Natalie May
Our class trip to Silicon Valley has been such a great experience thus far. We’ve gotten to venture to the Golden Gate Bridge, spend time speaking with prestigious individuals in the region, and drink the occasional boba tea.
On Tuesday we were extended a great opportunity to pitch our business plans not only to our classmates and professors but to four VCs in various fields here in the Valley. I pitched on a project that Alison, Claire and I are working on called Runway where we aim to alleviate the burdens associated with the adult transition process for disabled individuals by means of a communication platform. I was initially nervous, but in the end told a story that I am very familiar with based on research that I have been working on since September. It felt good to pitch on a project that we have been working on all year and gain insightful feedback. We are looking forward to carrying out future steps based on this feedback and hope to be back in this VC/Angel pitch environment in the coming year.
Through interactions with the judges I learned that you must know your numbers, not only your CAC and LTV but also understand how you got to these numbers and how they will change over time. I also learned that just because someone is a VC and likes your idea doesn’t mean that they want to invest in your company. The investment process is a matching process where you have to fit their thesis or company profile for that fund. Initial feedback could lead one to think that one's company is not good because of the insights that the VC extended, however, the entrepreneur has to remember that that particular VC might not be the right investor for that project. In pitching to the panel of VCs I am inspired to implement the feedback given to be prepared when revisiting this scene in the near future.