You’re getting ready for fundraising in 2024 — what are some questions that you should be ready to answer? We attended the Startup Battlefields at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024. Here’s what we learned investors are most interested in:
- Dig into the problem
- Be prepared to share your business model, marketing strategy, and sales plan
- Have an in-depth understanding of risks and challenges posed by your industry and competition
- Think about how your business goals will be impacted by how you will grow your team
- Prepare for long-term product and business growth
Here are the questions that investors are asking
About your Business
- Why does this problem exist? What has blocked it from being solved until now?
- What is your business model? If you have X active customers and Y prospects — how are they piloting the product and making the decision to purchase it?
- Who are your top customers or partners?
- What are your current gross margins and how will you scale over time?
- What are your next few hires? How are your planning on building/growing your product e.g. engineers to focus on product development vs sales/marketing for growth?
- What’s your marketing strategy today? How have you reached your customers?
About Risks:
- How do you differentiate your product from another industry (e.g. legal), which would require your product/team/customers to adhere to certain standards?
- Have you conducted a competitor analysis?
- What are the main risks of this business/building a product in this industry?
About your Product:
- How do you ensure long-term and continued usage of your product?
- How are you protecting sensitive information?
- Why would customers go to you and not another product? // How is your product different from other products on the market? // How do you stand out in the crowd?
- Do you have any plans to use your capital to build integrations with other tools?
- What are your greatest challenges in product adoption?
- What’s a success story from an early user who really enjoyed your product?
For AI Tools:
- Which models are you using?
- Are you being transparent with your users/customers about which models you’re using?
- GenAI products: Is there any human review in the process?
For B2B Products:
- What is the end goal for your customers and how do they make money off of your product?
For Physical Healthcare Devices:
- Have you considered other form factors to make this product more easy and safe to carry?
- What is the process of testing the device with new products or in new environments that you have not been able to test yet?
- What is the device’s error margin?
- Do you hold/foresee any liability if the device fails?
Let me know – what else do you think about when preparing to face investors?
