VC Intro Call Playbook
For first-time VC fundraisers, when the invitation comes for an initial intro call to learn more about the business, the questions arise. What to expect? How to approach the conversation? When to follow-up? While every situation is unique, this post lays out a playbook to help get you started in successfully navigating introductory calls with venture capitalists.
What happens before an introductory call?
Regardless of how it happens (the result of a warm introduction, a follow-up from a pitch session, or some other connection or outreach), getting an invitation for an introductory call with a VC is often an accomplishment!
Likely, to get that invitation to have a first conversation, you have already shared a 1-2 page executive summary or a short pitch deck that outlines the essence of your business. Therefore, you can assume that you would not have been invited for a call if you had not generated at least some curiosity. Frankly, if your intro material/deck made clear that you aren’t a fit, you would rather not waste your precious time on a potential investor who is unlikely to proceed!
Now you have to nail down a time and place. Do not be surprised if a VC engages an administrative support person to assist with scheduling or that it may take weeks to get something on the calendar.
How long is a typical introductory call?
Typical first conversations will be 30 to 60 minutes, often on a Zoom call but sometimes in person if convenient for both parties. As you prepare for this short encounter, remember that the goal of the investor is to get an overview of the business and figure out whether there is enough there there to justify further exploration. In the best case, there will be additional follow-up conversations. Do not expect a VC to make an investment decision after one conversation, so you do not have to hit every nuance of your business in this first call.
Be prepared for it to run over – a good thing! – but do not count on it. You should assume a hard stop for the VC, but never book yourself so tightly that you cannot let the meeting run over if the conversation is going well and the VC signals they have time.
Who comes to an introductory call?
From the company, at a minimum, the CEO, with maybe one other person from the team – perhaps a co-founder? Board member?
From the venture firm, usually, there will just be one or two people.
Bottomline, this is a small, intimate conversation. Do not bring a “cast of thousands.” Save the rest of the team for more detailed conversations. This first time is about generating interest – and establishing the credibility of the CEO to lead this business.
What materials do you need for an introductory call?
Thirty to sixty minutes is only enough time to go through your basic pitch deck. Since you have already probably shared a preview deck having a way of getting the meeting, just plan on using that same deck as supporting material to make it easier for the investors.
You can have additional material hiding in an appendix for a sixty minute meeting, but generally, save the details for if they dig in. Then you’ll want to have more detailed support material available. In fact, as part of fundraising, you will find yourself developing and using a whole suite of fundraising decks.
How do you conduct an introductory call with a VC?
In an initial introductory call, I usually follow this general pattern:
Start with Introductions.
Start the meeting with short introductions of everyone on the call. Ask the investors to go first and to introduce themselves, their background, and a bit about their fund. Their background will give you some clues about what to emphasize in your pitch. And, you will ALWAYS learn stuff about their fund that is not on their website. They are used to this question and will often tell you how much they have in their current fund, how far they are along in deploying and typical check sizes. That fund intro gives them a chance to position/sell themselves a bit!
Then, briefly introduce your team, ending with whoever (CEO!) is giving the pitch as the last intro. That way, the CEO can provide more about their personal background as well as a bit of origin story and how they got into this business as part of their intro before flowing into the pitch itself.
Provide an overview of the business.
At the conclusion of their intro, the CEO should do a quick check-in with the investors on whether they would prefer to have the CEO walk through the deck or, if they have read it, offer to just jump into their questions. The key is to take your cue from what they say they want!
Be prepared to tell the story of the business with or without the pitch deck. Sometimes the deck is helpful, and sometimes it is distracting, depending on the types of questions and flow of the conversation. Remember, you have to be clear, crisp, and succinct. You also want to demonstrate that you understand what is important for an investor to know at this stage (need, market size, traction, etc.) and not get too bogged down in the details of the technology.
Be prepared to succinctly answer questions and keep moving.
Both the great and challenging thing about a “one-to-one” introduction meeting is that it is often more of a dialog than a strict presentation. In fact, virtually always, you will get through only a couple of slides before questions start flying. Then your challenge is to succinctly answer questions while simultaneously keeping moving to cover all the critical overview information about your startup effectively. Your goal is to answer as many questions as possible and make sure you hit all the key points to tell the whole story at the same time.
Close effectively.
Be careful not to lose track of time during an introductory call. In fact, if one of your team members is on the call, perhaps ask them to keep an eye on the clock and signal you when you have about five minutes to go before the call is scheduled to end. Remember that even if the conversation is full of enthusiastic engagement, you want to be respectful of the scheduled timeframe and make sure that you have a chance to clarify next steps.
With about five minutes to go, start asking, looks like our time is about up, have we hit your most critical questions (This will not be the last conversation if they are intrigued)? You may get lucky and have them tell you that they have a bit more time to keep discussing the business, which you will take advantage of if offered. However, frequently, they will say they have another call starting in just a few minutes.
With two minutes left, thank them for their interest and attention and ask what the next steps are. Take notes on whatever they say. Often, they will tell you that they want to talk to their partners next week and will get back to you if there is interest in learning more. They may also tell you that they would like to follow-up with another meeting that includes someone else or that they are interested in learning more about a particular area of your business. Regardless, your goal is to have an idea of what to expect and a sense of the general timeline so that you can follow-up effectively.
How do you follow-up after an introductory call?
Remember that one thing that is being assessed by potential investors is your sales skills, using their interactions with you as a proxy for how you will sell to potential customers. Therefore, it is essential that you send a follow-up email thanking them and including any readily-available promised materials. If something will take a bit more time to put together, still send the same-day thank you and let the investor know when to expect your follow-up.
Then, based on whatever next steps timeline was mentioned in your introductory call, follow-up again to check in on progress. Remember that an excited investor will engage with you to seek further information after likely confirming preliminary interest with their partners (which almost always takes at least a week or two). A VC who is not interested at this point will hopefully close the loop and say so, or possibly and less professionally, just go silent.
Of course, you will develop experience and skills as you go through the fundraising process. However, hopefully, this playbook gives you a starting point that you can then adapt and apply to each investor encounter you have to navigate.
