Tips on Presenting your Team to Investors
For early-stage startups, the team quality is as crucial as the idea and business model, if not more crucial. In the beginning, the founding and the core team are everything. They are the main reason for the idea to take off or die. A Late-stage startup might knock off a bad founder while still keeping the business alive. An early-stage startup can’t.
This is why investors spend most of the time on the team slide of the pitch deck, according to DocSend. If you didn’t spend enough effort on this very slide, you must revisit it.
Here we will share some tips that would make your team discussion more engaging and focused. As mentioned, you should impress potential investors about your team as much as you impress them about the idea.
Tip #1: Show Why You’re the One
Before showing the team, you first need to make sure you introduced yourself properly.
In addition to your professional introduction, state why you think this angel investor or VC is a great match and fit for you personally. Show how your personality, mission, and goals match your style and investment approach.
Along with stating how the company will benefit from this very potential investor, you will be showing them that you did your research professionally and personally.
Tip #2: Introduce the Core Team
Mention anyone critical to the startup: co-founders, seniors, and advisors. Avoid spamming the talk by talking about every member of the team. The purpose here is to show the team structure and that you’re bringing a functional team together.
Here are the factors investors mostly care about:
- Education
- Industry experience
- Managerial experience
- Previous achievements
- Current achievements for the startup
Make sure you show everyone’s competence and how they’re making the startup’s goals a reality.
Tip #3: State Every Co-founder’s Role
This could be a deal breaker for investors. Some co-founders walk into the room with a solid idea and business model but not with a solid clue about their roles. Few co-founders even present to investors before having the “who’s CEO” talk.
You can clearly see how this leads to critical conflicts later on, and investors do see it too. Discussing everyone’s role as early as possible shows the co-founders’ professionalism and seriousness toward their startup.
Tip #4: Tell a Team Story
After talking about the founders and the core team, you need to prove to the investors that you have the A team.
Solidify the whole team by talking about how the team comes together. The story should be focused on most of the team. This could be the story of how they achieved a certain milestone or faced a challenge.
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