The #1 mistake I see for early-stage founders: Not Practicing.
There’s a reason the top accelerators make the founders rehearse the pitch again and again.
Practice on everyone you know, until it’s great. Board members, advisors, other founders:
- Ask for concerns and objections.
- Ask what they’d want to see that isn’t in there.
- See if you can Get To The Point in 5 Minutes Or Less.
- Ask for tough questions.
- Ask for criticism of your assumptions, financial plan, and model.
- Ask for criticism of your understanding of the competitive landscape.
Then make sure the first investor you pitch isn’t the most important one. Save the most important pitch for #2. Because you’ll learn so much from the mistakes from the first one.
