{"id":19693,"date":"2021-05-13T18:19:12","date_gmt":"2021-05-14T01:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/?p=19693"},"modified":"2021-05-13T18:20:05","modified_gmt":"2021-05-14T01:20:05","slug":"how-to-pitch-a-non-silicon-valley-investor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/how-to-pitch-a-non-silicon-valley-investor\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Pitch a Non-Silicon Valley Investor"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/files.pitchbook.com\/website\/files\/pdf\/Q4_2020_PitchBook_Analyst_Note_2021_Venture_Capital_Outlook.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2021 US Venture Capital Outlook report <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">from Pitchbook, funding analysts expect that the Bay Area will fall below 20% of U.S. deals for the first time this year.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Venture capital investment in Silicon Valley is not decreasing. Instead, VCs have expanded funding efforts to launch tech hubs in new locations around the country. With these changes, it\u2019s now easier than ever for non-Bay Area startups to develop relationships with local investors and get their startups funded. This is great news for the rest of the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With these changes, it\u2019s easier than ever for startups outside of the Bay Area to develop relationships with local investors to help them scale.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/matthewgittleman\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Matt Gittleman<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a senior associate at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluventureinvestors.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blu Venture Investors<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in Washington D.C. who invests in the cybersecurity sector, gave us advice on finding and approaching regional investors. His firm, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/bluventures\/\">Blu Venture Investors<\/a>, maintains over $64MM assets and has been involved in eight successful exits.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Matt will offer advice and feedback at a <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Founders Network<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/members.foundersnetwork.com\/function\/2415\/\"> Pitch Practice<\/a> on June 23. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Register at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Founders Network<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and check if you <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/request\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">qualify for full membership<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and get actionable advice on:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identifying and expanding your total addressable market<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creating a marketing or go-to-market strategy that will attract investors<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pinpointing realistic long-term goals<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other direct feedback about your funding pitch<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>\u00a0<\/h2>\n<h2><strong>Matt\u2019s Top Tips for Working With Regional Investors<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before you pitch to Matt or other investors, learn what\u2019s different and what\u2019s the same about regional markets compared to Silicon Valley funding.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Look For Investors Willing to Help You Make Connections<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a place like D.C., the average check size per investor tends to be smaller than you\u2019d find in the Bay Area, and you\u2019re more likely to see syndicated funding rounds. If you\u2019re ready to fundraise and are considering a syndicated round, or are talking to a firm that is suggesting one, make sure they\u2019re willing to help.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Firms like Blu Ventures connect founders to other investors to complete their funding rounds. This helps to de-risk their investments with more investors that have skin in the game.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This may be for the same round or for future funding rounds. \u201cI spend a lot of my time in my role actually developing relationships with later-stage investors so that our companies can be connected to the right people afterward.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<span class='bctt-click-to-tweet'><span class='bctt-ctt-text'><a href='https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffoundersnetwork.com%2F%3Fp%3D19693&#038;text=%E2%80%9CEverything%20is%20a%20lever.%20A%20founder%20may%20be%20a%20first-time%20founder%20but%20has%20great%20market%20traction%2C%20or%20maybe%20they%20have%20very%20little%20market%20traction%2C%20but%20they%27ve%20sold%20the%20last%20company%20for%20half%20a%20billion%20dollars.%E2%80%9D%20-%20%40m_gittleman&#038;via=foundersnetwork&#038;related=foundersnetwork' target='_blank'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u201cEverything is a lever. A founder may be a first-time founder but has great market traction, or maybe they have very little market traction, but they&#039;ve sold the last company for half a billion dollars.\u201d - @m_gittleman <\/a><\/span><a href='https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffoundersnetwork.com%2F%3Fp%3D19693&#038;text=%E2%80%9CEverything%20is%20a%20lever.%20A%20founder%20may%20be%20a%20first-time%20founder%20but%20has%20great%20market%20traction%2C%20or%20maybe%20they%20have%20very%20little%20market%20traction%2C%20but%20they%27ve%20sold%20the%20last%20company%20for%20half%20a%20billion%20dollars.%E2%80%9D%20-%20%40m_gittleman&#038;via=foundersnetwork&#038;related=foundersnetwork' target='_blank' class='bctt-ctt-btn'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n<h3><strong>2. Expect the Same Requirements As a Silicon Valley Investor<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even if the checks are smaller, regional funders are still looking for good investments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Matt, Blu Venture looks for market traction and a healthy total addressable market (TAM), a list of mature and invested customers, experienced founders, and solid business and marketing plans. But it\u2019s okay If you don\u2019t check everything off the list.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cEverything is a lever,\u201d Matt explained. \u201cA founder may be a first-time founder but has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/blog\/how-to-scale-without-overspending-on-marketing\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">great market traction<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or maybe they have very little market traction, but they&#8217;ve sold the last company for half a billion dollars. Those are all different levers that are going to be very relevant to our ultimate decision. And so you have to play up to your strengths.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<span class='bctt-click-to-tweet'><span class='bctt-ctt-text'><a href='https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffoundersnetwork.com%2F%3Fp%3D19693&#038;text=%E2%80%9CWe%20like%20investing%20locally%20when%20we%27re%20able%20to%20because%20it%27s%20supporting%20the%20local%20ecosystem.