These days, it’s hard to make it to the finish line as a startup. You need to prepare for some difficult
moments and make sure you have a plan in place to keep the investors on board. At the same time, you
need to keep the team motivated and the project on track. It’s a great thing to have investors or venture
capitalists (VCs) backing your project. However, it’s vital that you keep them engaged. They’re not just
giving you money — they’re also offering their advice and support. And it’s your responsibility to keep
them updated. You can use a variety of tactics to keep them interested in what you’re doing.
Every entrepreneur knows that to succeed, they need to keep their investors happy. A happy investor is
going to be more likely to continue to fund your business and help you succeed.
How to keep them happy? Here are tips to keep your investors engaged:
First, ask investors about their expectations
Since the first is building a company, the founders should consider its investors’ problems. The founders
should be confident that their investors are happy with their decisions. Therefore, the founders should
be asking investors about their expectations and why they decided to invest in their business.
The initiative of the founders is important here. It is necessary to involve investors in the development
of the company, so they can form a partnership with the founders.
The first thing you need to do is to ask investors about their expectations and what motivates them to
invest in you. It is important to know what they expect from you and why they chose you. It is very easy
to say that you want to be successful and offer the best project to your investors.
However, it is another thing to make your investors succeed in their investments. This is what they
expect to see from you in the first place. They want to know that you are going to work hard and make
them succeed in their investment.
It is your job to make sure that you are going to make them as happy as possible with their investment.
The first step towards doing this is to ask them what they expect from you.
Answer to the point
Keeping your investors engaged is always a challenge. You want to show that you are making progress,
but at the same time, you don’t want to overload them with too much information. You can’t just send a
progress report every day.
It’s important to make sure that your investors are engaged and feel like they are part of the business.
Here’s how you can do that:
- Try to answer 80% to 90% of their questions in your progress report. If you find it hard to
answer, try to provide an answer in the following weeks. - If you have a blog or website, add a section that allows investors to ask questions and receive
answers from you. - Try to stay in touch with them in a personal way.
When you get an email from an investor, you should first make sure you answer directly to the point. If
you are unsure what the point is, you should ask for clarification. If you get a long email from an
investor, it is recommended that you answer directly to the point. Try to be as brief as possible.
Prepare and exhibit compelling presentations
At this point, you’re probably wondering: what’s so hard about just creating a PowerPoint presentation?
Well, you see, it’s not the PowerPoint presentation but rather the content that you’re putting in it. The
problem with most business presentations is that they’re usually filled with numbers and statistics that
offer no real value to the audience.
After all, they’re boring and not really telling you anything. You need to prepare a presentation that’s
going to be worth the time and effort of your investors.
Investors are interested in your idea but are not yet committed to funding you. They need to be
convinced that your business will succeed, that you are the right person to lead it, and that you will be
able to keep them informed and excited about the progress of the business.
In order to do this, you need to create a compelling presentation that will captivate investors and get
them interested in the project with more percentage of visual information and less of numbers and
words.
Provide a solid strategy and place for information updates
Investors want to see a solid strategy for your business. It’s not enough to have a plan and stick to it;
they need to be able to track your success and have access to a solid source of information. This will also
help you build trust between your business and your investors.
If you’re using a proven business model and have a trusted source of information, you can easily keep
your investors engaged. Investors want to know they can trust a business they’re investing their money
into.
They want to know that the company’s values and direction are solid, and they want regular updates.
But if your investor updates are a jumbled mess of too much information, or if you’re only contacting
them when you need something, they’re not going to be happy.
Your investors want updates, but the updates need to be in a place that only they can see. They also
need to be concise and easy to read. For this, using a Virtual Data Room is the best and preferred
solution for investors. This will show them that you’re taking the time to show them respect and giving
your business careful consideration.
It’s important to also remember that investors can be a source of advice and expertise for you as a
business. They’ve been there, done that, and have the experience to lend to you. Don’t be afraid to ask
for advice from them as well.
Answer in figures and facts
When your investors or potential investors ask you questions, use numbers to answer them. Don’t tell
them something – show them something. Investors like numbers and figures. They like to see how your
business is doing and how it is growing. Instead of saying you have to be the best, show them that you
are the best. It makes all the difference.
There is no need to tell your investors that you are growing rapidly or that the sky is blue. You need to
tell them the exact figures. Investors are not interested in your feelings but in the cold hard facts. If you
have a good feeling about your company’s growth, tell them about your plans for the future or your
current achievements, but always add a few figures to back up your thoughts.
If you see a downward trend, it’s better to tell your investors about it as soon as possible. This will help
you adapt your plans to the actual situation and save you and your investors time and money.