Top 10 pitch questions investors ask (from actual investors)

You’ve nailed your pitch and you’re finally on the ‘thank you’ slide. Now what? What questions will investors ask you after your pitch?

We’ve spoken to venture capitalists and angel investors to gather the top ten questions to prepare for when you pitch and when you have your first meeting with investors. We’ve also explained why investors ask these questions and how best to answer to make a good impression.

10 questions investors ask when you pitch

The questions investors ask when you pitch will vary, so we’ve listed the most common questions along with some more unusual questions. As part of your preparation, it will be helpful for you to think about the answers to all of these:

1. How do you explain your product to customers?

You know what you do (hopefully) but how good are you at communicating it simply and concisely? It’s common for investors to still feel unclear about what problem a company solves by the end of their pitch. They end up having to ask for a more straightforward explanation after the pitch. That’s because a lot of founders talk about what they’re doing more than the problem they’re solving.

Save your investors’ time and make sure you explain what you’re offering during your pitch as if you’re talking to your potential customers.

2. What do you perceive to be your biggest challenge following this raise?

Some of the questions investors ask are aimed at gaining a better understanding of who you are, what your mindset is like and how well you understand your market. Make sure you know what your challenges are and how you plan to solve them.

3. What core assumptions/questions will you test?

This is a pre-seed stage question. When you raise your first round, you’re probably still at the idea stage so you won’t have much proof from the market yet. Investors want to understand what you’ll prove and test with the capital and resources from the raise.

For example, before Airbnb existed, there wasn’t proof that people would rent a room in someone’s house short term (or that owners would agree to host guests in their home). Airbnb needed to test their product in the market to prove that it would be adopted and become lucrative.

4. If everything goes right, where do you see this business in five to seven years?

This is a common question and a tough one to answer because it’s difficult to judge where you’ll be in five to seven years. Things change. You can never be sure. But from the investor’s point of view, it’s not about being sure – it’s about demonstrating that you have a clear vision and goals, understanding that things might shift but you know what you’re trying to achieve.

5. Why do you want to create this company?

Your personal objective is the seed of your company. If you’re fully committed, clear and believe in your solution to a defined problem, it will drive the success of your entire company. Use a question like this as an opportunity to inspire your investors.

6. What’s your biggest weakness?

When they ask about your biggest weakness, the investor wants to know more about who you are and explore whether your values align with theirs. In your answer to this question, think about how you can express self-awareness, humility, who you are and what you value.

7. How do you hire people?

This is a common question because the people you hire have a massive impact on your company’s success (or failure). Investors want to know they can trust you to hire the right people.

8. What makes your team the best people to do the job?

Investors want to know that they can trust your leadership team to execute your ambitions successfully, especially during early-stage raises before your company has plenty of achievements to show. Make sure you’re prepared to explain the experience, industry knowledge and expertise of your team members. You can also talk about your advisors and mentors and how they are helping you.

9. What risks does your business face?

It’s important to understand potential risks before you pursue your venture. Investors might want to know about:

• Legal risks
• Regulatory risks
• Product liability

Make sure you understand all the risks your business might face and be prepared to explain how you’d mitigate those risks.

10. Are your documents in order?

Investors might not ask about this when you initially pitch, but by the first meeting, you should be prepared for investors to ask about the following:

• IP Assignment – they want to know your intellectual property is protected
• Founder share vesting schedule – they want to understand how your shares vest. To understand more about this, read our article: How founder share vesting can save your startup’s life
• Company Articles – read our post: Articles: what they are and when you should adopt new ones
• SEIS/EIS compliance – investors want to know if they can get S/EIS tax relief In your pitch, you should mention if you have Advance Assurance or plan to apply.
• Cap table – investors want to see your company ownership at a glance
• Due diligence on founders and team – make it easy for investors by uploading your documents to a secure Data Room

Targeted questions about your business

Investors will also ask targeted questions about your business. They want to understand if you know your business in fine detail. They’ll ask precise questions about aspects of your business model and question your assumptions. They want to know that you’ve truly thought things through and that you have a deep understanding of your venture. At the pitch or during the first meeting, investors might ask about:

• your business metrics (for example customer acquisition costs and expected growth rate)
• how competitive the market is
• the size of the market
• what trends you see in the market
• how you stack up against your competition

5 quick tips to improve your pitch

Getting ready to pitch? We’ve listed our top five tips below. For more detail and unique insights from investors, read our article How to pitch to investors and download our free pitch deck template, which includes tips from experts and step-by-step guidance.

Our top 5 tips to nail your pitch:

• Tell a story to keep things exciting
• Focus on the solution you offer – not just what you do
• Don’t use too many words – bold statements and bullet points are ideal
• Keep it high-level – don’t give too much detail
• Use high quality imagery and videos to showcase your product

Talk to an expert

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