15 Minutes of Wow 

(How to Make Short Investor/Startup Meetings Count)

The standard refrain states that you have seven seconds to make a first impression. So how do you hold attention and create momentum over 15 minutes?

I was recently invited to two different events that highlighted this issue. One was a university contest where a handful of vcs judged students acting as vcs with real-life founders of startups. These students had 15 minutes to persuade the founder they were the best vc group to finance the company. The second event was a batch of six curated startups that had 15 minutes each with me to discuss their startup.

In both situations, the net was clear: the groups that made the best impressions were the ones that followed these simple truths:

1. Be Passionate/Have a Vision — A founder can’t manufacture energy and drive — it must come from within. Communicating a path to solving the problem at hand will flow quickly. Passion is hard to find but easy to spot. Find it, own it, live it.
2. Use Numbers — Traction beats puffery every time. Specific user growth/engagement trumps backgrounds/resumes. The world is turning into one giant data feed, and if you’re not in its stream tap in quickly. Know your data, what it means, use it whenever possible.
3. Discuss the Unknowns — Nothing is always up and to the right. Be honest and open about the challenges before you, and have a plan as to how you will plow through them. “I don’t know” can be a wonderful phrase to put into your vernacular.
4. Be Relational — Don’t be a novice and underestimate what a startup requires. Look to bring on teammates and investors you genuinely enjoy spending time with, because it will probably be a long 5-8 year journey (on average) on which you’re about to embark. There are a lot of things we can’t choose in life, but fortunately picking those whom you work with is one of them.
5. Lighten Up! — Don’t take yourself too seriously and worry about others’ opinions (most will always be sideliners). Work hard, build well, and enjoy all that you’ve been given because each day is a gift.

In life, 15 minutes gets you in the door. Plenty more to prove after a 15 min intro, but if you have these basics down, the rest they say will take care of itself.