Is Your Startup Website Investor-Ready?

Finding investors for your startup can be all-consuming. Thankfully, due to recent changes in equity crowdfunding and other Internet investment platforms and matching programs, it has become somewhat easier. However, in the midst of product development, marketing, business development, and all the rest that occupies the minds of startup entrepreneurs, you can sometimes make your website a lesser priority. If you are looking for money (and who isn’t?), that is a mistake.

Your startup website not only tells the story of your company, it makes an impression. Like all first impressions, you only get one chance, so make sure it is ready for prime time before you start asking for money.

1. Be sure the site is professionally designed and visually appealing to hook viewers. Remember that there are different investor audiences, so tailor the message to each investor segment.

2. Keep it short and to the point.

3. Use only the essential tabs to tell your story and invite interest: Home, About Us, Products, News, Research, and a separate tab for Investors.

4. Consider including testimonials that appeal to the heart and not the head.

5. Investors want to know about the size of the opportunity, the risks, the benefits and the management team.

6. Be sure information you give conforms to local and national private money raising rules and regulations.

7. Be sure to make an appropriate call to action and respond in a timely fashion.

8. Include a one-page executive summary to download.

9. Include a video that is no longer than 3 minutes to tell your story and a PowerPoint with no more than 10 slides, only one of which describes your technology that a person with a 6^th-grade reading level can understand. Use animation if that helps.

10. Get a story teller on your startup team to do this right.

Finding investors for your startup starts with a fundraising plan and proper execution. Resources abound.

Be sure you make a great first impression with a first-class website.