I received feedback that you wanted to know what questions to ask investors in your pitch meetings. Here are some ideas for you.

For some background, a "pitch" to an investor is a misnomer. It's a two way street where the entrepreneur needs to vet the investor as much as they need to vet you. Do they add value? A great way to do this is to ask questions. Not only that but asking questions is THE most important sales skill.

Questions at the beginning of the meeting: 

1. [based on research I did before the call]: I understand your fund is $100m, with a target ticket size of $5m+ for agribusiness in East Africa, is that right? (Then they can correct me. This is more efficient than saying “So, tell me about your fund.” An open ended question will make them go on tangents, wasting time. And will also look like you haven’t done your research.)

2. You’re busy. Why did you decide to take the meeting with me? What do you like about our biz? (This helps me know what aspect of our biz to focus on. It also creates consistency bias: if they say something nice about us they will tend to reinforce that in their behavior, subconsciously.)

Questions after pitching:

1. How can you see this company fitting in your portfolio? Are there challenges?  (for example if they backed a competitor already)

2. What is the one thing you think I’m underestimating or being naïve about?

3. What are the main barriers you see to our success that could cause you not to invest?

4. Have you seen somebody try this business and fail or succeed in the last ten years?

5. Are there any companies you think it’d be natural for this company to partner with that you could make intros to?

6. What’s your opinion of the niche this company is targeting to enter this market? Is it a rising tide?

7. How do you assess the exit opportunities for this business? (they can’t invest if there is no way to exit)

8. We are looking for some strategic smaller angel checks to fill out the round. Can you think of anyone who would be dynamite angel for this biz that I could reach out to even if you don’t invest? (Make it clear that you’re not asking for an introduction.)

9. If you had somebody else helping you evaluate this company, whose opinion would you trust?

10. What traction metrics would make investing a no-brainer?

11. What experience have you had with companies that try to distribute on the channel(s) we use? And what were their lessons learned?

12. On a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you think we have founder-market fit and founder-product fit?

13. What are the skillsets we need to succeed?

14. Just meeting me, do I feel like the right kind of person to make this business work?

15. What sector are you interested in?

16. Have you invested in [my sector]? 

17. Do you have any competing investments?

18. How is your fund structured? (worth reading this on VC funds and investor psychology)

    1. Who makes the decisions?

    2. How long is the fund? Typical deal size? Fund Size?

    3. What are your investors/LPs like? And what are they looking for?

19. What sectors or trends are you excited about now?

At the end of the meeting:

1. What’s the process from here?

2. Do you need any more info from me?

3. Can we schedule another meeting? (Ask to schedule a follow-up meeting the same time next week/month/quarter depending on your fundraising timeline.)

4. [If you do get a positive indication]: What’s your decision making process like? Do I need to meet the other partners? What’s the next step?

Are there any questions you like to ask that I forgot to mention? Please share them.

Excerpted from blog of VC fund, NFX.