How To Pitch Angel Investors

I was honored to attend a Tech Coast Angels screening event last week, which means I got to sit in and watch entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to angel investors and then I was able to listen to the angels analyze the investment opportunity and make their decision on whether to move forward or not.

Here are some of my observations:

1. Be clear about your market. You need to know more about your market as a whole and your specific competitors than anyone else. There is a good chance that someone in the room knows your segment well enough to challenge you on your knowledge - don't let them catch you with your pants down!

2. Lay out your revenue streams clearly. Your investors are looking for your financial savvy - they want to see how the money will come into your company. It's not enough to say you have a subscription model - show them the different types of subscriptions and point to similar models as supporting evidence.

3. Tell them how you will get customers. It's not enough to say that you're going to get customers on Facebook and other social media channels. Specifically what are you going to do to gain followers, and then how are you going to convert them into customers?

4. Make them see the value of their investment. Angels are most interested in how their money will be used to catapult a company forward. They want to feel confident that you are going to use their money strategically.

Virginia Ginsburg is founder and chief consultant at Swell Strategies. She is passionate about supporting small business owners and entrepreneurs in starting and running successful enterprises. An avid reader, in this blog she reviews books and articles and relates specific learning points back to entrepreneurial businesses.