Adrian T. Marable - After the Pitch: How to Think Like an Investor and Secure the Startup Funding You Deserve

For many years, I worked with professionals to help them develop their careers. I've studied high performing executives and entrepreneurs to figure out what makes them tick and what makes them successful. Using what I've learned helped not only my career, but many others excel in their career path. As I continue my journey, I keep finding many people who want to know how I did it, what I've learned, and how can they follow a similar path. My dream is to start a private equity firm as a way of growing businesses, providing inclusion and empowering cultures. I am still on track to obtain my dream and as a new angel investor, I have an amazing look at the world of business and funding.

On this journey, I studied, journaled, and read everything possible to make sure I can take on this new role. I've had the opportunity to talk with hundreds of entrepreneurs and watch them from pitch to growth (sometimes to failure). I've listened to famous angel investors and VCs such as Mark Cuban, Tony Clark, and Sequoia Capital as they give their insights into the world of startup funding. From my studies and experiences, I compiled what I've learned and done to give you a perspective of the due diligence process to help both investors and startup founders.

Since I can remember, helping people made me the happiest. Seeing the look of appreciation on their faces, regardless of what act of kindness I did, felt good to me. People do not have to show appreciation to me. I enjoy helping people by providing them with convenience or ease they would not otherwise receive. My love for helping people is why I wrote this book.

Due diligence is the most important part of fundraising. Since investors can see hundreds or even thousands of founders each year and only a few receive investment, its important to make a good impression. Ninety percent of the funding process for an investor is due-diligence. My fellow investors and I work on, start and end with due diligence. To be honest, rarely is due diligence spoken about unless you're deep into the startup world. You seldom hear about it on TV or podcasts. When you Google due diligence, often you find long boring college lectures with a special guest speaker who has been in corporate finance for decades. Let's face it, just hearing the words "due diligence" doesn't sound glamorous or sexy. If you've been through it, you know it's far from a stimulating activity. The exciting part is the pitch. The pitch is why shows such as Shark Tank and Elevator Pitch are so successful. Because of these shows, some details do not seem to matter as much, but they do! As a founder, know as much about your business as possible. As an investor, know exactly what's important for you to understand in the business you're interested in.

This book covers the areas due diligence can entail. It will help you prepare, but not go into the nitty gritty financial details to spare you the financial work you already know or you will probably hire someone to look over for you. This book lists over 200 questions an investor can ask a founder and explains the importance of each of those questions. At times, questions may seem stupid or redundant, but there's usually a reason why an investor asks a particular question. Either it's because of the importance to them as an investor, or it's because of a concern they have. Overall, this is the book I wish I had years before entering the startup world.

I have my own experiences pitching as a startup founder and being pitched as an angel investor. My first tech startup received three offers for funding before I fully developed the technology. The pitch I had rehearsed hundreds of times. I had it down, and it sounded like a natural conversation. Still, I lost pitch competitions and had investors repeatedly tell me they were not interested or did not like my idea. It's part of the world of angel and VC investing. Not everything is cut and dry, not everyone will like your idea (at least not initially) which is another reason why I wrote this book.

There are investors right now still kicking themselves for not investing in Apple, Uber, or Airbnb among many other disruptors, but rest assure if you realize pitching is a numbers game, you will eventually receive a bite or two. Where it goes completely wrong for both the investor and founder happens after the pitch.

Through my own pitches as a founder, listening to pitches as a spectator and investor, and asking questions as an investor, I have amassed this book. They were the questions I wanted to know as a founder and more importantly as a new investor working with seasoned venture capital and angel organizations. I've also sprinkled in some tips and examples from the perspective of other investors through interviews I've had with them.

To make the most out of this book, let me explain the format. I broke this book down into two parts.

Part one of the book is about "the process" of what happens after your pitch. No process or system is the same, but I lay out the foundation based on how I and other investors complete their due diligence. Though I will address the founder more often in this section, it's important for investors to determine their own due diligence process.

Part two is the question-and-answer section. Here I address the perspectives of the investor and why a founder should understand. The questions are not random. They all have a purpose or are a part of the process. A founder doesn't always see this, but it will give them an advantage over other startups.

In the back of the book, I placed a pitch dictionary. If youre new and unsure of a term in this book, reference there to get a brief explanation. I hope to hear how this book helps you on your journey to obtaining the funding you need or giving money to a growing startup. Enjoy.