Pitching better: Workshop for founders to overcome bias in fundraising (IDE103)

Overcoming Bias in Fundraising: Key Takeaways

Introduction

  • The presenters, Lily and Danielle, are part of the AWS Underrepresented Founders startup team, aimed at supporting diverse founders.
  • The goal of the workshop is to demystify the act of pitching and empower founders to raise more money.

Identifying Biased Questions

  • Biased questions often put founders on the defensive, focusing on risk, cost, or loss, rather than the vision and opportunity.
  • Examples of biased "prevention" questions vs. "promotion" questions:
    • Prevention: "How will you manage customer acquisition costs?"
    • Promotion: "What's your plan to grow to a million users?"

The RIP Framework

  1. Reclaim: Identify the underlying prevention question and what the investor is really asking.
  2. Inform: Answer the question directly, using data and market benchmarks.
  3. Promote: Seize the opportunity to promote your business, vision, and growth potential.

Tactics for Overcoming Bias

  • Clarify and pivot: Occasionally pause, clarify the question, and ask a promotional question instead.
  • Anticipate biased questions and practice promotional answers.
  • Don't let prevention questions frustrate you; be self-aware of the biases you may face.
  • Double down on the big potential of your business when answering.
  • Practice, practice, practice to make the process more natural.

Conclusion

  • The presenters encourage the audience to watch the full presentation and provide feedback to help improve the workshop.
  • Fundraising is not a natural process, but something that requires intentional practice to inform and promote effectively.

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