dt2: Fueling your Startup with Great Investors

This is our second attempt at this and we’ve discovered that Zoom can get into a mode where it is just very slow but a complete reboot seems to help. We also have a host of tricks with OBS, but see what you think.

YouTube Video Podcast

The Podcast version

Spotify also has a video version but you can listen to all our shows if you don’t like our ugly mugs:

DT2. Fueling your Startup with Great Investors. 2023-03-10 – Rich Tong Family and Friends

Well in these incredibly turbulent times, what's the best way to deal with venture capitalists and other investors particularly if you are early stage? In places like Europe there is a real zone between $50K and $1M that is hard to cross, so should you spray and pray or be more targeted? Well, who knows what the right answer is, but there are probably too. Answer the basic questions in your presentations and you can use the Sequoia template as an example. See https://perfectpitchdeck.com/2018/01/30/sequoia-capital-pitch-deck-template But the harder part is realizing that you are not trying to sell an investor but asking, "What does the customer want to buy?" In that way, this is no different than any marketing exercise. I can't find the exact quote anymore, but Peter Drucker the father of modern marketing did say, Markeint does not ask, "what do want to sell?" It asks, "what does the customers want to buy". So when you are meeting an investor that's the key question. The good news is that the investor unlike almost any other customer is completely activated, they want to buy your product, and you just have to find out what's in the way. The easiest way to do it is just to ask them. So for instance, if you have a construction tech company, just ask, "so what do you think about construction tech, is it a good category?" And you will be amazed at what they will tell you. Don't ignore it, make their points the crux of your pitch. There will be lots of objections and the mark of a good plan is that you've thought the same things, so what are you doing about it? Show notes at https://tongfamily.com/2023/03/10/dt2-fueling-your-startup-with-great-investors/

Show Notes

Well in these incredibly turbulent times, what’s the best way to deal with venture capitalists and other investors particularly if you are early stage? In places like Europe there is a real zone between $50K and $1M that is hard to cross, so should you spray and pray or be more targeted?

Well, who knows what the right answer is, but there are probably too. Answer the basic questions in your presentations and you can use the Sequoia template as an example. See

But the harder part is realizing that you are not trying to sell an investor but asking, “What does the customer want to buy?” In that way, this is no different than any marketing exercise. I can’t find the exact quote anymore, but Peter Drucker the father of modern marketing did say, Markeint does not ask, “what do want to sell?” It asks, “what does the customers want to buy”.

So when you are meeting an investor that’s the key question. The good news is that the investor unlike almost any other customer is completely activated, they want to buy your product, and you just have to find out what’s in the way. The easiest way to do it is just to ask them. So for instance, if you have a construction tech company, just ask, “so what do you think about construction tech, is it a good category?” And you will be amazed at what they will tell you. Don’t ignore it, make their points the crux of your pitch. There will be lots of objections and the mark of a good plan is that you’ve thought the same things, so what are you doing about it?