If the Shoe Fits: What Number are You?
by Miki SaxonA Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here
“Vic” is the go-between and coach for an organization that arranges for entrepreneurs to pitch panels of investors in an ongoing program.
The investors provide feedback on the product, pitch, etc., and may end up funding it.
When entrepreneurs apply Vic sends them a questionnaire and set of pitching guidelines.
Both were developed by the investors to ensure high quality pitches that contain the information they want and address their basic investing concerns.
Completing the questionnaire makes it simpler to organize and build the pitch, while the guidelines include important Dos and Don’ts.
Vic then works with the entrepreneur to refine and polish the pitch, which results in better and higher-level feedback from the investors.
I thought it sounded like a great program for founders looking for early investment and asked how it was received.
Vic’s response was about what I expected.
There are eight points in the questionnaire. Of the ten accepted applicants, only a couple will return the forms and even their response are the result of being asked two or three times. Moreover, those who do respond only cover two or three of the eight questions.
I asked Vic how creditable the pitches were and what was the investor reaction.
Most of the pitches are missing crucial information, which annoys the panel and makes their feedback more abrasive, because they feel their time is being wasted. The constructive part is much more basic and often covers verbally the same information that was in the questionnaire and guidelines.
I asked how the entrepreneurs reacted to that.
They aren’t happy and often blame me for not coaching them on the what and how of the presentation. One guy, who didn’t return any of the prelim work, even said, “Why didn’t you help me the way you were supposed to?”
Now the question you need to answer is if this guy is a ten (on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst) what number are you?
Image credit: HikingArtist
