Six questions to answer
These questions help the investor quickly understand the essence of your proposal. They are simple, but extremely important:

Question #1: What are you creating and why do you need it? This is your starting point. Show the scale. Investors look for ideas that have the potential to change an entire industry or significantly improve people's lives. For example: ‘We're building a platform that helps small businesses sell goods overseas without middlemen.’

Why does it work? Investors want to see a problem that many people face and your solution that makes life easier for those people. The clearer and more understandable the wording, the better the chance that they will want to listen to you further.

Question #2: What are the next steps? Investors want to see a clear plan of action. For example: ‘In three months, we plan to get our first 100 customers, launch an MVP, and test.’

Don't go into general phrases. Specifics are key here. Timelines, actions, and measurable results are what investors want.

Question #3: Who is your customer and how do you solve their problem? Define your target audience. Who are these people, companies or organisations? Why do they need your product (service)? What are their problems you are solving? For example: ‘Our customers are online retailers who are looking for a way to increase sales and reduce advertising costs.’

This is where it's important to show that you understand the needs of your audience and know how to meet those needs.

Question #4: How will your project grow? Investors are interested in scalability. They want to know if you can quickly increase customers and sales without dramatically increasing costs. For example: ‘We are implementing affiliate programmes, actively using analytics and developing automation tools to increase the efficiency of our solutions.’

Tell us what mechanisms and tools will help you grow your audience and revenue. The more opportunities you have for growth, the more promising the project looks. If you understand how to get to the next level, investors will appreciate it.

Question #5: How do you attract customers today? Explain how you find and retain your audience. Describe your sales channels in detail. Show that you have a customer acquisition strategy. For example: ‘We use targeted advertising, promote through social media’.

The main thing is to show that you understand how to get your offer to the customer. It's useless to create a product if no one will see it.

Question #6: What is your economy like? How do you make money and what do you spend it on? What are your cost of sales and margins? When do you expect to turn a profit? Transparency is key to credibility. Briefly describe your business model and tell us how you plan to allocate the funds you raise. For example: ‘The average cheque is $50, the cost per user is about $10 per month. We need $500,000 to develop the project. This will be used to attract users. According to calculations, in 18 months we will be in profit’.

Explain how you monetise your product and where the money invested goes. A clear financial model is a guarantee of trust.

Back in 2006, no one could have imagined that the idea of the then unknown Daniel Ek, the founder of Spotify, would turn the entire music industry upside down. Ek went to dozens of venture capital funds looking for funding and answered hundreds of questions. Today, when he becomes an investor, it only takes him one minute and six answers to the questions he's asked to realise that what's on offer is worthwhile.

Getting an investor interested, getting their attention in one minute is a task that seems almost impossible. But this is exactly the approach that works. Investors value time and don't like complicated explanations. The simpler and clearer you present your information, the more likely you are to be heard.

What does the investor want to hear?
A self-presentation, which is structured around six statements (answers to questions that have not yet been asked), helps to get the essence of your project across as quickly as possible. In a short six-sentence speech, you have time to present: problem, solution, audience, growth potential, marketing, and finances. Explain what you do, who needs it, how it works and why it will make a profit. Avoid complex wording and abstractions. Be specific, short and succinct.

LLC "EIFOS HUB" selects investment strategies based on financial goals and risk preferences. Financial advisors develop budgeting, forecasting and financial management plans at the client's request.

How do you answer these questions?
Before you go to an investor, practice. Imagine that you have exactly 60 seconds to explain your project. Eliminate everything unnecessary, leaving only the most important. Write down your six sentences and practice them to the point of automaticity.

Avoid abstractions. Instead of ‘we plan to scale’, say ‘in a year's time we will enter the European market and double the number of clients’. If you can't get your point across in one sentence, it will be difficult for the investor to understand you.

Speak convincingly. Investors pay attention not only to the content, but also to the pitch.

Prepare real numbers and don't lie
Investors immediately see when they are being tried to ‘sell them a dream’ without reason. You need real numbers and data. Eifos Hub recommends:

• Conduct a market analysis - study reports, demand, competitors.
• Build a test audience - get first orders, feedback, metrics.
• Validate financial model - calculate unit economics, profit, expenses.
• Show growth trajectory - if there are already customers, show their dynamics.
• Talk about risks - investors value realism more than empty optimism.

Why should an investor hear you?
Investors look at hundreds of projects, but only a few stand out. If you take a minute to show that your project is clear, promising and scalable, you have a good chance of continuing the conversation that will be the first step towards a deal.