10 easy ways to get rejected by an investor

1. Mention how desperate you are

Yep, nothing sets the alarm bells off more than hearing that you are desperate to find an investor.

Angel investor Shelli Trung gets tonnes of emails from random founders every day. When someone writes, “Please, I’m desperate” to her over email, that’s a clear sign that it’s not even worth reading the message.

Although you might be desperate to get noticed by investors —  never say you are!

You hustle and instead tell them how good your product is, why it’s important for them to be on board, and ask for a quick coffee meeting.

2. Don’t mention your product at all

You tell them that your product is ‘revolutionary’, that it will ‘disrupt’ its existing market, that it will ‘create a whole new market’.

You drop buzz words to describe your business.

Except you don’t say what it is, or the problem you’re trying to solve.

Wow, a good way to tease an investor. Sorry, but with this approach, you aren’t even going to get a coffee meeting.

3. Ask them to sign a non-disclosure agreement

You want to tell the investor your idea, except you’re afraid they will steal it, so you ask them for an NDA.

Wrong move.

They are not going to steal your ideas.

It’s worthwhile noting that these days, ideas come and go. Sadly, as much as you think your idea is one in a million — it isn’t.

It’s the execution and the people behind it that matter most.

4. Don’t explain the problem you are trying to solve

5. Don’t put in any numbers

6. Don’t do your homework

7. Give them a shitty slide deck

8. Ask them to do stuff for you

9. Ask them to mentor you

10. Randomly approach them