Congratulations!  You’ve been chosen to meet with a venture capital firm based on your business plan and proposal.  Getting that face-to-face meeting is a critical step in securing venture capital to fund your business.  When you meet with a group of venture capitalists, remember that first impressions are important.  How should you introduce you and your team to a VC firm?

 

Be Prepared

 

First, be sure that you and your team are prepped before meeting with a VC firm.  That means practicing your individual pitches with each other, getting the timing down, and answering all anticipated questions.  You don’t want to waste the time of the people at the VC firm.

 

Keep It Short and Concise

 

You will probably be asked about your background, as well as the rest of your team’s experience.  Each of you should be ready to give a short but concise summary of your expertise and background.  Tell them your name, your position in the company, and give brief but important one liners from your previous positions. 

 

For example, you might say, “I’m Steve Jacobson and I’m the founder and CEO of our startup.  Previously I was VP and head of development at TechWare Software, where I spearheaded the development of a database program that led to more than $500 million in sales.” 

 

Though you want to keep your background short and concise, you still want to highlight the major achievements you’ve made.  Feel free to take more than 30 seconds, but no more than a few minutes, to point out why you’re the best person for the job.  Your quick, high-level background will give the venture capitalists a bearing on your qualifications.  They will also be judging you based upon how you interact with them and your team throughout the presentation. 

 

And remember, though you are there to convince a VC group that you are qualified to lead your business idea to great success, your main objective is pointing out the business itself.  Be accurate and highlight your accomplishments in your introductions, but move on ahead with the business.

 

Be Yourself

 

Although it may make some people uncomfortable standing before a group who will ultimately judge whether you make the grade or not, you and your team all still need to be yourself.  It’s tough to be scrutinized and judged by others, especially in a situation where a lot is at stake, such as the future of your business.  But learn techniques to control your anxiety so that your natural personality comes through.

 

Also, don’t try to pull off becoming a “game show host,” giving cheesy smiles and making “come on down” type comments.  Taking on another personality to hide your own anxiety leads to false impressions and insincerity.  Simply talk calmly and normally in your own voice and pace.

 

Meeting with a VC group can cause anxiety.  However, with practice and preparation, you can tackle the challenge and come out a winner with your VC proposal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: angel investors, find angel investors, Find funding, find venture capital, startup capital, startup funding, vc funding, venture capital, Venture Capitalist

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 3:25 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.