What are the key hurdles?

Hey Founder, do you know what investors want to find out when they ask you during a pitch "What are the key hurdles"? 👇

What investors are really asking:

Why is this business going to fail? Every business, large and small faces challenges in developing and scaling new products/services. So don’t be surprised by this question!

What the investors really want to know is how you are going to overcome these hurdles, assuming you have recognised them in the first place.

Where you should look for the answer:

You will need to look over all the work you have done in preparing to launch and grow the business. There will be challenges in every area from value proposition to the customer, to business model, to team, to defining attractive market segments, to forecasting financials and to executing successfully against your purpose and vision.

What you need to focus on are the assumptions you are making. Be clear what these are and which are most important to the success of your business. Ask yourself: Which 3 to 5 assumptions are critical to building this business? Then, make sure you have sufficient information on each to determine the hurdles you need to overcome.

Look at each hurdle and assess your different options to overcome it. Which has most potential?

How to make your answer compelling:

As noted above, being clear and transparent on where there are hurdles, and how you can address them, helps to build investor trust that you have done your homework in understanding the different elements of your business deeply, so have a greater chance of success.

Where an investor raises a potential concern you may not have thought of, listen carefully rather than getting defensive and offer to do some work on it and come back to them. They may well have had some experience that could help you.

If you need help with your pitch preparation, our team of mentors can get you investor ready. Learn more and book a FREE chat.