Pitching to investors for raising capital to start a business is a very difficult task. Lot of preparation is required to secure trust from them and ask for funds. No matter how much one tries to pin down a meeting with the investors it takes a lot of persistence. Nevertheless, Entrepreneurs still make some common mistakes while pitching in front of the capitalists.
Mistakes made by Entrepreneurs are discussed below;
Unaware of audience nature: Most Entrepreneurs get too excited to talk about their project. It so happens that they even forget to do a little homework on the investor. Entrepreneurs sometimes miss out on the fact that they do not know who they are meeting with and if that person is a good fit for venturing into that particular business.
Secretive about the idea : Entrepreneurs sometimes are very secretive about their idea or plan for their start-up. They are very protective and are not very open to a discussion about it in front of the investors. As a result, the investors become all the more skeptical about where they are going to invest.
No competition in market : The first thing that an Entrepreneurs try to pitch in is that their product/service is unique. There is no competition faced by them in the market. This shows that either the Entrepreneur is over-confident or hasn’t done any market research on the competitors. So without proper knowledge he/she is just trying his luck and is being unrealistic.
Want immediate feedback: Entrepreneurs look for an immediate response from the investors after finishing the business pitch. They do not tend to wait for the investors to think and to consider their proposal.
Forget to follow-up: Many Entrepreneurs have seen to be unorganized. Most of the times they forget to follow-up with the investors after their pitching is done. They are not able to make out whether the meeting has been good or not. This lack of understanding also doesn’t help them to remember to follow up with the investor.
However, from the beginning itself the Entrepreneurs can be cautious about these issues and find out a solution to make the right pitch. A proper planning and good execution of it, is all that needs to be done by an Entrepreneur.
These steps could be followed to make a successful pitching to the investors.
Research on investors: One should make a detailed research on the investors’ profile. They must also find out whether these investors have made any investments before in any other sector. Entrepreneurs should also value the possibility whether these investors would be taking an interest in this particular project.
Selling idea: Entrepreneurs should not be so protective about their idea or concept behind their start-up. It should not scare off the investors by making it sound as a difficult challenge. One needs to share their thoughts and plans with the investors to get their positive feedback also.
Acceptance of the competitors: Everyone knows that there is always a competition in the market whether directly or indirectly. So for any product/service there will always be a substitute. The start-up should be in a position to portray to these customers why their product/service will give a competitive advantage.
Provide time to investors: The investors should be given enough time to consider the proposal of a new start-up. If many investors are present in the committee then everyone should be given a choice to think about the alternatives in due course of time. No decision can be taken in haste. They should be given few days time to process the whole idea.
Always follow up: Sometimes Entrepreneurs are afraid to talk back to the investors after their pitching is done. They become hesitant to get feedback from the investors, thinking they might not like to hear a negative answer from them. But it should be made a practice for following up after they are done with the pitching. They should ask the investors for suggestions, for a suitable time to come and discuss the facts in details or trying to include them in their future prospects.
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