Pitching Investors can be a very daunting task. The venture capital industry is full of sharks, and it’s essential to know what you’re doing before shooting your shot.
In this interview series, I will talk to leading Investors and Venture Capitlists to hear from them firsthand on how they want to be pitched.
In this interview, I talked to Ory Weihs, who invested in Mews, Medorion, Gigantic, Glitnor, and more.
About Ory:
Ory is an entrepreneur and investor. He founded XLMedia PLC (A London-listed performance marketing company) in 2003 and ran it until 2019. He founded Team Odeon in 2020 that targets the Education and Vocational training sector via Degreechoices.com.
Since 2009 Ory has invested in a variety of companies such as Mews, Medorion, Gigantic, Glitnor, and more.
Q: How do you prefer to be contacted by an entrepreneur? Via email? LinkedIn? or only through intros?
Ideally, not “cold calling” via Linkedin or email. I would like to have common connections that make the introduction or to have met before.
Q: How long does it usually take you to make a decision regarding an investment?
It has ranged from a few hours to a few months 🙂
It depends on a few factors:
- Do I have a history with the founding team and how they came across?
- How much experience do I have in the sector.
- Which other investors are already “on the list”? Yes, there is some FOMO element in investing.
- Traction so far, I’m not really a “PDF and enthusiasm” stage investor and would always prefer to see an MVP and ideally some client testimonials.
Q: What do you wish entrepreneurs knew before meeting with you?
That I value string leadership above “amazing ideas” and that I’m allergic to bombastic claims that are hard to verify. Give it to me as is and have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with the funds you raise.
Q: What tech verticals are you most interested in?
SAAS, with a clear value proposition and 360 approaches, is really the most important tool the org uses. (like Mews.com)
“Digitalization” products for incumbent industries.
Q: What has been the most memorable pitch you remember?
I haven’t had crazy ones, but I recall the simplicity of the Mews one. “The industry has really bad outdated solutions that really don’t make people happy. We will make it remarkable. “(or something like that was a while ago:))
Q: How do you handle the stress of being an investor?
I’m not a full-time investor so that helps 🙂
One of the most important things I can think of, though, is not to dwell on missed opportunities. (like companies you “missed” and positions you “sold too soon.”
Q: What books or movies do you recommend to entrepreneurs?
- Longshots by Safi Bahcall to get you inspired
- Anything by Patrick Lencioni for the ABC’s of running companies
- The Outsiders by William N Thorndike – not so much for earlier startups but a great resource on how some unique entrepreneurs “thought differently” and really made it work
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