Five Things Venture Capitalists dislike

By siliconindia   |    5 Comments
Printer Print Email Email
Five Things Venture Capitalists dislike
Bangalore: Going to pitch a VC? Do you have a great business idea, a good marketing plan and sound domain knowledge? Yes. Still many with these skills have failed to impress the VC. Ever wondered why? If you are planning to meet a VC, you must not only concentrate on your plans but also on the ways, which will impress them. Having been in the industry for long, VCs can quickly judge you. So, before you go to meet your investors, make sure you have looked into all these points mentioned below. Lack of self-confidence: As an entrepreneur seeking funding, one needs to demonstrate that he is clear in his mind about what his idea is about and how he can build an economically viable business around it. Only then, he will be able to inspire some confidence in the VCs and capture the imagination on the value creating possibilities that potentially exists in his venture. "Repetition of the history as to what has earlier happened in the particular field instead of focusing on the concept of his own business shows the lack of self-confidence about the entrepreneur and his ideas," says Jinesh Shah, Co-Founder, Omnivore Capital. Lack of research: Pitching a VC without a proper research and statistics will leave the stones unturned. Business and market statistics will provide a strong picture of the business the entrepreneur wants to pitch for. A sound knowledge of the competitors will be the icing on the cake. "Such Entrepreneurs do not have the right team to work with, neither they are sincere and focused. They are followers, rather than trend creators," says Abhijit Maheswari, Founder and CEO Venturesutra. Boring Power Point Presentations: VCs hate the boring and large number of power point presentations. They just want a great story and large content of information in a relatively less number of slides, which should not carry unnecessary information. Long presentation without any correct information leads nowhere. When it comes to investment, VCs are more interested towards funding those companies which can show the time frame in which they can scale profitability. Lack of dedication and passion: Passion when pursued turns to be a great success, but dedication is an essential element to be included along with it. "We really dislike the fact when some entrepreneur comes to us with the idea to building the business and selling it off after few years to make a handsome of profit. Rather this shows the lack of dedication and passion towards the business," says Shah. Not Bootstrapped? : Bootstrapping the business at the initial stage shows the faith that the entrepreneur holds towards his business. "If the entrepreneur cannot bootstrap his business and get funds from his family, relatives and friends in the initial stage, then how can they convince us to trust their business. Bootstrapping shows the potential of both the entrepreneur as well as his business also," adds Shah.