Pitching to VC’s
September 10, 2008
At the Techcrunch 50 event, they had a panel of VC’s answering 20 questions on a wide variety of subjects. You can read the full text here or watch the video but i think the following exchanges go a long way towards understanding how VC’s think when it comes to evaluating entrepreneurs and pitches:
Schonfeld: What are the most common mistakes by entrepreneurs in pitches or in the early stages of a business?
Levinsohn - if you can’t tell the story in a couple of sentences, its a problem. You need a story. Pincus asks what percentage of investments are made on formal pitches versus connections. Levinsohn says more formal pitches because they are fairly new.
Zachary: Whatever the mistakes, recognizing them quickly is important.
Botha: Number 1 indicator of entrepreneurial success is how good of a listener they are?
Mandal: In a pitch, make sure you prepare and understand your audience. Also, realize that VC decisions are largely emotional, you have to tell a story and connect with the VC.
Question: Number one indicator of success in a company? Botha says good listener. Thiel says low paid CEO.
Zachary: A good team that doesn’t want to take too much money early. Shows they believe in themselves.
Levinsohn: A sincere passion for the product.
Mandal: People. And honesty.
Kapoor: Ability to adapt