%20Investing%20locally%20means%20that%20we%20can%20make%20sure%20that%20we%20stay%20close%20to%20the%20company%20better%20so%20we%20can%20be%20more%20supportive%20of%20them.%E2%80%9D%20-%20%40m_gittleman&#038;via=foundersnetwork&#038;related=foundersnetwork' target='_blank'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u201cWe like investing locally when we&#039;re able to because it&#039;s supporting the local ecosystem. Investing locally means that we can make sure that we stay close to the company better so we can be more supportive of them.\u201d - @m_gittleman <\/a><\/span><a href='https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffoundersnetwork.com%2F%3Fp%3D19693&#038;text=%E2%80%9CWe%20like%20investing%20locally%20when%20we%27re%20able%20to%20because%20it%27s%20supporting%20the%20local%20ecosystem.%20Investing%20locally%20means%20that%20we%20can%20make%20sure%20that%20we%20stay%20close%20to%20the%20company%20better%20so%20we%20can%20be%20more%20supportive%20of%20them.%E2%80%9D%20-%20%40m_gittleman&#038;via=foundersnetwork&#038;related=foundersnetwork' target='_blank' class='bctt-ctt-btn'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n<h3><strong>3. Get Plugged Into the Local Tech Community<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Having a presence in the local tech community can up your appeal to a local investor, whether you\u2019re working with local accelerators or groups like the <a href=\"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/\">Founders Network<\/a> local chapters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For instance, Blu Ventures\u00a0 has a close relationship with the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mach37.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MACH37<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a cybersecurity accelerator based in Virginia.\u201dWe&#8217;ve always found those companies to be of great interest to us, and we like supporting them.\u201c\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Matt, there are two main reasons to support local startups: \u201cWe really do like investing locally when we&#8217;re able to because it&#8217;s supporting the local ecosystem.\u201d Matt explained. \u201cBut also, investing locally means that we can make sure that we stay close to the company better so we can be more supportive of them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mainly, post-COVID, staying close doesn\u2019t rely on physical proximity. You can always hop on a Zoom call. But there\u2019s still something about being able to grab coffee or stop by someone\u2019s office or coworking space.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>4. Talk to Investors Before You\u2019re Ready to Pitch<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI always tell founders the best time to meet your first investor was a year ago,\u201d Matt said. \u201cThe reason for that is that regardless of where you are today, drawing a line in the sand to be able to say, \u2018This is what I&#8217;ve done, and this is what I&#8217;m going to do.\u2019 And then to come back in three, six, nine or 12 months, and say, \u2018Here are the things I did.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While Matt encourages founders to reach out earlier to start to build trust, he also recommends seeing how long you can bootstrap. If you\u2019re able to build traction around an idea or a product without external help, you\u2019re going to have a better experience when you do<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">finally fundraise.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAs a group, VCs want to invest in people that aren&#8217;t looking to raise money. There&#8217;s a little bit of FOMO that comes to play. If you are building and growing a company at a scale that&#8217;s interesting to a VC with some<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/blog\/scaling-culture-tech-startups\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> exponential growth<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> happening, they\u2019re going to want to be a part of that. And if you&#8217;re <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/blog\/is-your-startup-venture-scale\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">not raising money<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, they&#8217;re only going to want to more.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<span class='bctt-click-to-tweet'><span class='bctt-ctt-text'><a href='https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffoundersnetwork.com%2F%3Fp%3D19693&#038;text=%E2%80%9CAny%20founder%20going%20into%20a%20pitch%20meeting%20needs%20to%20go%20into%20the%20meeting%20with%20trust%20built-in.%20If%20they%20don%27t%20have%20trust%2C%20they%20shouldn%27t%20go%20into%20the%20meeting.%E2%80%9D%20-%20%40m_gittleman&#038;via=foundersnetwork&#038;related=foundersnetwork' target='_blank'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u201cAny founder going into a pitch meeting needs to go into the meeting with trust built-in. If they don&#039;t have trust, they shouldn&#039;t go into the meeting.\u201d - @m_gittleman <\/a><\/span><a href='https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffoundersnetwork.com%2F%3Fp%3D19693&#038;text=%E2%80%9CAny%20founder%20going%20into%20a%20pitch%20meeting%20needs%20to%20go%20into%20the%20meeting%20with%20trust%20built-in.%20If%20they%20don%27t%20have%20trust%2C%20they%20shouldn%27t%20go%20into%20the%20meeting.%E2%80%9D%20-%20%40m_gittleman&#038;via=foundersnetwork&#038;related=foundersnetwork' target='_blank' class='bctt-ctt-btn'rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n<h3><strong>5. Prepare to be Transparent<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAny founder going into a pitch meeting needs to go into the meeting with trust built-in. If they don&#8217;t have trust, they shouldn&#8217;t go into the meeting,\u201d Matt said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are cases where NDAs get in the way of disclosing certain information, but you should be able to clearly explain what you are and aren\u2019t able to disclose and why. Otherwise, if you can\u2019t answer a VC\u2019s questions, it\u2019s going to look like you have something to hide.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But this transparency should work both ways. Matt encourages all founders to interview the investors, as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf the VC wants to move forward with a due diligence with the investment, ask to do diligence on them, as well. Ask for references from their partners and their portfolio. All too often, that doesn&#8217;t get done.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to a 2021 US Venture Capital Outlook report from Pitchbook, funding analysts expect that the Bay Area will fall below 20% of U.S. deals for the first time this &#8230; <\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/how-to-pitch-a-non-silicon-valley-investor\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":19696,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7171],"tags":[7534,7365],"table_tags":[],"class_list":["post-19693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-startup-investing-and-funding","tag-vc-funding","tag-washington-dc"],"acf":[],"featured_image_data":{"src":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_0293-2.jpg","alt":"","caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19693"},{"taxonomy":"table_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/table_tags?post=19693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}