17 simple things for preparing a remote demo to a potential investor

If you’re lucky enough to have got your exec summary read by a potential investor and they’re ready to take a closer look at your application, generally the next step is some kind of remote demo. We’ve learnt the hard way over the last few months that you can never be too prepared for this first contact and I thought that I’d pass along a checklist that we’ve built up.

This list assumes that you will be having a conference call and sharing your desktop to demo your application. We use GotoMeeting and a normal landline phone on loudspeaker. Most of these points are common sense and some are so obvious that you will take them for granted… I’m sure there will be others that we’ve not yet encountered.

1. Research who you will be speaking to. Names, previous investments and even their interests.
2. Be prepared for business questions not just technical questions – know your business not just your technology.
3. Ensure that you have a solid story of how you met your co-founders and how you’ve got to where you are now.
4. Create a rough script that emphasizes your key benefits and features and how they relate to what you’re showing them.
5. Have you actually scheduled the meeting and sent a courtesy email explaining the process for the “webinar”.
6. Prepare demo usernames and passwords and test.
7. Clear your desktop, close any none essential background applications and any plugins for your browser.
8. Clear your browser cache.
9. Walkthrough your demo two hours before your live meeting. Everything works?
10. Prepare any external resources such as websites and have them open in a separate browser ready and waiting.
11. Turn off all close proximity mobile phones.
12. Close your office doors and windows (lock them if you can).
13. Minimise your coffee intake before and during.
14. Have a glass of water ready and at hand, you’d be amazed how quickly your mouth will dry up…
15. During the introduction ask a few questions (see point 1) to try and build rapport, a more conversational tone will help you relax.
16. If something goes wrong during the demo it is best to “fess up” and fix it, rather than try and cover it up.
17. Allow a maximum of thirty minutes for the demo, but not necessarily the whole call.

By the end of your demo you’ll have a reasonable idea of how interested they are, you’ll be getting relevant  questions and you should be feeling in control of the call.

If you even get this far at the moment you are doing well in the current economical climate, a lot of the VC’s that claim to be investing in early stage startups clearly are not and are battening down their hatches until fairer times.

We’re still learning, you never stop really, so if you’re in similar situation and you have anything to add to this post please share your knowledge.

Tagged as: demo, lists, raising money, VC