Quick VC pitch tip #5

by Healy Jones

Yet another probably not particularly useful tip for entrepreneurs pitching their startup to a venture capitalist:

VC Pitch Tip #5 - The Venture Capitalist will want to hear a lot about your team

One of the most important, if not THE most important, component of a startup is the team. Venture capitalists will want to know a ton about the people starting the business. This is pretty intuitive, since most VCs invest in ideas before they are real businesses. Thus, the founders/management team ARE the business!

For whatever reason, CEOs sometimes forget to describe their background and accomplishments to me when they talk about their business. This happens much more often than you'd think. Don't get caught off guard by the "tell me more about your team" question - have a great answer ready! Impress the VC! You can do this without seeming like a braggart. You'll want to make sure you mention your role and key accomplishments. Metrics are great. Things that come across wonderfully are "I was the third employee and we sold the business for X million dollars two years after I joined" or "I managed 30 people" or "my last company developed critical IP in XYZ space."