idea, lean-startup, consulting, leanWe have a startup which is reshaping the outdoor advertising industry in Pakistan through a website portal. Most of investors asked me “What is the benefit to you from this startup “ ? Well i answered which everyone will is that i will generate revenue from my startup and i am solving a big problem of outdoor advertising industry which is giving me a big satisfaction and peace as entrepreneur.
Now I’m confused that can there be a better answer/reply than this?
There are many answers to the question. I have been asked this question many times and honestly now I can say I know the answer. Straight forward answer is not I will generate revenue.
Your answer should have been more like I have paying customers and we are able to sustain our start up and now I think it is time for us to scale. Your money will help us spread to other cities (whatever you want for future), hire new people, add new feature
Now the question is do you have paying customer? If yes then throw in the numbers. If not then you are not in a position to approach investors unless friend and family.
So my advice get customers(no matter small or big)
Personal fulfillment, living your dream of being your own boss ..
They want to see of you are committed to go through bad times when they give you their money.
Your answer is not necessarily bad, but I’d rather give my money to someone who is emotionally invested in it than to someone who wants it to generate revenue for himself (when talking venture capital).
Every investor, advisor or business lecturer I’ve listened to says the same thing. You only start a business because of pure passion for what you’re doing.
If its making apps you’re an app nerd, making music a music geek. Example, I have a friend that spent every waking minute learning drums. So much so that he studied classical orchestral percussion, and he is a rock/funk drummer!
So, when asked what you are getting out of this business, It should be fairly simple to answer it.
Further more, the answer should most likely align with the companies value proposition as well as who your customer (or potential customer) is.
So for you an answer like “i will generate revenue from my startup and i am solving a big problem of outdoor advertising industry” isn’t very convincing.
But an answer like, “The outdoor advertising industry sucks! and we’ve invented a earth shattering technology that will turn the advertising industry on it’s head! I have dedicated my whole life to outdoor advertising and it’s time the industry changed!” (only a poor example since I’m not passionate about outdoor advertising :)
Basically, selling your self and being believable. It’s a sales pitch every time you interact with anyone.
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