英语学习：创业路演最容易出现的28个雷区

友谊的真诚

错误10:不告诉我你的公司解决的是哪些问题。
你的公司到底解决的是哪些问题？它重要吗？


Mistake #10: Not telling me what problem your business solves.
What problem does your business solve? Does it matter at all?

友谊的真诚

错误11：对你的公司怀有不切实际的估值预期
如果你的公司刚刚成立三个礼拜，或者你的业务还没有什么起色，你就跟我说，你对你的公司的估值是1亿美元，那么咱们之间的对话可能很快就会结束了。通常来说，在和投资人第一次会面时最好不谈估值，只说你对估值是理性的就可以了。


Mistake #11: Presenting unrealistic valuation expectations for your company.
If you tell me you want a $100 million valuation when you started the business three weeks ago, or don’t have much traction yet, the conversation will likely end very quickly. Often, it’s best not to discuss valuation in a first meeting other than to say you expect to be reasonable on valuation.

友谊的真诚

错误12：陈词滥调
在言语间要避免以下这些话：
“我们需要的只是1%的市场。”（你未必能达到。）
“使用量会相当火爆。”（除非有早期的证据能够证实，否则这番话很难让人相信。）
“这个产品自己就是活广告。”（不，它不是。）
“连谷歌都会想要收购我们。“（或许吧，反正我看可能性不大。）
“我们的预测数字比较保守。”（但是只有在这时候，我才想听到创业者对我说：“我们的预测数字极为乐观。”）


Mistake #12: Giving me clichés.
Phrases to avoid:
“All we need is 1% of the market” (unlikely you will get that)
“We will get huge viral usage” (unless you show me early traction, that will be difficult to believe)
“This product will market itself” (no, it won’t)
“Google will want to buy us” (maybe, but not likely)
“Our projection numbers are conservative” (just once I would like to hear an entrepreneur say, “Our projections are wildly optimistic”).

友谊的真诚

错误13：PPT超过20页
你的路演最多只有一个小时时间。所以如果你的PPT做得太长，就会影响路演的明快感，而且你也根本没有时间讲解到最后几页。如果投资人对你的项目产生了兴趣，你可以事后再向他提供更多信息。


Mistake #13: Having more than 20 slides in your PowerPoint deck.
You will have an hour at most to make your pitch. So overloading your PowerPoint deck with too many slides will cut into the crispness of the presentation, and you won’t have time to get to the slides at the end of your deck. If an investor is interested, you can always provide more detailed information later.

友谊的真诚

错误14：忘了强调团队成员的经验和资历
很多投资人都认为，对于一家创业公司来说，它的团队要比它的创意或产品更重要。投资者很想知道，你的团队是否拥有正确的技能、动机、经验甚至脾气秉性来推动公司的成长。我想看到的是你的团队是否有热情去做一件真正独特和伟大的事。所以你在讲演中可能会问被到以下问题：
公司的创始人和核心团队成员是谁？
你的团队在相关领域有什么经验？
在短期内，你的团队需要加入哪些核心成员？
你的团队有什么独特之处，能够执行好公司的商业计划？
你有多少名员工？
创始人的动机是什么？
在接下来的12个月，你打算如何扩大你的团队？


Mistake #14: Forgetting to highlight your team’s experience and credentials.
Many investors consider the team behind a startup more important than the idea or the product. The investors will want to know that the team has the right set of skills, drive, experience, and temperament to grow the business. I want to be shown all of this together with a passion to do something truly great and unique. Anticipate these questions:
Who are the founders and key team members?
What relevant domain experience does the team have?
What key additions to the team are needed in the short term?
Why is the team uniquely capable to execute the company’s business plan?
How many employees do you have?
What motivates the founders?
How do you plan to scale the team in the next 12 months?

友谊的真诚

错误15：不重视细节
首先，要确保你的演示文稿里没有错别字或自相矛盾的地方。其次，要制作一份文笔流畅、视觉效果吸引人的演示文稿。要记得给你的PPT标上页码，让我能轻松地回顾某一页的内容。为了保护你的合法权益，你可以在PPT末页底部写上版权声明，加上“保密与隐私”这种话。


Mistake # 15: Not paying attention to detail.
Make sure your presentation doesn’t contain typos or inconsistencies. Present a well-written, visually interesting presentation. Include page numbers on each slide so I can easily reference a specific page. For your legal protection, put a copyright notice at the bottom and add the phrase “Confidential and Private.”

友谊的真诚

错误16：没有样品
“样品胜千言”。请向我展示你的原型产品，或者是你的产品、应用和网站的演示效果。这能让我更好地理解你究竟想做什么。请尽量保证它的运行效果良好，不要有bug。另外，要尽量用它的外观和感觉来征服我。


Mistake #16: Not doing a demo.
A demo is worth a thousand words. Show me a prototype or working demo of your product, app, or website. It will give me a better sense of what you are trying to do. Make sure it works well and isn’t buggy. Impress me with its look and feel.

友谊的真诚

错误17：对投资者和他的投资组合不做调查
如果你向我表明，你对我的背景和我投资的公司有所了解，会对我们之间的谈话有一定的裨益。另外最好向我表明，你已经针对此会面做了一些尽职调查。


Mistake #17: Not doing research on the investor and his portfolio.
Showing some awareness of my background and the companies I am invested in will facilitate parts of the conversation, and also shows you have done some advance due diligence for the meeting.

友谊的真诚

错误18：没有看过其他演示文稿和项目摘要
参考一下其它的演示文稿和项目摘要，可以有助你改进你自己的作品。你可以请你的律师、其他创业者或是做天使投资人的朋友为你提供一些样品。另外网上也有很多样品可供参考，比如Mint.com上就有一些，这家创业公司最后以1.7亿美元的价格被财捷集团（Intuit）收购。


Mistake #18: Not looking at other pitch decks and executive summaries.
Looking at other pitch decks and executive summaries can help you improve your own. You can ask your lawyer or entrepreneur or angel investor friends for samples. Plenty are available on the Web, such as the deck for Mint.com, a startup that sold to Intuit for $170 million.

友谊的真诚

错误19：不了解招揽顾客的成本和顾客的长期价值
如果你了解关于如何招揽顾客或用户的问题，我可能会对你产生兴趣。也就是说，如果你想招揽到一名顾客，需要付出多少成本？这名顾客的生命周期价值是多少？你打算使用什么渠道来招揽用户或顾客？这将给你造成多少营销成本？从与顾客初次接触，到最后达成销售，中间的销售周期一般是多长？如果你对这些问题准备得不充分，会让我觉得你对你的商业计划考虑得不周到。


Mistake #19: Not understanding customer acquisition costs and long-term value of the customer.
I will be interested in your understanding of customer or user acquisition issues. What costs will you incur to acquire a customer? What will be the likely lifetime value of the customer? What channels will you use to acquire that user or customer? What marketing costs will you incur? What is the typical sales cycle between initial customer contact and closing of a sale? Not being prepared for those types of questions will hurt my perception of how well you have thought out your business plan.