Remember those story problems in math class where the choices are A, B, C, or D - Not Enough Information? Half the time I read a deck, I find myself choosing D.
That means I'm moving on to the next. After all, there's 20 pitches in my inbox!
Here's how to make sure this doesn't happen to your company…
The Details That Matter
These are the key numbers you want to include:
1) Current revenue. If you don't tell me your revenue, I'm going to assume you don't have any. And at that point, it probably doesn't make sense to meet.
If your revenue isn't that much, don't be ashamed! Be proud you have any at all! So many startups don't.
Here's what a company that's just getting started could say: "3 paying customers at $120/mo." Nice and clear!
2) Month by month revenue numbers.
My pet peeve with decks and deal memos is not breaking out revenue monthly. Way too often, companies just put "$500k ARR" in the deck.
That tells me practically nothing.
Did you go from $100k to $500k ARR in the last year? Or did you go from $400k to $500k?
Those are two very different companies on two very different trajectories.
If your growth is strong, show it off! And if it's not, there's no point in hiding that fact — it's going to come out in diligence anyway.
Showing your growth trend helps everyone understand where your startup is at. That's how we all best use our time.
3) Monthly burn. Fast growth is great, but it's only impressive if the burn stays reasonable.
So tell me what you burned last month. If you're capital efficient, here's your time to show off!
And if you're not, hiding that fact won't stop you from running out of cash.
Wrap-Up
Maybe you don't want to put all these details in a deck or deal memo. You're afraid to share information.
That's your prerogative. But keep in mind that if you don't show investors enough to get them interested, you may not get a meeting.
From what I've seen, the best founders are very open with information.
They want everyone to have all the info they need. And they don't want to waste the investor's time, or their own.
Give us enough info to get us excited! If you do that, your odds of getting a check go way up.
What info do you include in your materials? Leave a comment and let us know!
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