I kept having the same problem in my founder meetings. We're 23 minutes into a 30 minute call. I have nine questions and I've only had a chance to ask two. Ahh!
I was taking a walk recently, thinking of how I could fix this problem. Then, it came to me…
Setting Expectations
"Founders are doing this because they think I want a presentation," I realized. "But that's not actually what I'm looking for. I need to communicate better with them."
So now, I say this at the beginning of meetings:
"I usually run these as a Q&A, back-and-forth, if that's okay with you."
Simple phrase. Totally changes the meeting.
We have more of a real conversation, with me lobbing questions at the founder and him shooting answers back at me. I easily get the information I want.
Meetings that took 35-40 minutes are down to 20. And I actually know more about the startup than I would've from the longer meeting.
Making Meetings More Efficient
If your meetings go from 40 minutes to 20, that means you can do twice as many. And meeting a lot of founders is the name of the game.
Take my latest investment, North. I had to look at around 150 companies and meet around 75 until I ran into Matt, the founder of North.
It takes a lot of reps to find a great startup. Anything that can help us gather info more efficiently is a huge help.
Different Investors, Different Styles
Founders tend to spend the whole meeting presenting because that's what a lot of investors want. I'm told that many say nothing throughout the pitch and just have a question or two at the end.
So, it makes sense that founders have tailored their pitch to this format.
I prefer Q&A because before we meet, I've already reviewed the deck and other materials. Now, I have a bunch of questions on team, sales strategy, product direction, etc.
If you're a founder, keep in mind that different investors have different styles. Ask at the beginning of a meeting whether the investor prefers to just hear a pitch or would rather do more Q&A.
If you tailor the meeting to each investor, your odds of getting a check are a lot higher.
Wrap-Up
People think investing in startups is glamorous. The reality is, you do a LOT of Zooms. 🙂
Those meetings can be pretty darn interesting. You see the future before most people do!
But anything you can do to make them more efficient is huge. For me, telling founders the format I prefer has made learning about their startup dramatically easier.
Whether you're a founder or an investor, try setting expectations about how the meeting will work at the beginning. You'll both get more out of your time together!
How do your founder/investor meetings work?
This will be the only blog for this week. I have some friends coming in from out of town!
See you on Monday, July 8th!
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More on tech:
Meet My Latest Investment: North
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