There are a lot of opportunities for start-ups to raise investment in the current climate and investors are willing to part with their cash if they perceive there will be a return on investment.  Competition is fierce to attract finance and a lot of start-ups miss out because their investment decks are not up to the task or they don’t understand what investors are looking for.

It is with this in mind that we organised our Investment Readiness workshop, on Monday 9^th March where a panel of investors share their thoughts on the ‘Do’s and Don’ts when approached to invest.

Here are some of the most important takeaways:

Do’s

• Provide a two-pager short deck for initial touch point
• Make clear who the investor is investing in – What is your background
• Clearly cover: What is the problem you are addressing? How do you address it? How your start-up performs in a real world scenario. Where is your business right now? Why are you better than your competitors?
• Research what the investor wants to invest in.

“If I had more time I would have written a shorter letter” 

Winston Churchill

Don’ts

• Approach an investor with a ridiculously long deck
• Use text or jargon heavy material, if the investor can’t understand you that you haven’t done a good job in explaining
• Expect an investor to sign an NDA before you have provided them with information
• Overgeneralise your market, focus on the part of the market you operate in
• Say that there is no competition
• Skip your team or provide little information on them

“Ride the rollercoaster, there will be ups and downs”

Jonah Ogbuneke