創(chuàng)業(yè)者在向風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資人推銷自己的初創(chuàng)公司時，必須提前做好準(zhǔn)備，設(shè)想投資人會提出哪些問題。對于風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資人的問題，如果不能提供考慮周全的、合理的答案，會使公司獲得投資的幾率大大降低。下面是創(chuàng)業(yè)者們在推銷時必須回答的或者有可能被問到的一些關(guān)鍵問題：

關(guān)于公司概況

在創(chuàng)業(yè)者向投資者推銷的過程中，風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資人首先希望創(chuàng)業(yè)者簡明扼要地概述公司在做什么，它憑什么吸引投資者的興趣，以及它為何最終能夠帶來巨大的退出機(jī)會。因此，這個話題可能涵蓋下面的問題：

? 公司的業(yè)務(wù)是什么？

? 公司有什么獨(dú)特之處？

? 公司業(yè)務(wù)能給客戶解決什么重要問題？

? 市場機(jī)會有多大？

? 公司總部在哪里？

? 公司可以發(fā)展到多大規(guī)模？

關(guān)于市場空間

你需要向投資人描繪一幅清晰的藍(lán)圖，說明市場機(jī)會巨大，并且機(jī)會會越來越多，在這方面，你可能遇到下面的問題：

? 真實(shí)的潛在目標(biāo)市場是什么？

? 你計(jì)劃在多長時間內(nèi)獲得多少市場份額？

? 你如何達(dá)到行業(yè)的銷售規(guī)模以及增長率？

? 為什么你的公司擁有巨大增長潛力？

關(guān)于創(chuàng)始人與團(tuán)隊(duì)

在許多投資人看來，管理團(tuán)隊(duì)才是決定是否投資最重要的元素。創(chuàng)業(yè)者必須證明他們對公司充滿激情，全情投入，并且有相關(guān)領(lǐng)域的豐富經(jīng)驗(yàn)。創(chuàng)業(yè)者可能會被問及下面的問題：

? 公司創(chuàng)始人和關(guān)鍵團(tuán)隊(duì)成員是誰？

? 團(tuán)隊(duì)具備哪些相關(guān)領(lǐng)域的經(jīng)驗(yàn)？

? 短期內(nèi)，團(tuán)隊(duì)需要補(bǔ)充哪些關(guān)鍵職位？

? 為什么團(tuán)隊(duì)具備執(zhí)行公司商業(yè)計(jì)劃的獨(dú)特能力？

? 公司目前有多少名員工？

? 是什么在激勵著創(chuàng)始人？

? 未來12個月，你計(jì)劃通過什么方式擴(kuò)大團(tuán)隊(duì)規(guī)模？

關(guān)于產(chǎn)品與服務(wù)

創(chuàng)業(yè)者必須明確闡述公司的產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)，說明其內(nèi)容及獨(dú)特之處，因此可能會遇到下列問題：

? 對于你的產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)，用戶關(guān)心的是什么？

? 有哪些重要的產(chǎn)品開發(fā)里程碑？

? 你的產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)有哪些關(guān)鍵的差異化特性？

? 你從早期版本的產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)中學(xué)到了什么？

? 提供產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)演示。

? 你計(jì)劃增添哪兩種或三種關(guān)鍵特性？

關(guān)于競爭形勢

任何公司都要面對競爭問題，如果有創(chuàng)業(yè)者說“我們沒有競爭對手”，投資人肯定會對其可信度產(chǎn)生疑問。所以，一定要提前準(zhǔn)備好下列問題的答案：

