5 questions venture capitalists ask small businesses

If you’ve never developed or given a pitch to a venture capitalist before, you might not be sure what sorts of questions you should prepare for. When getting ready for your small business pitch, try to have answers ready for these five common questions:

1. Explain to me what your business is all about (your company, what you do, why you’re so special – in the shortest possible amount of time).
2. What will prevent others from doing what you’re doing – what’s your competitive advantage?
3. What are you going to do with the money you raise– or how will the money you raise help you achieve your goals?
4. What’s your marketing strategy– who’s your target market and why will they buy from you?
5. What does your venture/management team look like?

Though these are five of the most likely questions, every investor will have his or her own set of questions for you. You can’t prepare for every question, but you’ll get so used to pitching your idea that you’ll be ready for anything.

Check out our tips for pitching to investors – and good luck!