I love startup stories. In the startup world everyone has a grand idea and big plans to make it happen.  It’s the venture world so you better have an idea that can be big. The talk around the idea is large and full of hyperbole. The future is going to be so bright that you find yourself reaching for your shades.

But then the startup has to actually build it and show the growth story in progress. 

Scott Adams once wrote – “Losers have goals.  Winners have systems.'”

If the startup has some revenue traction then they probably have some system behind it that makes it grow. But what if they don’t have any meaningful revenue yet?

One technique is to ask questions that identifies the systems they will put in place such as:

Tell me about your system for generating leads. Exactly how will it work?

Tell me about your sales process. What system are you going to use?

Exactly how do you find the right prospect and close them? 

In other words, the startup needs to do more than just tell you their goals in the slide deck. They need to describe the systems they can put into place to accomplish the goal-.  

If the answers are vague and fuzzy, then they probably haven’t figured it out yet. 

If the answers show expertise and experience, then this one has potential for investment.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today!

Copyright (c) 2024, Hall Martin and investorconnect.org. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer:
Hall T Martin is the director of Investor Connect, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the education of investors for early-stage funding. All opinions expressed by Hall and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Investor Connect. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for the basis of investment decisions.