? 公司有哪些競爭對手？

? 公司的競爭優(yōu)勢是什么？

? 競爭對手擁有哪些你不具備的優(yōu)勢？

? 你如何在價(jià)格、特性和業(yè)績方面，與競爭對手展開競爭？

? 行業(yè)有哪些進(jìn)入壁壘？

關(guān)于市場營銷與客戶獲取

投資人希望了解公司計(jì)劃如何進(jìn)行市場營銷，獲取客戶的成本，以及客戶的長期價(jià)值。所以，要準(zhǔn)備好回答下列問題：

? 公司目前如何營銷或計(jì)劃如何營銷其產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)？

? 公司執(zhí)行了怎樣的公關(guān)策略？

? 公司采取了怎樣的社交媒體策略？

? 客戶獲取成本是多少？

? 客戶的預(yù)期生命周期價(jià)值是什么？

? 你會進(jìn)行哪些廣告宣傳？

? 從最初的客戶接觸到完成銷售，中間通常會經(jīng)歷怎樣的銷售周期？

關(guān)于吸引力

一家公司如果已經(jīng)獲得了某種早期吸引力，對投資人來說將是利好消息，所以要準(zhǔn)備好回答下面的問題：

? 公司獲得了哪些早期吸引力（銷量、公司網(wǎng)站流量、應(yīng)用下載量等）？

? 如何加快獲得早期吸引力的速度？

? 獲得早期吸引力的主要原因是什么？

關(guān)于風(fēng)險(xiǎn)

任何商業(yè)計(jì)劃都有風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，這是不可避免的，所以一定要認(rèn)真準(zhǔn)備下列問題的答案。

? 你認(rèn)為公司面臨的主要風(fēng)險(xiǎn)是什么？

? 你面臨哪些法律風(fēng)險(xiǎn)？

? 你是否會面臨任何監(jiān)管風(fēng)險(xiǎn)？

? 是否存在產(chǎn)品責(zé)任風(fēng)險(xiǎn)？

關(guān)于退出策略

投資人希望知道他們可以在什么時候以哪種方式退出，并獲得相應(yīng)的投資回報(bào)，所以，他們可能會問：

? 公司可能采取怎樣的退出策略——IPO還是并購？

? 你認(rèn)為可以在什么時候退出？

? 誰將是潛在買家？

? 如何根據(jù)市場可比數(shù)據(jù)，確定退出時的估值？

關(guān)于知識產(chǎn)權(quán)

對于許多公司而言，知識產(chǎn)權(quán)是成功的關(guān)鍵。投資人會特別關(guān)注下面這些問題的答案：

? 公司擁有哪些重要的知識產(chǎn)權(quán)（專利、未決專利、版權(quán)、商業(yè)機(jī)密、商標(biāo)、域名）？

? 你有多大把握，保證公司的知識產(chǎn)權(quán)未侵犯第三方的權(quán)利？

? 公司如何開發(fā)出知識產(chǎn)權(quán)？

? 團(tuán)隊(duì)成員之前的雇主是否會對公司的知識產(chǎn)權(quán)提出潛在訴求？

關(guān)于財(cái)務(wù)管理

任何一個投資人都會花時間去了解公司目前的財(cái)務(wù)狀況和未來的燒錢速度。所以，創(chuàng)業(yè)者要準(zhǔn)備好回答下列問題：

? 公司對未來三年的預(yù)測是什么？

? 預(yù)測基于哪些關(guān)鍵假設(shè)？

? 公司分別有多少股權(quán)和債務(wù)；公司采用怎樣的資本化結(jié)構(gòu)？

? 公司未來需要進(jìn)行哪些股權(quán)或債務(wù)融資？

? 公司為員工預(yù)留出的股票期權(quán)池規(guī)模有多大？

? 公司何時能夠?qū)崿F(xiàn)盈利？

? 公司盈利之前，需要投入多少資金？

? 公司的單位經(jīng)濟(jì)效益是多少？

? 有哪些限制更快增長的因素？

? 管理團(tuán)隊(duì)關(guān)注的關(guān)鍵衡量指標(biāo)是什么？

關(guān)于融資活動

投資人希望明確公司在融資活動中將融得多少資金，以及下列相關(guān)信息：

? 此輪融資將融得多少資金？

? 公司期望的投資前估值是多少？

? 現(xiàn)有投資者是否會參與此輪融資？

? 計(jì)劃如何使用此輪融資的所得款項(xiàng)？

? 此輪融資將幫助你實(shí)現(xiàn)哪些發(fā)展里程碑？

實(shí)際上，思考并準(zhǔn)備好上述問題的答案，并不必然保證你能獲得投資。相反，這是一次難得的創(chuàng)業(yè)思路整理。如果你覺得有些答案甚至不能讓自己滿意，那么，你最好反思創(chuàng)業(yè)項(xiàng)目的合理性和可行性，并及時調(diào)整改進(jìn)。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓

Entrepreneurs need to be prepared in pitching their startup companies to a venture capitalist by anticipating the questions they will receive. The failure to have thoughtful and reasonable answers to VC questions will decrease the likelihood of the company getting funded. The following is a list of key questions the entrepreneur should answer in the pitch or anticipate getting asked:

Overview

At the beginning of an investor pitch, the venture capitalists will want a clear and concise overview of what the company does, why it should be interesting, and why it would eventually lead to a large exit. So, expect that you will need to cover the following:

? What does the company do?

