Dave McClure’s 4 Tips for the Perfect Startup Pitch
Dave McClure, co-founder of 500 Startups will be at Startup Istanbul Conference on the 30th of September. You can buy your tickets on here.
On 27 - 28th of September selected 100 startups will gather in Istanbul and meet best mentors from US and Europe. On 29th of September all startups will pitch to the jury and 20 of them will have a place on stage at the Startup Istanbul event on 30th of September to all Venture Capitals and angel investors. So, before the startup pitches let's get some advises from David McClure: Think problems first “The app store is 90% full of solution-based apps, but do they solve a problem?” asks Kevin Sytrom from Instagram. It's an important reminder about why you should focus on problems, not solutions. David Mclure also mentions the same point: “A lot of the time people begin by saying what their solution is”, says McClure. “But I recommend that you talk more about what the problem is. This helps you establish emotional context with the person listening”. McClur also point out that you should consider problems and scenarios that will help you connect with the investors you’re facing. You can do a little research into their background. Know your market size David McClure says market size matters because all the investors will want to know about your market. ''Bigger is better'' says McClure. And he prefers the market details such as a number of users, a size of transaction, and frequency. So before your pitch learn all the details about your target market. It is also important to report the growing rates of the market. People want to know if you have big business one day. Show why you’re better Investors want to know what you’re doing is better. First of all it is important to list your competitors says McClure. Please do not try to ignore your competitors, because the investors probably have information about them. so that will not a great way to start a relationship with investors and VC firms. Also you can highlight the way how you plan to differentiate from others. David Says ''“Your job isn't to hide your competition, it is to figure out how you can be better and different to them.” Decide how you spend the money If you're pitching for the money, it is important to know how much you want and how you'll spend it. Investors do not wish to give money any startups don't know what they'll do with the capital. “When you’re thinking about raising money, an optimum way of doing that is you want just enough capital to get you comfortably to a milestone that raises the value of the company”, says McClure. David also notes that you can spend your money to hire people for your product development, marketing campaigns and getting customers. When you’re talking to investors, you need to say how much and where you'll spend the money.