Note: you may want to read up on our investment process before reading this article.
Our first investment calls are generally 30-45 minutes, depending on the stage of the business. Find out why we never meet in person before having a call, and why we almost never do a call without a Magma Memo, or a deck/email with much of the info in a Magma Memo.
Some of the things we expect to learn during our first call:
- Why you and your co-founders decided to start this business, rather than starting another business, working at a company, etc
- What makes you the best team to solve this problem
- What your company does
- Your business model...how you make money
- Where you are at today: traction, team, cash in the bank
- The basic unit economics of your business (for pre-seed/seed they can be extremely basic, for Series A, we expect more)
- Fundraising and fundraising history
- Your vision for the next 6-12 months, and how this becomes a huge business in 2-5 years
- Why you think Magma is a good fit for you
- Why we should invest now (pre-seed/seed)...why we should have a second call (Series A)
- Questions you have for us
A few pointers that may help you and us make the best of this call:
We strongly suggest you review this NFX guide on storytelling and how to get the most out of pitch meetings before a call with us or any VC.
Treat a call like a conversation where you can learn, not trying to “pitch us” for money
Every conversation with a VC that sees 1000s of deals per year is a datapoint on your business. We might not be right, but it's likely other VCs will have similar concerns, and many times we are right.
Ask "do you want us to show a presentation and go through slides, or have a conversation?"
We always want a conversation, but many VCs will want to see slides and go through the deck. Ask up front.
Talk in simple, direct terms.
We prefer practical explanations vs sophisticated ones. We want the meetings to be as if we’re meeting for a coffee or a beer, and to get to know you.
Answer the question directly, ideally in 60 seconds or less
Spanish is a more formal language than English, and in a 30 min call, it’s a negative. Don’t answer what you think we asked. Just answer the question directly.
Give us a chance to respond or ask a follow up question
After you answer a question, pause for a few seconds, or ask "does that make sense", so we can have a conversation and ask a follow up. It's a big turnoff if we just get talked at for 5-10 minutes at a time and need to interrupt you.
Listen to the question: don’t assume you know what we’re going to ask
Don’t cut off our team, especially our female team members, it’s a big turn off. It’s one of the biggest things I tell our portfolio founders, especially when meeting US VCs.
Beware of the curse of knowledge
Our team is smart and has experience, but you know much more about your industry than we do. Make sure to be able to explain your business to us in terms that a friend who isn’t in tech would understand.
Ask us questions too!