? What is unique about the company?

? What big problem does it solve?

? How big is the market opportunity?

? Where are you headquartered?

? How big can the company get?

Market

You will need to paint a clear picture that the market opportunity is meaningfully large and growing, so you will receive questions like:

? What is the actual addressable market?

? What percentage of the market do you plan to get over what period of time?

? How did you arrive at the sales of your industry and its growth rate?

? Why does your company have high growth potential?

Founders and Team

For many investors, the management team is the most important element in deciding whether or not to invest. Entrepreneurs must show they are passionate, dedicated, and have relevant domain experience. So anticipate these questions:

? Who are the founders and key team members?

? What relevant domain experience does the team have?

? What key additions to the team are needed in the short term?

? Why is the team uniquely capable to execute the company’s business plan?

? How many employees do you have?

? What motivates the founders?

? How do you plan to scale the team in the next 12 months?

Products and Services

The entrepreneur must clearly articulate what the company’s product or service consists of and why it is unique, so expect to get the following questions:

? Why do users care about your product or service?

? What are the major product milestones?

? What are the key differentiated features of your product or service?

? What have you learned from early versions of the product or service?

? Provide a demonstration of the product or service.

? What are the two or three key features you plan to add?

Competition

The company’s competitors will always be an issue and any entrepreneur who responds that “we do not have competitors” will have credibility problems. So make sure to anticipate the following questions:

? Who are the company’s competitors?

? What gives your company a competitive advantage?

? What advantages does your competition have over you?

? Compared to your competition, how do you compete with respect to price, features, and performance?

? What are the barriers to entry?

Marketing and Customer Acquisition

The investors want to get a sense of how the company plans to market itself, the cost of acquiring a customer, and the long-term value of a customer. So, be prepared for the following:

? How does the company market or plan to market its products or services?

? What is the company’s PR strategy?

? What is the company’s social media strategy?

? What is the cost of a customer acquisition?

? What is the projected lifetime value of a customer?

? What advertising will you be doing?

? What is the typical sales cycle between initial customer contact and closing of a sale?

Traction

A company that has gotten early traction in some way will be viewed positively, so be prepared to answer these questions:

? What early traction has the company gotten (sales, traffic to the company’s website, app downloads, etc., as relevant).

? How can the early traction be accelerated?

? What has been the principal reasons for the early traction?

Risks

There inevitably are risks in any business plan, so plan to answer these questions thoughtfully:

? What do you see are the principal risks to the business?

? What legal risks do you have?

? Do you have any regulatory risks?

? Are there any product liability risks?

End Game

The investors will want to get a sense of when and how they will be able to exit and receive a return on their investment, so they will ask:

? What is the likely exit – IPO or M&A?

? When do you see the exit happening?

? Who will be the likely acquirers?

? How will valuation of an exit be determined given market comparables?

Intellectual Property

For many companies, their intellectual property will be a key to success. The investors will pay particular attention to the answers to these questions:

? What key intellectual property does the company have (patents, patents pending, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks, domain names)?

? What comfort do you have that the company’s intellectual property does not violate the rights of a third party?

? How was the company’s intellectual property developed?

? Would any prior employers of a team member have a potential claim to the company’s intellectual property?

Financials

Any investor will spend time understanding the company’s current financial situation and proposed future burn rate. Be well prepared for these questions:

? What are the company’s three-year projections?

? What are the key assumptions underlying your projections?

? How much equity and debt has the company raised; what is the capitalization structure?

? What future equity or debt financing will be necessary?

? How much of a stock option pool is being set aside for employees?

? When will the company get to profitability?

? How much burn will occur until the company gets to profitability?

? What are your unit economics?

? What are the factors that limit faster growth?

? What are the key metrics that the management team focuses on?

Financing Round

The investors will want to get a clear picture of how much is being raised in the financing round and related information as follows:

? How much is being raised in this round?

? What is the company’s desired pre-money valuation?

? Will existing investors participate in the round?

? What is the planned use of proceeds from this round?

? What milestones will the financing get you to?