Your initial outreach message is an investor’s crucial first impression of your opportunity and your team. Given that investors are bombarded with funding requests, overlooking this vital step is a fatal mistake.

The AIN brokerage team has raised millions for successful startups for 20 years and sees hundreds of pitches weekly. They have identified the most common errors that lead to proposals being rejected before the deck is even opened.

Here are the top five mistakes, and how to avoid them:

1. Zero personalisation

Wasting an investor’s time with a generic, untargeted email or LinkedIn message is a sure-fire way to hit the rejection bin. Personalisation isn’t just about getting the name right. It’s about demonstrating that you understand the investor’s interests. While this may seem like a time consuming process, ultimately it will massively increase your fundraising efficiency by significantly boosting the chances of each individual approach.

According to senior broker Alexander Caparros: “One of the most wasteful things startups do is fail to personalise their approach and appeal to investor’s interests. The lack of research can show itself up painfully when an investor who clearly states their interest is in environmental solutions is pitched a crypto business.”

Platforms like AIN can help filter for relevant sectors of interest to investors, but founders must go the extra mile. Caparros highlights a key detail: “An important point of detail in a message is to be clear where you are from. For example UK-based investors are keen to take advantage of S/EIS tax incentives and will need to see and understand whether your company is eligible for this straight away, without wasting their time researching you.”

2. Failure to articulate the problem and solution

Your initial pitch should be clear, crisp, and immediately digestible. The single overriding message that must jump out of your email is the core problem your startup solves and how it solves it. Plus why this is a truly scalable solution. This is basic fundraising strategy, yet many initial pitches fail to articulate this effectively. In seconds they have wasted the months or years of preparation they have put into this moment.

Forget long-winded descriptions, complex jargon, and excessive numbers until you have nailed this foundational concept. The goal is simple: capture their interest immediately. Director of Brokerage, Xavier Ballester has close to 20 years raising for startups. He notes: “If it is a good opening pitch note you will want to see the deck straight away. If someone has War and Peace on their Linkedin message I just think I’m not going to read it. You can spend ages machine gunning out a terrible intro that won’t convert.” 

Think of it like a movie trailer, you need to wet the appetite with the narrative that will hook them to invest their time in seeing the film (aka the deck). It’s not about trying to show the whole film from the outset.

3. Lack of attention to detail

Your email reflects your capacity as an operator. An investor is considering making a massive bet on your untried startup; if you can’t get the basics of grammar, tone, and formatting right, you are giving them an easy excuse to dismiss you. The tone should be professional and direct, avoiding overly friendly or overly formal language. Get to the point quickly.

This is a real bugbear for Matthew Louis, senior broker at AIN. It is also flagged regularly from the dozens of investors he speaks to each month. He advises: “You must nail the simple bits. Getting the name wrong or formatting incorrectly can stop the conversation before it has even started. Many investors will see an entrepreneur who hasn’t paid enough attention and is poor on detail.”

He adds: “Investors want to back operators who can action at speed with precision and finesse, however, basic mistakes give the impression that you’re flying by the seat of your pants with a half-cooked idea and that the idea and its underlying thoughts haven’t been diligently analysed.”

4. Neglecting to summarise key traction

Your email must effectively summarise the key takeaways and traction from your deck in a few brief bullet points. Investors need to see concrete data points like:

• Revenues
• Key business milestones
• Team credentials
• Fundraising stage
• Any key IP or patents

Make it easy for them to quickly assess the opportunity. Once you have captured their interest with a compelling story you need to then support this with a few points. Yet, so often this fundamental isn’t there. It is key because it is a proxy for potential future growth, ensuring a decent return for the investor. This is an automatic red flag for investors whose mouse will be hovering on the delete button.

5. Not being specific about the ask

Finally be super clear about what you are asking for. Have a clear indication of your funding ask and detail any commitments secured so far. It’s remarkable how often this doesn’t exist, meaning the investor is unclear what they are being asked for. 

If they have received an email or LinkedIn message from someone who does know and clearly articulates this, they are likely to push your pitch aside from the person who has ticked all the boxes. So don’t fall at this final hurdle.

Ultimately, the best way to look at the initial investor pitch email or LinkedIn message is that of a critical gatekeeper. Its primary function is to secure a meeting by immediately demonstrating that the startup is a credible, well-researched, and compelling opportunity. 

By avoiding common mistakes – specifically, ensuring deep personalisation, a crystal-clear articulation of the problem/solution, flawless attention to detail, a summary of key traction, and a specific ask – founders can turn this crucial first impression into an invitation to present their full business plan. Cut out these basic mistakes and you will dramatically increase your odds of winning funding.

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