angel-investorsAn investor I met from events called and wanted to have a brainstorming meeting. (Not sure what this is also)
Our product is changing directions constantly, we do not have a slide deck, we are not seeking investment at the moment and do not want to go through the “getting ready for investors” process which is ridiculously time consuming.
How to have a productive meeting while not actively searching for investment and not look incompetent because of having higher priorities than getting ready to pitch?
I would recommend not taking the investor meeting for a few reasons:
-It sounds like you don’t have much to show. You might impress with your team but presumably you would do that later anyway when you can show a vision, product, and hopefully some traction.
-Any prep you do would take time away from the more important goals of market research, choosing an idea, and early development.
-Investors generally get more interested when a startup declines to meet. It signals you don’t need them and bring more to the table than they do. It’s not entirely rational but a common reaction.
-Some investors will ask for meetings to troll for ideas and information. The risk in your situation is lower because you haven’t decided on an idea but anything you say can be used against you. I don’t mean to be paranoid and generally favor being open, but recommend doing so when you have hit the ground running and can run faster than potential competitors.
Two alternate views are 1) that you ask for advice when you want money and want money when you want advice; 2) it’s good to build relationships before you ask for money. I think these have merit but that the downsides above generally outweigh the potential positives.
The bottom line is that when you have a strong team, product, and especially traction, you have the best chance to raise money.
A valid (in good faith!) assumption would be the investor just wants to start building a long term relationship with you. If he is serious, this is just his first step in the process of assessing his future investment.
You can do (without jeopardizing your current priorities) two simple things:
kindly ask for an agenda of the meeting, preferably with some questions that he wants answered. Then you prepare some sharp answers.
you can informally present your long term vision (if he is a valuable potential partner, he will provide feedback) and maybe give a brief status of your current work (including an expected delivery/go-to-market scenario) which will lay the foundation of a future discussion about investment.
A genuine partner will appreciate you are prioritizing your efforts towards your product and does not require special treatment. You are making him a favor when you are saving time for a meeting.
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