I’m stoked for this week’s episodes of #VCMinute. This is the first of many weeks with a guest on the mic 🎙 Kat Weaver is a pitch coach with Power To Pitch and she has fantastic advice. Today’s focus is on tailoring your pitch to specific audiences.

When you’re talking about the reasons why you’re fundraising. I want to be sure that you have the right reasons. The wrong reasons to fundraise are to make hires, to extend your runway and to get to a Series A.

If the investor who takes your first meeting can’t explain your business back to their partners, you’re not going to get a second meeting.

Fundraising is a function of your job as a startup CEO. If you don’t do it at the seed stage, you’re going to suck at it the Series A and beyond.

One of the things that I see founders trip up on all the time is they get going and they are a runaway train.

If you keep going back to the same investors with the same story and without significant progress, it’s a negative signal. You need to cross those investors off of your list.

There are three things that I’m looking for in a cold email. 1) What is this business? 2) Is this for me? 3) is this interesting?

There are three things that I’m looking for in a cold email. 1) What is this business? 2) Is this for me? 3) is this interesting?

Go back through your deck and apply the principles of essentialism. What is absolutely essential? And I’ll give you a hint, it’s way less than you think.

What is the thing that you are so desperately clinging to? Is it relevant? And is it going to help your business get through these next few turbulent weeks and then through the next trying months? Find those sacred cows and banish them.