VC Minute – quick advice to help startup founders fundraise better
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Tom McGrath:
I think a common mistake that founders make when they’re pitching is they want to tell you everything. They’re so passionate about the business and it’s usually so unique or some differentiation to it where you want to dive into the nitty-gritty. And I would say that you should often look at raising money is kind of the same way that you would look at dating someone. You don’t go into that 1st date and go, “Oh, you know, hey, I fly airplanes, and my hobbies this and I’m divorced and I have 2 kids.” You know, you want to give them that high level. “Hey, we’re a payments company. We help get restoration professionals paid faster. And we do that through digital automation and faster payment rails.” In that 1st conversation, or even that 1st email, that’s all you really need to do. Is just shows that we have a massive market opportunity about 420 Billion dollars in payments that we can touch. We can speed those up significantly solving cash flow problems and administrative burdens. That’s all that really I feel it needs to peak interest, where you go, “a huge market, billion dollars plus, speeding up payments makes total sense.” And I would also try to think about whether or not your business is either Tylenol or vitamin. In a situation where we’re in an economic depression and somebody’s like, “Oh, you have 10 in your pocket. You can spend that 10 on Tylenol, or you can spend that 10 on vitamins.” And in that situation, most people are gonna spend the 10 on Tylenol. Businesses like ours where we’re helping speed up cash flow, helping you get paid, is a Tylenol problem. And I would just try to encourage anyone to look for those Tylenol problems. Not the nice to have things, the things that are just critical, you need it.
About iink
iink is the best way for home restoration professionals to get paid after a property claim. They’ve processed over $250M in property damage insurance claims and helped thousands of property owners navigate this to get their property fixed more efficiently. Learn more at iink.com
About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Finance and Accounting firm supporting organizations in pivoting from growth to scale. AVL brings an experienced team of CFOs, Controllers, and Accountants to your organization, delivering transparent, strategic actions for short and long-term success. Transform your financial approach affordably with AVL, supporting companies coast to coast – get to know AVL Growth Partners at avlgrowth.com. (Sponsored)
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