RTC #32: How to nail your first meeting with a VC

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📢 Top 7 links of the week

👉 Almost 75% of Nvidia employees are multi-millionaires now (Link) - My favorite this week

👉 Is your startup (or idea) investable? (Link)

👉 This happens when joining a chat group with Sam Altman at age 13 (Link)

👉 The top 15 most active investors so far in 2024 (Link)

👉 Top 10 must-watch movies for entrepreneurs (Link)

👉 What the IPO window being shut looks like (Link)

👉 5 ways to build a USD 100m SaaS startup (Link)

📖 Report of the week

Over 53 investor lists with VCs you can use for your fundraising.

🤿 How to nail your first meeting with a VC

A few weeks ago we discussed how you will convince a VC to take a (first) meeting with you.

Remember?

• Traction

• Introduction from the network

• Less is more: Don't write an essay!

Now, we are one step further.

You did it! The VC agreed to a meeting, and your Zoom call is approaching! 💪

Your job now:

• Make sure to secure the second meeting 🤝

• Spark the interest and get the VC on fire 🔥

In this issue, I want to focus on the soft skills you need as a founder to achieve this.

Let's assume:

✅ You have a solid product.

✅ You have traction.

✅ It fits the investment thesis

Today, I will share the top 4 soft skills you need to showcase to nail the first meeting with a VC and reveal my secrets about the little things that make the difference.

Be a Leader

From the first minute of our meeting, I focus on one thing:

Often, it's a feeling that tells me if a person is rather riffled or focused and obsessed with the product.

This focus and obsession are exactly what I want to see!

Strong Communication Skills

The next essential skill is strong communication.

Because if you're gonna be a leader, it is about communication every time you hire someone, every time you sell your product to clients, every time you go and raise money, etc.

This is the job you have signed up for!

If you don't have strong communication skills or if you don't develop them quickly, this will not work.

What does this mean for your first VC meeting?

I need to picture the product immediately in my mind.

Pro Tip: Practice this sentence like crazy! Many founders I talk to, try this and fail. Often, even after the first sentence or intro, I still wouldn't know what they do if someone asked me at that moment.

Founder Growth Potential

I believe this is one of the most important, if not the most important, aspects I value in a founder. 🚨

BUT: I want to invest in founders who have the potential to develop into these incredible leaders and personalities.

This is a founder who gives me the feeling they can learn and improve incredibly quickly.

Right from the first meeting, these are the founders who pay attention, listen, and adapt quickly (even to the little things).

Be Decisive

Founders need to be decisive. The only way to make progress is by making decisions. Being indecisive means programmed failure for startups.

So, no matter what you do, you must keep moving and show me how you decided quickly, what actions you took, what you learned, what you changed, etc.

Bonus points

Mastering the startup journey is an execution game, so let me trust you to deliver on that.

Share a short summary with your notes to follow up timely after the meeting, and chase me on what’s important. Be persistent without being a pain. 😊

Final thought: This might sound counterintuitive, but sometimes you already have these skills inside you, so don’t try "to act to fit." Yes, being aware of what matters and practicing is important (speaking of the one-liner), but know where to practice and where you just need to be yourself.

Explore today’s topic further with these useful reads

This was it for today.

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Thank you!!

Have a great week,
Stephan 👋

Issue #32 | 23 July 2024