Despite no longer being one of Google's bus dev guys, in my role as a venture investor and company advisor, I still see a staggering number of pitch emails. I am not complaining. The fact that so many of you are offering me the chance to work with you is beyond flattering. Nevertheless, I think the low cost of sending an email has had tragic impacts on the quality and focus of pitches across the board.
About three years ago, I wrote a blog post that aimed to clarify some of the elements of a good pitch email to increase the likelihood we could get something done together. Much of what is below has been extracted from that post. Though, I have updated it with lessons learned since then. I hope this helps us get some business done!
Email Rocks - Phones are very yesterday. Voicemail is so broken. Until someone can really make it easy for me to extract a number from a voicemail, file the message away for later, label it, quickly find it again, search over it, forward it, reply at my convenience, etc etc, I am going to stick to email. Email is awesome (especially Gmail). It allows me to ensure that I get back to you. It also helps me bring in all the folks within my realm whose input would matter on your topic. So, please, please, please - email. I do my best to hide my phone number from everyone but my friends, family, and portfolio companies. So, before you think me rude, I implore you to please send email.
Thesis Statements
- Lead with what you want. Please, put it in the first sentence or two.
Just tell me how we can work together. You can expand on it later, but
please don't make me go too far. It helps us both cut to the chase.
What problem are you solving? -
Hand in hand with the thesis statement is identifying the problem you
are solving. Many times I have conversations with folks who can't
answer that question. I am obsessive about solving problems that
enhance end-user experiences. I am a sucker for companies that have dramatic impact on end users. So, please tell me what about
their experience is broken now, and how you are going to fix it. In addition to that, I like seeing big problems solved. Huge problems. Problems
that affect millions and millions of users everyday. In that light,
some of your niche proposals may be cool, but the bigger stuff gets my heart going.
Differentiate - Tell me right away why you guys are different
and what comparative advantage you have on the market. Why are you the
best to get this done? Don't be shy about telling me about all of the other guys in the space. I will be bummed if I find out about them on my own.
Follow-up - Following up by repeat email is perfectly fine with me and may often help if I have fallen behind. When doing so, please propose a concrete next step.
Meetings aren't always necessary - Often, entrepreneurs are in a
rush to meet in person. I went along with this for a long time and soon saw my schedule
descend into gridlock and I ended up generally unhealthy and unhappy. Truth is, meetings are usually inefficient. Let's
start with email. Send me a link to a live URL or deck or a summary. I have Twittered before that I prefer to meet after trying your stuff. Maybe next we can do a brief call.
There is no need to hold a meeting with me to build a relationship. I
swear I have done business over instant messaging networks.
NDAs aren't a helpful start
- As an investor and advisor, NDAs can be frightening. Asking me to sign one
will likely grind things down. I will ask you to just not share
anything with me that you think is vitally confidential. I think NDAs have just become
automatic in the Valley. However, when people stop to consider them and
the pitfalls, they realize they can be superfluous in many instances.
Lead with engineering - I would rather have a meeting with technical people in the room than just business people any day. (Note: This is a statement against self-interest as I am only a wannabe geek and am not an engineer by background.) I like to dive into the nuts and bolts of what is currently broken, how we will fix it together, and what that collaboration will look like, all with specificity. A deep technical understanding on both sides is a precursor to starting any conversation. So, thanks in advance for bringing your smart people into the loop from day one.
Threats don't work - A surprising number of people write to me saying "If you do not act in 5 days I am taking this to JoeVC . . . " or "This note will be forwarded to Jane BigCompany . . . " I am very inclined to let those proposals go. To me, partnerships are as much about the partner as they are about the technology. I am not psyched about working with people who want to coerce me into action. Each investor and advisor in this valley has our strengths, and, in the end, it might just be possible that one of them might make a better partner for you. While I wouldn't seek your exclusivity upfront, please give me a break on the threats or posturing. I won't be raced into taking action. Thanks.
Bottom line is that I want to work with kickass teams building memorable products of which we can all be proud. Is that you? Hopefully keeping all of the above in mind, we will get more done together. So, send those proposals and let's do some cool deals!
Thanks, Chris
(Now, send your pitch here.)
