Questions investors will ask you before funding your business

Startup companies have to pitch their business ideas to investors for the purposes of funding. You should be adequately prepared for questions investors will ask you, during the pitch. Ideally the investors will ask you about you about your market, your team, products and services, competition and the financial elements of your business.

Here are some of the questions that you will likely get from investors while pitching your business to them

1.Why does your business need to exist?

When investors ask this question, they are looking to know what niche you are bridging and what differentiates you from other similar businesses. You need to know what problem your business will be solving, only a solution to a problem will draw their attention.

2.Who are the founders and what is the leadership structure?

Investors will not put in money in a business where you are everything and everyone. Make sure you have a team behind you who can share in the tasks associated with the business. Investors look into the leadership qualities brought into the business to be sure of the safety of their money.

3.What gives your business a competitive advantage?

Here the investors want to know how you plan to rise against your competitors. Explain how you compete with respect to price, performance and features. It is also good to list a number of both direct and indirect competitors, identifying their market and strategy. Lastly show them how you plan to outdo this competition.

4.What are the principal risks to the business?

Your answer here does not have much of an influence to their decision; they have already worked out the risks and downsides of the business themselves. They are just testing your sense for reality and checking on your competency in taking calculated risks.

5.How much burn will occur until the business gets to profitability?

They are looking for you to walk them through your financial model. This determines their decision to either put in money into the business or not. They may even have a financial analyst to help them in this session; you therefore have to get a very good and realistic financial model.

These are just few of the questions investors will ask you that you will have to answer in a pitching session. It is advisable to go through a list of questions to expect from investors as you prepare to face them.