How much traction? Whats the market size? Who else invested? Are you the target user? These are the questions every investor will ask you, so you better build a business with the right answers and get ready torecite them. Thats what Pitchbot.vc helps you practice.
Pitchbot simulates a pitch meeting with an angel, incubator, seed fund or VC firm.You respond to multiple-choice questions about your product, team, growth and values as you try to impress the investor. If your answers show you know how to build a great startup, you win a mock-up funding term sheet. Seem like a misguided wantrepreneur, and youll get shown the door.
Pitchbot is surprisingly fun, but also extremely educational. Thats because its based on the blogs of 20 top investors, like Sequoiaand Y Combinator, and what they ask founders and what theyre looking for. Youll learn how angels care a lot about who else invested because theres little data to judge by with new startups, while later-stage VCs want to be sure youre swinging for a multi-billion dollar exit and wont sell short for a cushy acqui-hire job.
Ive pitched and been pitched hundreds of times says Pitchbots maker, angel investor and Gigster CEO Roger Dickey. It turns out the interviews are pretty predictable, so entrepreneurs can gain a big edge by preparing for the common questions.
Dickey built the tool to help the startup community while showing off what his own startup can do. Gigster lets anyone with an idea get an app conceptualized, coded and designed, for a fee. He commissioned Gigster to create Pitchbot to demonstrate how anyone can create a useful app. Gigsters full-service development shop has raised a $10 million Series A from prestigious investor Andreessen Horowitz, so clearly Dickey knows what attracts funding.
Theres a lot of mystique and fear, and this sense that you need to get it right the first time or you might burn a bridge. This is why the common wisdom is to pitch friendliesfirst, then use their feedback to hone the pitch, then go make real pitches, says Dickey. This tool is a like a friendly investor for everyone.
So will your pitch earn you a massive valuation from the top VCs? Or do you need to go back to the drawing board? Pitchbot lets you know before youre in an investors office in the real hot seat.
Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/18/practice-your-startup-pitch/
