Some tips if you are looking for VC funding

This is not related to CleanTech but I thought this may help in general. Here are some tips from me if you are looking for funding from a VC firm.

1. Be very focused: You have an hour or two to prove yourself when you are meeting a VC firm. Do not spend too much time in teaching the VC firm the market landscape. The chances are they have come across ten companies like you before. Come straight to your offering, what differentiates you, your team background, competitive landscape and how big your business can become. Always include how much you are looking to raise and how do you plan to use that capital in the presentation.

2. Show your commitment: VCs like entrepreneurs who show commitment to their venture. That commitment can be in the form that you have put lot of your own capital in the venture, you have left your job and working full time on the venture or it can be that you have worked hard in thinking through all the issues, challenges and risks in executing the business and have a definite game plan.

3. Do not mumble: You should come out very strongly and passionate when you are talking to VCs. Make sure all people can hear you well and you do not eat words in between. More than your venture, VCs are judging you as a person. Can you sell? That is the question on the back of their mind.

4. Never say you do not have a competition: VCs usually will throw you out if that is the case. One thing that can signal is that you do not have a market and other thing it will do is make hard for VCs to benchmark you and also in some cases understand what you are doing and how big you can become.

5. Get yourself referenced: It is very important to get yourself referenced through somebody who knows the VCs. The chances are you will have lesser uphill climb if a strong person who knows the VCs is first introducing you to them than you doing that directly.