Investor Blurbs

📆 Upcoming Events

Tons of startup events happening soon. Here’s what’s coming up:

• Feb 11: Second Opinion Live Podcast (virtual)

• Feb 18: Batter Up Nashville

• Feb 26: Founder Friends LA featuring Elizabeth Yin (Hustle Fund) and Srini Panguluri (Zeus Living)

• Feb 27: Batter Up Bay Area

• March 7: Batter Up San Diego

• March 11: Batter Up Austin

• May 12-14: Camp Hustle – an event for investors

Wanna get involved? Applications for the HF ambassador program are open. Join the events team in your city.

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*this is sponsored.

📰 Today's Edition

Woof. Lots of announcements in todays email! Let’s get into the good stuff. Today we’re talking about investor blurbs.

Ahhh investor blurbs. These offer a quick glimpse into what you’re building, and are meant to be forwarded along to potential investors.

💡Blurbs are not meant to help you get a check. They are meant to help you get a meeting.

And they are slippery little pests. Why? Because they need to be compelling, informative, and short.

Yes, I know that you could probably talk about your business for hours. But when it comes to your investor blurb, you’ve gotta boil it all down to about 100 words.

"100 words? That's barely enough to order a coffee!"

I know, my friend. I know. Stay calm and keep reading.

Clarity is crucial

Investors receive anywhere from 1 to 100 blurbs in a month. They don't have time to dwell on each one. So they scan quickly and make a snap decision.

If the blurb isn't compelling enough, or is too dense to parse through quickly, they'll pass and move to the next one.

If the blurb is concise, clear, and compelling, they'll set up a meeting.

Want to be in the second group? Then your job is to stand out by being crystal clear about what problem you’re solving, and why your solution is worth exploring further.

Hot tip: Ditch the buzzwords and focus on communicating your value prop as simply as possible.

Let's look at an example:

Yuck: "Our cutting-edge SaaS platform leverages AI and machine learning algorithms to optimize cross-functional team dynamics in the enterprise space."

🤮 Too. Many. Buzzwords.

Yay: "We help big companies work 10x more efficiently by using smart software that learns and adapts."

See the difference? The first one uses too many buzzwords and doesn’t easily convey what you’re building. The second one? It's clear, concise, and simple.

Make every word count

When it comes to your investor blurb, brevity is a must. Every word should be there for a reason.

They all need to address the “why”. Why this problem? Why this solution? Why this team?

If a word isn’t actively addressing those questions, cut it.

For example:

Yuck: Our team comes from Stanford, Berkeley, and MIT. Our founder has a BS in mechanical engineering. She previously held roles at companies like Intuit, NVIDIA, and Casper, where she led a team of 30 and launched 6 new products.

Sure, this is an impressive background. But it doesn't tell us why this background is pertinent to the business she's building.

Yay: Our founder worked in the construction industry for 15 years. Her industry connections have enabled us to fast-track customer acquisition.

Remember, you've got less than a minute to hook an investor with your blurb. So every word matters.

Anticipate their concerns

The thing I love about founders is that they look at a business and ask themselves, "How can I make this work?".

Investors, on the other hand, look at a business and ask themselves, "Why can't this work?".

Depressing, I know.

But knowing that… you can predict their concerns and preemptively squash those concerns like little bugs.

AKA: Address the questions investors are asking themselves:

1. Is this a massive problem?

2. Does this team address the problem in a unique way?

3. Can this team get customers?

Let's look at a before and after:

Yuck: “Construction companies’ costs are going up, which means they either forfeit profits or pass the costs on to their clients. We are fixing this problem by creating marketplace for construction companies to buy surplus materials at a discount.”

This doesn’t convince me that this is a big problem. It doesn’t tell me

Yay: "Construction companies’ costs have increased 4x annually since 2020, resulting in profit loss of $50k-$350k per year. Our platform brings down the price of materials by 70%, resulting in cost savings of $15k-$70k per project."

See how the second version paints a better picture? It shows the scope of the problem, effectiveness of the solution, and proves that you’ve done your research.

Your blurb-building mission

Alright, you beautiful people. Let's go over action items to prepare your blurb:

1. Start with a brain dump: Write down everything you want investors to know about your business. Don't hold back.

2. Identify the essentials: Highlight the 3-5 most crucial points. These are your non-negotiables.

3. Craft your one-liner: Distill your entire business into one powerful sentence.

4. Build it out: Expand on your one-liner with the bullet points you identified in step 2.

5. Ruthlessly edit: Every word should serve a purpose.

6. Test and refine: Try your blurb on friends, mentors, and if possible, friendly investors. Gather feedback and iterate.

Remember, your blurb is a living document. As your business evolves, so should your pitch. Keep it fresh, keep it relevant, and keep it brief.

Briefly,

Kera from Hustle fund

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