5 Research Tips For Meeting With An Investor
Meeting with an investor is one of the things you would have to do as a business owner or a startup founder, especially when you are trying to raise funds for your business.
One of the funding options available to startups is funding through investors or venture capitalists.
Your meeting with a potential investor doesn’t have to be a difficult task, provided you are fully equipped with the information needed to win the heart of the investor.
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For every meeting you intend to attend in business, research is the critical aspect you need to pay attention to. Whether you are trying to meet with your team members, your clients, and partners, or investors.
Research is necessary because you need an understanding of who you are about to meet, the issues to be discussed, and the points to drive across.
When it comes to meeting with an investor, you need to get investors to open their wallets and fund your business, and investors need to be sure your startup would give them their desired return on investment.
In view of that, here are some of the research tips that can help you when meeting an investor. (Tip: If you would have applied for our UberPitch, then you should take this post seriously!)
Research who you are pitching to: Don’t spend so much time on crafting your pitch that you forget to carry out comprehensive research on the investor. Know the investor’s likes and dislikes, passion, the line of business, portfolio, sectors they invest in, and so on. All these would give you the right context and help you with what to say and how to say it. Remember that everyone is unique, so you have to find out the investor’s peculiarities.
Research the market: One of the essential things you also need to research on is the market. Research the current trends and how you can refer to them in your meeting. Likewise, study your competition and take note of your unique advantage. All these would help you in your meeting with the investor and make sure you explain how you would deliver value in the market and your Unique Selling Proposition.
Research samples of pitch decks: Don’t write your pitch deck in isolation, research pitch desks and talk to those who are in your industry. In addition, go online and equip yourself with tips and resources to build your pitch deck.
Research possible questions: Yes, go online and get creative. Research possible questions that investors might ask and the right way to answer such questions. Go further and research possible issues in your industry and also ask people in your networks possible questions to anticipate.
Research the platform: If you are pitching via a platform or a pitch competition like our UberPitch, then you need to ensure you research the platform and understand the requirements for startups. What are some of the documents you need to provide and does your business meet the requirement? Knowing all these beforehand will help you get better prepared for your meeting.
Are there some research tips we left out? Don’t hesitate to add them in the comments section.
