Fundraising - How To Successfully Conduct A Meeting with Investors

At Blackroom, one of our favorite advisor is a man by the name of Loic Moisand, who is known for his extremely high level of energy. Serial entrepreneur, he conducted several rounds of series for his own startups and advises founders with his step-by-step methodologies for everything from establishing traction pre-launch to market differentiation to structuring a deal with co-founders.

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For this fundraising series, we asked Moisand several questions, and the answers he gave were worth their weight in gold. He explained his seven-step strategy for organizing investor meetings, including ideas for efficiently following up with investors that may be put into action. Below is a rundown of what happened. 

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A 7-step technique for running killer investor meetings

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It took some time for Moisand to understand the dynamic that was at play in the meetings with investors in Europe and the US. As a result, it took him some time to change his approaches in accordance with that understanding.

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"Would you enjoy being in a meeting day after day with people trying to hard sell you everything?" He asks, pointing out that investors may frequently book as many as eight meetings in a single day.

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He recalled trying to make a strong pitch during the entirety of the one-hour meeting and watching as the shoulders of the investors stiffened up.

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He explains, "This is such an ineffective strategy. I was attempting to educate investors every bit of information I knew about the market and the firm."

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During the course of time, he developed a structure that brings about a comprehensive shift in the dynamic. According to him, the method is so effective that even if an investor is not a good fit for your firm, they would eagerly refer you to their other connections.

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1. Start with a little chat period of two to three minutes.

To get people comfortable with one another and start the meeting off on the right foot, start with some small talk. You could either try to find a similar interest with the investors or you should let them talk about something that interests them.

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If you are doing your presentation via GMeet, look at the things that are in the background of the investor's screen, such as a photo, a diploma, or a souvenir, and then ask them about those things.

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2. Outline the activities that will take place during the meeting.

Before you begin your presentation, take a moment to go around the room and tell everyone what they should anticipate from the meeting. This demonstrates to potential investors that you are well prepared and organized, and it also prevents you from rambling on.

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Moisand suggests that the way you phrase things should sound something like this:

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Hello, [investor], and a very sincere thank you for inviting me to this meeting. It looks like we have an hour, doesn't it? Thus, I propose that we do the following:

I'll give you my pitch regarding the deck for the next five minutes. Following the initial five minutes, the remaining portion of the meeting, which is around thirty minutes, will be devoted to your questions and comments. After that, I'd like to spend the next ten minutes interviewing you by asking you questions. In the remaining ten minutes, we will collaborate to outline the following actions. How does that come across to you?

Moisand affirms, "I haven't come across an investor who has turned me down for that.,I can see the tension leaving their shoulders. They are aware that they have to remain silent for the first five minutes of the broadcast, and that after that, it is their turn to ask questions during this segment.”

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Tip: Between each of the following steps, revisit your framework. Moisand refers to this as "micoframing," and it serves the purpose of reminding the investors of what is going to happen next and ensuring that they are prepared to go on to the next part of the meeting.

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3. Deliver a 5-minute pitch presentation

Throughout your practice sessions, try to give your complete pitch in just five minutes. Moisand recommends preparing no more than 12 slides for the presentation and ensuring that they cover all of the relevant topics. The investors in the room will get a sense of how well planned your approach is based not just on the content of what you say about your company but also on how you say it.

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4. Make use of the question and answer session to encourage investors to brainstorm aloud

During the next thirty minutes of the meeting, the investors will be given the opportunity to use questions to process their own views in relation to your presentation. Frequently, one query will lead to an idea that will lead to another concept spinning out from the first thought.

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Moisand says that this is the place where the magic happens. When you have a productive meeting with investors, the investors will begin to sell you on what the two of you can do together.

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What exactly is the secret to making this work? Be silent! Respond to their inquiries in a manner that is clear and succinct, and make it possible for your replies to facilitate their cognitive process.

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Moisand cites the scenario in which investors have inquired about the burn rate.

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He continues, "Many times this was just for me to say $60,000," and he explains his reasoning.

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There is, however, the desire to start explaining why the burn rate is $60,000 a month. Providing an explanation that the investors did not ask for will swiftly kill the dynamic of the situation. If you believe that an explanation would be beneficial, you should first get permission to share it with the group before you begin. For example, you may say something like, "Would you like to hear the breakdown of the burn rate?"

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According to Moisand, it takes a lot of deliberate work to only respond with exactly what is being requested.

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"My strategy consists of seeing a large stack of $1 money," he explains, "and every syllable I'm uttering is a $1, and I have a limited quantity of bills."

