Lions, Startups, and Funds, Oh My!

If you’re planning to ask someone for a few million dollars, you better be prepared.

Countless companies come to us saying, “We have a meeting with a potential investor in 3 days; can you make us a pitch deck?” 

Sure, we can create a pitch deck for you, but will it be effective in securing the investment?….

A pitch deck is only as strong as the research, strategy, and positioning behind it. Without that foundation, it’s just a (sometimes not so) pretty slideshow.

Through our work with hundreds of companies, we’ve identified what works well and what doesn’t.

We have carefully developed and tested our three-phase process for companies at all stages of their capital-raising cycle and learned a few things along the way.

Here’s the ‘TLDR’ of some Do’s and Don’ts that we have taken away from our work with clients: 

Competitive Differentiation: The Subtle Nuances

Don’t— pigeonhole your product’s positioning into a classic matrix or boxes of check marks.

Do—Analyze the user journey and identify where your product excels in meeting different user needs. Allow for creativity in how to best visualize your competitive advantage.

Lesson Learned: If you’re in a saturated market, the small nuances of your competitive analysis are what will position your product distinctively. 

Buyer vs. User: Who Really Calls the Shots?

Don’t— Utilize marketing techniques that will target the end user rather than the paying customer. 

Do—  Focus on who will be the decision maker and tailor your messaging and marketing strategies to address the specific pain points and priorities of these decision-makers.

Lesson Learned: While the product should be designed with the end user in mind, your go-to market and marketing strategy should target those who are making the purchasing decisions.

Validation Over Perfection: Why Feedback is Everything

Don’t—Spend exorbitant amounts of money dollars on a product and have absolutely no user feedback in the development process. 

Do—Get your MVP in front of users as soon as possible. Use their feedback to iterate and improve, proving validation before seeking investment. 

Lesson Learned: Getting user feedback will ensure that you have early validation to show investors even if the product is still being iterated.The "build it and they will come" mentality as a go-to-market strategy is the equivalent to not having a strategy at all.

Client Spotlight: FigMayo

We've had the privilege of partnering with FigMayo to support them on their mission to supercharge design documentation and collaboration.

Watch below to hear more about FigMayo and our work together:

Founders Mike Miller and Stevie Elsworth, met while working on various design projects, each encountering the same frustrating feedback loops and misaligned design choices that slow down product development.

And that’s how FigMayo was born—a platform that automates and centralizes design documentation, making it easier for teams to stay aligned and efficient.

This is especially critical today’s development cycles where consistent communication and up-to-date documentation are key.

And the results speak for themselves—tens of thousands of users are now using FigMayo to keep their teams on the same page and their projects on track.

If any relevant investors, partners, potential customers, or design industry players are interested in getting in touch with Figmayo, please contact Mike Miller, [email protected].

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