Winning Over VCs in Today’s Market

In today’s uncertain market climate, VCs are looking for an excuse to pass on a deal. Instead of evaluating investments based on the possibility of large upside potential, they’re requiring more analyzable proof in the form of data, such as team and traction. They’re also focused on the ongoing issues and capital needs of their existing portfolio companies much more as well.

So how do you convince a VC to invest today? As the founder of investor readiness firm Lyonshare, here are the strategies we’re implementing in our pitch decks right now.

TRACTION.

Grab investors’ attention by putting traction metrics upfront.

Traction de-risks your pitch by proving you’re building a solution that your customer actually needs. In times of lesser risk appetite, traction should be the showcase piece of your deck.

Summarize it on one to two slides and consider putting it early on in your deck to get investors hooked right from the beginning. This allows them to pay more attention to the rest of your pitch without worrying that your business model might not be legit.

If you’re pre-revenue, include metrics that indicate product market fit, such as number of waitlist signups or active users, engagement, partnerships, and sales pipeline. If you’re post-revenue you can highlight…