Venture Pitch Preparation Guide: The Questions Investors will Ask in a Pitch
By: Sara Garson
Preparing to pitch to investors can feel like a daunting task. You’ll want to create a cohesive pitch, develop an eye catching deck, and rehearse your pitch over and over again. From there, you may think you’re ready to start reaching out to investors, but don’t forget the most important part — the Q&A.
Being prepared to answer questions about your business is just as important as creating a great pitch deck. It shows investors that you know your business and can think on your toes, allowing them to dive into the parts of the company that they care most about. Often during a pitch meeting, investors will skip over the pitch and dive right into Q&A.
Before pitching to investors, it’s a good idea to list the possible questions you might get asked and think about how you would answer each of them. While the type of questions you get asked will depend on your business model and stage of the business, these are some of my favorites that you should always be prepared to answer.
- What is your revenue? MRR? ARR? Churn? CAC? Margins? LTV? CAC to LTV? Payback period? # of customers? 📊
Know all your metrics today, and know how they will change as you scale. If you’re prelaunch, you’ll still want to understand expectations for all key metrics.
2. What is the TAM or market opportunity? 🚀
This should likely be a slide in your deck, but be prepared to answer it.
3. Who are your competitors? 🔥
…and what’s your edge over them?
4. How are you acquiring (or will you acquire) customers? 🧑🏿🤝🧑🏾
Will you use paid marketing strategies? PR? Sell into corporations?
5. Who is your target customer? 🧑🏭
Who are your early adopters? How will this change over time? Be prepared to describe customer demographics and psychographics.
6. Who is on your team, and what are your hiring plans? 👩🔬
Investors invest in the team, especially at the earliest stages. Don’t be shy here — sell yourself and your team. And be prepared to talk through your key hires…
