2 surprising keys to pitching investors, according to Chinese investor Xu Xiaoping

In the world of Chinese early-stage investing, Xu Xiaoping’s name rings out. But recently the Zhenfund founder has also been putting effort into startup education, joining forces with the likes of Kaifu Lee to form the Young CEO Club (a startup training program). On Thursday evening at a Sina event, Xu made further efforts to educate China’s startup founders by sharing his two keys to pitching investors.

They’re not exactly what you’d expect:

Key 1: Have a clear product name

“If you can’t even come up with a clear name, then you’ve already failed,” Xu says. “Conversely, if you’ve got a good name, then you don’t even need to pitch because you’ve already succeeded.” Xu says he feels that entrepreneurs today are neglecting the importance of having a good name, and coming up with product and company names that are difficult to remember or that don’t explain what the company does. He says that’s equivalent to ignoring a part of the user experience, and the end result will be failure in the market.

Key 2: Be able to summarize your core value in one sentence

“Say what you do clearly in a single sentence; extract your essence,” Xu says. “If you’re already using all of your life force to develop your core competitive strength, then that’s enough, that’s just what investors are looking for.”

You heard it, folks. Focus on the single thing you do best, and make sure you’ve got a good name!