A here !

Need some tailored support?

If you are raising money for your startup, and you want a private pitch deck review from Haje, that’s possible! See haje.pub/pdr for more information. Because you are a newsletter subscriber, we’ll even give you a 10% discount! Use the booking link and promo code NL10 to claim your discount !