3 Ways to Make an Investor’s Day (and Get Funding for Your Startup)

To capture the attention of investors and get funding for your startup, you need to present an engaging, cohesive product story that inspires their imaginations and demonstrates a path to growth and ROI.

In the world of MedTech, having a great product idea is not enough. Without the right funding to get your project off the ground, you’ll simply be the evangelist of a great concept rather than the architect of ground-breaking innovation.

The competition for investment capital can be fierce. A multitude of innovators are clamoring for the same funding. In fact, fewer than half of seed-funded companies receive Series A funding.

To get the financial support you need, you need to show a clear path to commercialization and understand how VCs approach funding. And you have to do more than deliver a good pitch: you need to capture the investor’s attention and imagination, all while presenting a data-backed story that ends with a return on their investment.

The Two Things You Need to Know about VCs

To make sure you have the right pitch for your investor audience, you need to tune into where they are coming from and what they look for in a presentation. There are two things to keep in mind when it comes to getting funding for your startup.

The first is that it is their job to find the most promising start-ups so they can grow their money. They don’t want to sit on their cash. In fact, in most cases, they are required to grow that cash exponentially, as it comes from a variety of stakeholders. If you come to them with a clinically impressive product, a captivating story, and a clear path to commercialization and ROI, investors will be eager work with you.

The second is that you need to see things from their perspective. Investors evaluate a huge number of potential investments every year. They wade through massive amounts of information. Even if a product shows clinical value, if the story told by the executive representing it is not cohesive or compelling, it might not translate. No matter how great your idea is, it will not sell itself. Presenting your medical device in a disjointed way that doesn’t bring investors on a product journey with you puts your chances of funding at risk.

Above all, remember: investors and venture capitalists are people. And if you present them with an exciting, compelling story about a great investment, you just might make their day – and yours too.

3 Ways to Make your Pitch Stand Out and Get Funding for Your Start-Up

Here are three ways you can craft your pitch to stand out from the crowd and get investors to open their minds and wallets.

Create a human connection. 

Too often when companies are working to get funding for a startup, they rely heavily on analysis. Which is a good thing. But when that analysis is dry and lacks a coherent story, it will not be as impactful.

Regardless of the product or situation, there are human beings on both sides of the table. Connect with your investor audience on a personal level when you deliver your pitch. Play to their emotions by talking about the lives that your innovation will improve. Get them excited about your product and build confidence in your team by highlighting the unique partnership and expertise that you bring. Be friendly and don’t be afraid to have a personality.

Create an experience.

To get funding for your startup, you need to take your audience on a journey. Use storytelling to create an experience for investors, bringing them from inception to commercialization to proof of ROI.

It’s also important to understand that the energy you bring into the room will be infectious. If you remain conservative and restrained, you will blend into the background. You are the tour guide of your product experience. Show up with the same enthusiasm for your product that you want the investors to walk away with. And whenever possible, show rather than tell.

Stay on track.

Don’t jump around in your pitch. Make sure the story is cohesive, coherent, and makes sense to an outsider. Start at the beginning, through proof of concept to financials. Don’t start in one area, skip ahead, and go back. Keep things as clean and linear as possible.

Because you are deep in your business, what seems clear you may not track with someone from the outside. Ask someone unfamiliar with your product story to listen to your presentation. Does it flow for them? Ensure your audience stays with you and you don’t lose their attention. And always begin your presentation with your product’s “elevator pitch” to serve as a foundation that you can tie back to.

Craft the Perfect Pitch for Funding

Developing a novel medical device that is clinically impressive is just the first step in securing funding and bringing your vision to reality.  When you stand out from the competition and your narrative inspires VCs to get onboard your product’s train, the closer you will be to delivering your innovation to the world.  

Are you looking for a trusted advisor to make your medical technology market-ready? Do you need updated market intelligence? We’d love to help. Contact us.