TableCrowd members looking to get a no-holds-barred look at VC investment were in luck last night joining Alex Dunsdon for dinner at Jamie’s Italian where he spoke extensively on pitching to investors.

Alex runs Saatchinvest, where they invest up to £300k in early stage tech startups. Anyone looking to get investment from Saatchinvest gets 20mins to shine before hearing yes or no. And as they only invest in 4 or 5 businesses each year, there will only be a select few winning the golden ‘yes’ ticket. Read on for some of the wisdom imparted by Alex to his fellow diners:

Have Drive
In Alex’s experience, most investors will want to know what drives you, as the stats say most entrepreneurs won’t make it. Where does your motivation for what you are doing come from? For Alex, he wants to fall in love with the person and the product.

Be Obsessed
There’s a lot to be said about the founder that has a true obsession with their business. Alex explained at dinner, how he (as well as other VCs) love obsession. It’s pretty clear to most that an obsessed founder will not lose. Having an obsession with your product means you’ll be able to push it to where you want it to be.

Be Tenacious
Look to your users for their feedback. What do they think of the user interface? Remember that they are looking at your product from a different perspective to yours (and it’s a view that is invaluable to any company). Tenacity is paramount.

Have Users
Build your user base. Have a strong group of users that love your product. For apps, you also need to have user volume too.

Be Objective
By all means have a big vision, but always be thinking about what your objective is. How can you go from big to actual execution? Is it possible to break it down into bite-sized chunks?

Pitch Perfect
Most people write too much for their pitch, Alex recommends using a few pictures at the initial stage to tease people. Research the VCs that you are going to see and make a list of criteria for each. Spend two days prepping for each meeting, and be sure to send them an email covering why they should invest. This will save you time in the long run. Each investor will be unique so ensure you cater your pitch for each one.

Special thanks to our speaker Alex, and our partner Taylor Wessing who were joined by WishYouWereHere.today, Fly Marketing, Shepherd and Wedderburn, Hello HR, Showslice, Amberoot, Flair Atelier, Jambo App, Chip in, Crowdmix, Amondo, Further&More, The Pigeonhole, Nightkey, Drinki, Unocodrinks and The Good Blend amongst others.

Take a look at what other dinners we have on the horizon for you to join.