I have a great idea for a tech start up and want to pitch to VCs, I have some questions
Long story short it is a real estate management app that tackles a few issues that a lot of people have.
Now, I do not want to embarrass myself or waste an opportunity, so if I were to theoretically pitch to a VC what should I include or leave till later?
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Do I need a working version of the app? The thing is I do not have the capital (yet) to invest 15-20k on a working model of the app and then I wouldn't trust the developer I hire to not just pass the idea off as their own. I am a business development/finance guy so I can't make the app myself. I CAN however create renders of the app to show what it would look like, would that be a waste?
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How detailed should my pitch be? Can anyone share what they would be looking for at this stage?
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Should my app already be launched? I would not want to do this because we would just be copied by bigger companies with an actual marketing budget
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Finally to be a little vulnerable, I am hesitant of my race in all of this, I am a black man and have heard mind bending horror stories of people like me trying to navigate this space and just getting their idea stolen and "given" to relatives and friends of the founders. Are there any red flags I should look out for? I have tons of ideas but would really like to work with one VC and not have to break up due to racial animosity.
4.5 Should I use a less ethnic sounding name when sending out pitches? Or will VC's be suspicious when they find out its not really my name
I don't think you can pass off pictures for high valuations anymore - that boat sailed a few years ago.
1. You are not in the stage of raising money from VCs yet except a very rare class of pre-seed investors. You would be better off doing an angel round with friends and family and HNWIs that you reach out to and develop a relationship with.
2. You should have identified a strong pain point through many customer interviews and be able to show that the market opportunity is large, i.e. many people are experiencing this pain point.
3. Not necessarily, see point 1. You should however have mockups of the product, put that together in Figma. If you are looking for real institutional funding, then yes, you should have a product. You are going to have this problem of being copied by bigger companies regardless of when you launch; that's how it goes.
4. I believe you that being a black man would make life hard in VC. I haven't heard these horror stories but I believe you. That is a risk that is present for anyone; you often hear VCs laugh at entrepreneurs who ask them to sign NDAs. You just have to have good judgment in people. If you have a product and some customers before you raise an institutional round this risk is a lot less likely.
4.5 Don't do this
If you liked this advice I'm happy to take a look at your materials.
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