Founders and investors: prepare the person, not only the pitch.

Why the founder is read first

Many founders can describe the product in one sentence and themselves in none. Yet the people who back an early company often judge the founder before the product, because the product may change and the founder is the constant.

Before a second meeting, someone usually searches your name. They read what comes up, compare it with what you said and form a view of whether you are coherent. You cannot control every result, but you can make sure that what is findable is clear, true and consistent with what you tell them.

The founder story in three sentences

A founder story is not a biography. It is a short, accurate account that someone who has never met you can repeat. Write three sentences and test them on someone who does not know your sector.

• Why you: what in your experience or curiosity led you to this problem.
• Why now: what has changed that makes the problem worth solving at this point.
• Why you again: what you know or can do that most people attempting this do not.
• Add one honest sentence about a risk you see and how you are watching it. Investors tend to trust people who name their own risks.

Make the materials agree

Inconsistency costs more than modesty. Check that these items tell one story, with the same title, dates and spellings.

• The founder biography in the deck.
• Your professional profile.
• The team page on the company website.
• Earlier interviews, talks and articles that a search will find.
• The way you introduce yourself aloud.

Prepare the introduction

Many introductions to investors are made by a third person, by message. Make theirs easy by writing it for them. A forwardable note should fit on one screen and let the introducer vouch without effort.

Template: [Name] is the founder of [company], which [one sentence on what it does]. I have known them through [context] and I trust them because [one specific reason]. They are speaking to [kind of investor] about [the topic] and would value a conversation. I have copied them in, and they can tell you more.

Public posture while a raise is open

What you say in public while discussions are open can matter legally and commercially. Rules on what may be said about a raise, about terms or about future performance differ by place and by situation, and we do not give legal or financial advice. Ask your lawyer what you may say publicly before and during the process, and stay within that.

As a rule of thumb that does not replace advice: keep the numbers, the names of investors and the terms private unless you have approval. Under our NDA, unannounced plans stay private and nothing goes out without your written approval.

What this will not do

Good preparation makes you easier to place and easier to trust. It does not mean that anyone invests, or at what price or on what terms. We do not promise a raise, a valuation or an outcome, and you should be wary of any adviser who does. The work is to make sure that when the right person is paying attention, the person they find is clear and credible.

If you have not yet defined what you stand for, the free Brand DNA Report is a quick way to start. It gives you an archetype, three words and a plan, and your answers stay in your browser.

The search test, step by step

Do this as an investor would, on a clean browser and on a phone.

• Search your full name, then your name and company, then your name and the word founder.
• Open the first ten results and note what each says, whether it is current and whether it is yours.
• Search the company name and look at who is named as the founder.
• Look at your profile as a stranger would, logged out if possible.
• List anything wrong, outdated or missing, and fix the cheapest items first.

Answering the hard questions

Investors will ask about the gaps in your story, such as a previous venture that ended, a career change or a thin track record in the sector. A prepared, honest and short answer is better than avoidance. Write each answer in two sentences: what happened, and what you learned or changed.

Practise them aloud. Notice which answers sound defensive and rewrite them in plainer words. People tend to trust a founder who can describe a setback without drama.

A founder checklist

Complete this before you send a first message to an investor.

• Three sentence founder story, tested on a stranger.
• One biography, used everywhere.
• A search of your name reviewed and anything wrong corrected.
• A forwardable introduction note for each introducer.
• A list of what stays private during the process, agreed with your lawyer.
• One person who will tell you honestly how you came across.