Post-pitch Q&A: 30 key questions to be ready for
Top takeaways
Treat post-pitch questions as an opportunity to secure investor buy-in by confidently addressing concerns and demonstrating attention to detail
Prepare strong answers in advance by anticipating questions based on the investor’s familiarity with the industry and learnings from past pitches
Be open, honest, and ready to follow up - it’s better to promptly follow up after the meeting with an accurate answer than to improvise
Introduction
Getting investors on board goes beyond making your pitch. Just as important is how you perform in the Q&A. In fact, you should think of the Q&A as an extension of your pitch.
This resource provides a comprehensive list of questions investors might ask and was compiled by Acumen's portfolio team (who sit in on pitches and help make investment decisions on behalf of Acumen). Having clear and concise answers to these questions will improve your chances of a successful outcome.
How to use the question bank
Go through the questions listed here and create your own question bank. You can add to it over time. Prioritize which questions to focus on, by considering:
What scenarios and perspectives might investors use to approach their inquiries? For e.g.: If an investor knows your industry well, then their questions might be more technical. If they are less familiar with the industry, then their questions might lean more towards better understanding the market.
Which areas of your pitch are the weakest or less clear based on past performances. Having strong answers in response to questions related to these weaker points can help strengthen your pitch and/or provide clarity.
When drafting your responses, think about the key points you want to emphasize. Be clear and comprehensive to ensure your answers present you in the best light.
Problem and solution
1. What is the scope and size of the problem you are solving?
Describe in greater detail the population and customer segment that is most affected by this problem.
What is the market size and scale of the problem your company addresses?
What is the primary and secondary evidence that demonstrates the size of the problem?
What evidence do you have to indicate your solution is a good fit for this problem?
2. Can you give us a firsthand glimpse into your product?
3. What is the intellectual property (IP) associated with your product?
Tip
Be specific in identifying who this is a problem for, avoiding generalizations. For example, don't say the problem is for the population of X; instead, be specific about the segment you are targeting and how many individuals within the population of X have experienced this problem and possess the means or desire to pay for a solution.
Customer understanding
4. What are the details of your customer segment (including geography, demographics, needs, and behaviors), and who are you prioritizing?
5. What have been your team's efforts in understanding your customer to date?
Provide evidence that you have listened to your customers, whether through surveys, focus groups, case studies, or customer experiments.
Outline customer insights, what you've learned, and the methods used.
Showcase initiatives or actions taken based on customer insights.
6. Who are your earliest adopters? What are your plans to acquire more of your first customer segment and/or to attract new segments?
Competitive landscape
7. Why would I/the target customer buy your product over others?
8. How are you going to maintain your competitive advantage?
9. What stops another competitor from entering the market and taking your market share?
Tip
Know your competitors well; use the latest information in your claims. Don't underestimate an investor’s market knowledge - your competitors may have pitched to them too!
Financials, business model, and scalability
10. Can you elaborate on the scalability of your business model? What are the key drivers for growth?
11. When will you reach profitability and what are your unit economics?
12. What milestones do you plan to hit so the business can expand efficiently without compromising quality or effectiveness?
13. How do you plan to scale this model? What are the short-term and long-term goals to achieve this scale?
Tip
Know your numbers! If any of the figures mentioned above aren't in your pitch, you may be asked about them. If you don't have clear answers, it might throw off your whole presentation and make investors uncertain about your business.
Traction and product-market fit
14. What is the evidence that your target customers are buying, using, and recommending your product in large volumes?
What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) and other relevant metrics specific to your company/sector that effectively demonstrate the current traction of your company? Examples of KPIs:financials, user base growth, return on marketing spend, partnerships, pilots, paid pilots, customer loyalty, and retention data.
15. How will your company increase the number of customers and adoption of its products/ services?
16. What are your customer acquisition costs and what steps can you take to reduce these?
Tip
Your goal is to demonstrate that your solution is something people desperately want. It is not just about the number of customers acquired, but also if those customers are using the product as intended and are recommending it to others.
Impact and measurement
17. What is the reach (how many people are affected) and depth (the extent of change in their lives) of your impact?
18. Who does your organization primarily create impact for - is it your customers, end-users, or people in your value chain?
19. How do you know that the impact is happening because of your organization’s intervention, for example have you conducted any third party evaluation of your impact?
20. What methods have you used to measure and calculate the impact?
Tip
If your pitch leans heavily on impact numbers, be prepared to talk about real-world applications and provide specific examples (having a case study handy can provide that context). On the flip side, if your pitch emphasizes the qualitative aspects of your impact, be ready to support your narrative with quantitative data.
Team and support
21. How is your team uniquely positioned to solve this problem and take your organization to scale? Can you provide evidence of your team's commitment to drive this forward?
22. What are the talent gaps in the current team and how are you planning to fill these?
23. How are you actively building your team's expertise?
24. What additional resources, such as mentorship, advisors, specialized expertise, or networks, does your team have to navigate and support your entrepreneurial journey?
Tip
Investors invest in a team as much as a business model. If you are still in the early stages and have a lean team, we recommend you focus on the leadership team members’ relevant past experience, strategic value, and deep understanding of and commitment to solve the problem.
The ask and capital allocation
25. How have you been previously financed (grants, debt, equity, prizes and competitions, friends and family, bootstrap, etc.)?
26. How did you calculate your ask?
27. How will you allocate the capital under each segment (percentage or amount)? How will the capital be catalytic? What will be achieved with the investment and allocated spend?
28. What is the valuation for the company? How did you come up with it?
29. Who are the other investors involved in the current investment round? Mention soft commitments (if an investor has mentioned they are considering an investment) or hard commitments (if you have received a ‘term sheet’).
30. When are you closing the round (aim to be done fundraising)?
Create your own question bank
Now that you’ve explored this comprehensive list of potential investor questions, it’s time to take action. Use these questions as a starting point to create your own personalized question bank.