There’s nothing wrong with having passion when you “pitch” your idea to an investor. But, much like that opening line at a bar or on a first date, the opening line of an entrepreneur’s pitch to an investor can be just as awkward. Here’s 10 of the WORST opening pitch lines – avoid these at all costs:
- You say: “I’m bright and ambitious.” Investor thinks: “That’s a relief because I usually invest in stupid and lazy people.”
- You say: “I’m a blue sky thinker.” Investor thinks: “You have no business model, and you don’t know how to execute you way out of a room.”
- You say: “I don’t know much about your firm, but I thought I’d contact you anyway.” Investor thinks: “You’re a lazy idiot–why are you wasting my time?”
- You say: “I love to think of new ways to solve problems.“ Investor thinks: “Is this a high-school science fair?“
- You say: “I have lots of great ideas, but I have trouble figuring out which one to try. Let me tell you about a couple.” Investor thinks: “I want to know which idea you’re going to kill yourself trying to make successful, not which ideas have crossed your idle mind.”
- You say: “I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur.” Investor thinks: “I’ve always wanted to be a professional golfer. So what if you always wanted to be an entrepreneur?”
- You say: “I’m sure you are aware of the growing need for security. Web 2.0, Open Source, whatever.” Investor thinks: “If you’re sure I’m aware, why are you telling me you’re sure I’m aware.”
- You say: “If you sign an NDA, I’ll tell you my idea.” Investor thinks: “You are clueless. How can you not know that venture capitalists don’t sign NDAs?”
- You say: “The last time I contacted you, I…” Investor thinks: “I’m going to fire my secretary for putting this clown on my calendar again.”
- You say: “My goal is to build a world-class company.” Investor thinks: “How about you build a prototype and make your first sell before we talk about world-class anything?”