Zoom Vs. Google Meet To Pitch Investors

What are the pros and cons of using Zoom vs. Google Meet to pitch investors?

Startup fundraising has mostly moved online today. That includes pitching investors for the money your venture needs to get started and scale. It is a new arena for many entrepreneurs and investors alike.

So, what do you need to know and do to make sure your campaign is a success? Which video meeting tools are the best for meeting investors online?

Pitching Startup Investors

After identifying your target investors and running your outreach campaigns it is time to start scheduling those all-important investor pitch meetings. This is where you blow it or get funded.

Make sure you have researched each of these investors and the specific individuals you will be meeting with. You should have done this in your preliminary research before reaching out to investors, but make sure it is updated.

The more intelligence you have on these funds and individuals, the better you will be able to tailor your pitch and presentation for each meeting.

As needed, also make sure you have updated your pitch deck, and other related resources in your data room, including your financials and traction, and any investor updates.

Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. By the time you dial in or walk into a pitch meeting, you ought to have your presentation down so well that it is just natural and you don’t even need to look at your slides or notes to deliver.

Organize your Zoom vs. Google Meet to pitch investors carefully. Be sure to practice your timing as well. If you have a 60-minute time slot, then your actual pitch still shouldn’t be more than 20 minutes long. Allow 20 minutes at the beginning for introductions and dealing with technical glitches.

Then allow 20 minutes after you deliver your pitch for a Q&A session and getting into a real conversation with potential investors. Finish with a strong close and call to action, as well as getting commitments for when the next step will take place.

Don’t forget to follow up. No matter how great you delivered your pitch, connected with investors, and how much they loved it, the bulk of your real success in getting real money in the bank will come down to following up with investors after your pitch.

Pitching Startup Investors In Person

The traditional method of pitching startup investors was almost always in person. Investors have commonly demanded the comfort of having startup founders fly to them to pitch them in person.

This obviously isn’t always very cost or time effective strategy for your pitch deck, nor great for the environment. It puts a lot of pressure on lean startups, especially when many meetings and repeat meetings may be needed to close a single round of funding. Meeting at the investors’ office location also gives them an edge in negotiations.

The flow of pitching in person and online is very much the same. Though the more personal and like being life you can make digital pitches the more you can harness that human connection to seal the deal.

This scenario is changing. More and more pitches are being done digitally and by video meetings. That’s the reason why you would want to understand how to use Zoom vs. Google Meet to pitch investors. Here are just some of the tools you may use to present to investors online.

Ready for more detailed information about how to pitch investors via Zoom? Take a look at this video where I explain a bit more in detail how to do this.

Zoom

Zoom soared to popularity as the 2020 COVID lockdown spree began. Its brand name grew quickly, but equally for being infamous for security risks as its convenience. It certainly wasn’t the first video chat tool in existence.

Zoom has a variety of great features, though not all of them may be great for pitching investors. Such as fake digital backgrounds which can be glitchy. It is better to position yourself in a real background that you can control, with great lighting and no background noise.

Just as with in-person investor pitches, be sure you are rehearsing and practicing your Zoom meetings as well. You don’t want to have to be downloading the latest version during your meeting time, or figuring out the features on the fly in real-time. It will rob a lot of your credibility and destroy your pitch.

So, rehearse your pitch using Zoom at least 10 times before your first real investor meeting. Practice handoffs to other cofounders and co-hosts, as well as screen sharing. Be sure you are prepared with multiple backup devices and internet connections.

Note that some Zoom features are only available on the paid version. If you are trying to use the free variation your call may also be limited to 40 minutes. You don’t want to get cut off right at the best part of your presentation.

Google Meet

Google has also been working diligently to upgrade its own video meeting tool, Meet. This is much like Zoom, but from a provider with a lot more experience in cybersecurity and the digital realm in general.

More people may also have Google tools already downloaded. You don’t want to try to insist investors download a new app to meet with you. You should be using what they are already comfortable with.

The main advantage of Google Meet is also being tied to all of your other Google tools and apps. If you are already a Gmail and Google Docs power user, and your team is too, then this may make the most sense for you.

Keep in mind that in fundraising storytelling is everything. In this regard for a winning pitch deck to help you here, take a look at the template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel (see it here) that I recently covered. Thiel was the first angel investor in Facebook with a $500K check that turned into more than $1 billion in cash.

Remember to unlock the pitch deck template that is being used by founders around the world to raise millions below.

Other Video Meeting Tools For Pitching Investors

Now that you have a fair overview of how to use Zoom vs. Google Meet to pitch investors, check out these other ways to video present to investors.

• Facetime
• Skype
• Whatsapp
• Go To Webinar

You may find interesting as well our free library of business templates. There you will find every single template you will need when building and scaling your business completely for free. See it here.