What are the key financial metrics and projections that investors want to see in your pitch?

I find the following things as important: 1. Topline 2. Cascading margins 3. Operational efficiency 4. Overheads 5. Month on month growth 6. Attrition

While it's important to quantify the market size, sometimes people get caught up in it and forget that developing a clear value proposition is vital. To demonstrate that your idea solves a real and significant problem for a large and growing market, you need to explain how your solution addresses your target consumers' pain points better than the existing alternatives. Use customer feedback and data to refine your value proposition and make it more effective. By doing so, you can attract investors, customers, and partners who are looking for a solution that truly addresses their needs.

In order to maintain your stance in your industry, you need to know, be able to articulate, and also deliver on your Competitive Advantage. For example, the Cookie industry is the highway, Girl Scout cookies is a LANE on the highway.

I would also add to this (especially in early stage investing) "Founder Market Fit". Founder market fit refers to the degree to which a founder's skills, experiences, and personality traits align with the needs and characteristics of the market they are targeting. In other words, it is the degree to which a founder is well-suited to lead a company in a specific industry or market based on their unique background, skills, and knowledge. Having founder market fit is important because it can significantly impact a company's success. A founder who has a deep understanding of their target market and can empathize with the needs and pain points of their customers is more likely to build a product or service that resonates with them.

One thing I've realized is that you can't really quantify a problem-solution fit. There are certain indicators and KPIs which tell you if you're on the right track, but there's no one way of figuring out whether or not you’ve reached that point.

"Procurement" is the real problem in construction activities in type of segment or sector. Fortunately, we have the "Key" to simplifies the procurement process.

- From my early stage, SaaS startup experience, and in conjunction with the current venture capital market and trends, 'de-risking the investment,' is really about how well you can iterate and learn from customers, and start shifting gears into a scalable MVP. - The biggest things investors are looking for are your learnings. They want to know, and be convinced of, what you're telling them. - Some will always be skeptical, try not to get caught up in "No," and keep moving. Next to no, the worse thing you can do is waste time waiting (and even worse, sour that relationship with a venture capitalist that may be able to support you/willing to later on)

Ah, the ever elusive product market fit. A few things to consider - TAM (total addressable market): How many people have this problem? How many people have the means to support your revenue model to solve this problem? How many potential customers might you have? Problem severity (vitamin vs medicine theory): Is it a problem or more of an inconvenience? How badly do your users want this problem fixed? Space trajectory: Is the human behavior you rely on in your users increasing or decreasing in frequency and interest? Competitive set: How crowded is the space? Is your solution different enough from those already tackling this problem?

Note that the Value Proposition to your SHAREholders will be vastly different than what you propose as value to your STAKEholders. Your shareholder will be needing actual, and not perceived value. This is objective. Your stakeholders operate on perceived value, which is relative to them. Ensure your VP’s to both are quantitative. Ex. Providing (Solution A), will increase ( insert data), causing (resolve).

- From my modern, product-led growth perspective (PLG), growth models are some of the earliest key needs of your business models. - According to Balfour's Four Fits (a modern take on "product-market fit," which is NOT enough.), when one of the variables of your growth model adjusts, all of them have to. Credit: https://brianbalfour.com/four-fits-growth-framework - Meaning, you can't just switch between freemium and non-freemium (or at least very difficult) if you're introducing PLG to later-stages. -Start building and optimizing for growth earlier on, and understanding HOW you will be growing. Business models come easier after that. -Elements of Growth model: Market, Product, Channel, & Product.

Create a high level P&L projection doc as soon as possible - this will highlight the impact of adjusting factors such as pricing, user count, conversion rates, etc. The most common types of revenue models are: Subscription (SaaS): You charge a monthly or annual fee for use of your product or service. Marketplace take rates: You take a % of the total amount paid by the buyer, where the seller gets X% and you get Y% Margin on goods: You sell a good, and you make the margin between price paid and cost to produce and deliver Fees: You charge a platform or service fee (usually % based) on purchases made through your platform Ad revenue: Businesses and brands pay you to get in front of your customers via ads and partnerships

Key metrics for a post-seed company raising a Series A or a Series A company raising a Series B: - ARR - LTV:CAC ratio (ideally greater than 3) - Number of customers (depends on industry but in the 10K+ range) - Gross margin (depends on industry)

Depending on your revenue model and target user behavior, there is a wide variety of metrics investors might focus on. Identify the 2-3 that have the largest impact on your business's trajectory, and track those like your life depends on it. Examples include: - LTV:CAC (lifetime value of a user:cost to acquire that user) - user retention - DAU/WAU/MAUs (daily/weekly/monthly active users) - user growth MoM or WoW - churn rates - AOV (average order value) - burn rate (marketing spend, payroll spend, legal/ops spend) - CVR (conversion rates of visitors > purchasers) - Gross margins - and more!

The best way to demonstrate that you have a sound and well thought financial model is by showing at least three scenarios (conservative, moderate and aggressive) highlighting clearly two things: 1) the set of assumptions and values to variables that support each of them and 2) a clear explanation on why you believe X scenario is the most probable. Use the financial model as a tool to drive the conversation because at the end of the day, the financial protections must incorporate absolutely every single aspect of your business. Every move generates a financial record.

If you're not a finance person, don't try to be. Hire someone. A well qualified contractor or agency can help you prevent so many mistakes along the way. The more realistic view you have of your business's financial status and projections, the earlier you can make adjustments to stay alive and succeed.

One of my favourite things to do is not only share my analysis of risks and opportunities, but also have a planned response for the questions I know I am going to get. Pitches can't be long, but you can win with the Q&A session!

Always ask yourself - why wouldn't this work? It's not just about objection handling with your team and investors - it's also about being realistic with yourself and your business. If there's a reason you might fail, take action to keep that from happening. If someone has an objection that you don't have a solid answer to, identify why. Adjust as you go and never be afraid of changing your strategy as you acquire more context.

Spoiler alert - it's not usually like Shark Tank. Valuations, investment amounts and exit planning are long, complex conversations. The best thing you can do to prepare to have those conversations is to do your research. What can you learn from other companies or founders in your space? What about others with your same business model but in other industries? What benchmarks do you have for growth planning, valuations, and what you'll need to win?