Things I hate to hear during a VC pitch (and what I’m really thinking)
I hear a lot of pitches. The list below are my “favorite” frequently heard entrepreneur quotes. Enjoy. (and I do hope it’s helpful)
“we took it and flipped it on it’s head”My thought: So what do you mean, you took a business model that’s been working and decided to do the opposite?? I just don’t like this saying.
“and this is a conservative estimate”
My thought: Ha! HAHAHAHAHA
“and this is without marketing”
My thought: I call BS. What you mean is that this is without spending on SEM / paid advertising. Social media is still marketing.
Me: “how many users do you have?”
Them: “we’re really early.”
My thought: Just answer the question - I know you’re early. This is just a sign that you’re embarrassed to answer any questions about user acquisition.
Me: “What’s your conversion rate?”
Them: “I’m not sure. But believe me, I’m really analytical and in to the numbers.”
My thought: No. Obviously you’re not.
Me: “what’s your lifetime value?”
Them: “It varies.”
My thought: Your unwillingness to answer quantitative questions is becoming alarming.
Them: “We’re like Netflix meets Basecamp meets oDesk”
Me: WTF? Any more than 2 and I’m horribly confused and you don’t know what business you’re building.
Them: “We’re going to focus on all 10 of these things.”
My thought: Do you know what the word focus means?