Why Investors Say No - Three Startup Pitch Mistakes That Are Easy to Fix
Speaking to investors can require a language of its own. Word choice is important and even the smallest detail can make or break your startup pitch. Adam Dakin, Managing Director of Dreamit Healthtech, sees founders make the same common pitch mistakes over and over. Luckily, he’s a pro when it comes to pitching investors and distills the advice so it’s easy to avoid. In this Dreamit Dose, Adam dives into the language of the pitch and flags three common mistakes you’ll want to avoid.
Red Flag #1: Trendy Buzzwords
Red Flag #2: Superlative Overuse
Red Flag #3: Words that shall not be spoken
Red Flag #1: Buzzword Bingo
Founders often throw around words like “disrupt”, “revolutionize” and other trendy buzzwords in their pitch. Don’t do this; these buzzwords have become tirelessly overused and not longer illicit meaningful value to investors. Using these words in your pitch will only get you a tired eye roll from investors.
Consider, many customers don’t actually want to be “disrupted”. Many want to embrace innovation while sticking to their familiar workflows. Adam stresses the importance of aligning with rather than disrupting existing workflows.
Red Flag #2: Superlative Overuse
No matter how passionately you believe in your platform, investors won’t - not without proof. The self-proclaimed superlatives founders use to describe their startup often fail to elicit the intended response from investors. Describing your platform as “the best” or “the only one” is meaningless unless you have hard evidence to back up your claim. The commonly used, “we have no competition”, will be met with skepticism and doubt, not the impressed reactions you intended. Your claims appear hollow and unsubstantiated until backed up by proof. Perhaps worse, Adam points out that unfounded superlatives point to a lack of self-awareness in founders. Instead of using superlatives, a strong competitor slide or use case demo is much more effective. It’s about showing, not telling.
Red Flag #3: Words that shall not be spoken
Conservative - avoid this word at all costs. Adam strongly urges against describing your sales projections and market size as “conservative”. Way too many founders do this and it’s a surefire way to be labeled as a rookie. Why? Because acquiring customers is difficult and underestimating that challenge makes you look inexperienced. Instead, Adam suggests words like “defendable” or “achievable”. A good balance of humility and confidence is key.
Avoiding these red flags will help you avoid a fast trip to the “No” bucket from investors. While these mistakes may be easy to make, the good news is that they are just as easy to fix.
We will address three more easy to fix mistakes in Chapter 2 of this series.
By Victoria Tripsas, Program Coordinator at Dreamit Ventures
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Learn more about Dreamit media by visiting Dreamit.com/dose and Dreamit.com/live. Dreamit Ventures is Series A venture fund & growth-focused program for startups with revenue, pilots, or early product-market fit.