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Moisand enjoys having at least one question to which he can respond with a "I don't know" - he will even make up an answer on the fly if he doesn't have one. Sometimes this presents an opportunity to experiment with a financial model or to include investors in a brief creative working session during which you can demonstrate what it is like to work with you as a founder. Other times, this merely opens the door to the possibility of doing either of these things.

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5. To come closer to a resolution, consider the following seven questions.

Spend the next ten minutes turning the question and answer session around so that you may interrogate the investors.

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At this point in the meeting, here are seven questions that you should ask potential investors:

• Who is responsible for making the decision to invest?
• What is the typical amount that an investor puts into a new business? Where do you feel most comfortable?
• Is there anyone else you would like me to meet? You'll be able to tell the difference between investors who are bullish and those who are bearish if you ask them this question. No, I'm not disappointed with this business transaction, and yes, I do make the calls, but no, there isn't. (Here's a hint: the latter is not a particularly positive indicator.)

If you get the impression from their responses that they are interested but have not made up their minds, you should only — and only then — ask them whether they would be interested in meeting our staff or touring our headquarters.

• Purchasing SAFE notes as an investment makes you feel secure?
• Are you aware that our company is incorporated in Canada, Singapore, Delaware, or any of the other countries listed?
• Is there an usual window of opportunity for you to invest in business ventures? The answers will certainly take you by surprise.

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As a helpful hint, in addition to conducting your own homework, ask yourself these questions. Before entering the meeting, you need to be aware of the stage the investor operates in and the companies in which they have previously invested. Talking to other founders the company has worked with can also prove to be beneficial.

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6. Outline the steps that will follow.

Take one more breather to microframe before you move on to the next and last portion of the meeting, which could sound something like this:

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"I am grateful that you have addressed my concerns. I apologize for the number of questions I asked, but all of your responses were really informative. Now that I have a comprehensive understanding of the situation, the final stage is to set aside around ten minutes to outline the subsequent actions. Are you prepared to take the plunge?"

Make your next moves based on the responses that you found during your question-and-answer session. Take, for instance:

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It sounds like I need to meet with Rachel in your team to discuss doing the appropriate amount of research. Would you like me to provide the complete data room along with the notes from our session? I have it all set up and ready to go.

or,

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It seems that the optimal amount for your investments is somewhere around $200,000. Is that a reasonable price given the arrangement that we have?

Be sure to express your gratitude to the investors before the end of the meeting, and then it will be time to follow up.

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7. Make a subsequent inquiry on the same day

Moisand suggests immediately following up on a pitch meeting after it has taken place. In point of fact, it is not unheard of for him to leave a meeting in the middle of it, open the hotspot on his phone, and email follow-up documents from the parking lot of the investors.

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He boasts, "When it comes to raising money, I am a machine." "If you take your eyes off the prize, you're going to lose, and that's the energy you want to represent."

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Your follow-up email should include everything that you agreed to in the next steps, such as access to your data room, items that you discussed, and the response to your query that you didn't know the answer to. You can also include a pre-signed SAFE note in the package if the investors have indicated that they are prepared to write a check.

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Moisand adds a deadline to the note that corresponds to the schedule that was discussed and agreed upon in the meeting, as well as a buffer of three days, and he sends it pre-signed, making it as simple as possible for the investor to give their approval.

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He suggests making use of an electronic signing application such as HelloSign in order to automate the procedure, send daily reminder emails, and display information regarding whether or not the investor has opened the note. Moisand recognizes it is time to reach out to the investor and give support if a few days pass without any activity being reported on their end.

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Maintaining a proactive stance throughout the follow-up process is absolutely essential.

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Moisand explains, "I used to walk out of meetings thinking to myself, 'it was a fantastic meeting.'" "And then people asked, 'Well, what should we do next?'" And I responded by saying that I am looking forward to hearing from the investor. That is not successful. That's not a very good gathering."

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Extra tips (or how to not drop the ball)

Without momentum, deals sputter and die, and fundraising comes to a grinding halt. Momentum is the oxygen that ignites the fire of fundraising. Making fundraising your number one priority in life is one strategy for maintaining the forward momentum that has been achieved.

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Moisand advises that if you receive an email from potential investors, you should immediately stop whatever it is that you are doing and respond to the email.... This is not the time to start making mistakes."

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Another piece of advice from Moisand is, "Run as fast as you can." Develop a sizable pipeline, a large number of investors, and a packed calendar of prospective meeting opportunities.

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Moisand tells us, "You are a machine. You need to create more and more and more possibilities with investors in your field, in your stage, who are excellent individuals to work with," the mentor told the student. And you'll need to move quickly if you want to maintain your momentum.

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