This is true for both potential customers and investors.
Your communication and messaging need to be on point and your branding and visuals need to look professional.
Why? Because all of this is the first impression of your company, and first impressions matter. Once people have formed an opinion about you, it takes A LOT of work to change it.
Furthermore, if people are left with doubts and questions about your company, there's a higher perceived risk of doing business with you. This will show up as fewer closed deals (not willing to take the risk) or a lower price (more risk requires a higher return).
Presenting well puts people at ease and reduces the perceived risk, which, in turn, means they are willing to pay a higher price.
Investing in how you come across is often one of the best investments a startup can make.
How to beat the odds as a startup According to a Startup Genome study, the most common reason startups fail is due to poor product-market fit. This blog post will give you a framework that explains what product-market fit is, how to find it, and how to know if you have product-market fit.
10 startup pitfalls you should try to avoidI have spent the past 15 years focused on accelerating startups. I have founded two companies, advised multiple startups, evaluated 600 Techstars startup accelerator applicants, and been a founding marketer four times. Here are some common startup pitfalls I have noticed over the years.
It all starts with the customerA lot of startups start with the product and end up focusing too much on the cool technology that is underlying the product or service. It’s the build-it-and-they-will-come mentality, and it rarely works. The only way to know if you are telling the right story is by knowing your target customers deeply.
