Lyonshare

🍲𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗹 Hearing the impact our work has, directly from clients who are blown away, is the best validation of our hard work and the strongest reminder of the results driven ethos of Lyonshare! #Entrepreneurship #Fundraising #Startups #VentureCapital

𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 As you start to build your pitch deck, think through these questions to help outline your story arc and determine your unique positioning: 👥𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺? Most investors are compelled by financial returns but not all—are you having meaningful conversations with strategics, angels, or impact investors? If so, it’s worth developing a slightly unique pitch for each category. 🛠️ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀? Make sure to highlight your secret sauce; clearly communicating why your product or service is better than those of incumbents, startup competitors, and even internal builds. ⚠️ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺? Every business has risks, even more so at the early stages—investors want to know you're aware of them and have risk mitigated against them with savvy business planning. Don’t hide “warts” that will be discovered in diligence; it’s better to own the narrative around them. The answers to these questions will provide a roadmap as you skeleton out your pitch. #Entrepreneurship #Startups #VentureCapital #Fundraising

𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗘𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 Focus on these elements to create a winning sales deck that converts: 💬 𝗧𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴: Address your customer’s specific needs and potential objections. Make sure they see how your solution is the answer to their pain points. Build multiple decks for multiple personas, as necessary. 📈 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀: Show the clear and quantifiable impact your solution provides customers, share actual examples using client case studies—real results resonate the most. 🗣️ 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Outline the next steps to closing and kicking off. Whether it’s booking a demo or signing a contract with an implementation window, if a clear yes has not yet been achieved, pre-commit them to another meeting. #Entrepreneurship #Startups #VentureCapital #Fundraising

🕯️🎄✨ 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝘆𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 To our clients, VCs, partners, and everyone in the Lyonshare ecosystem—thank you for making this year wonderful despite the broader challenges within the VC market. Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a bright, happy 2025. We can’t wait to build, grow, and succeed together in the year ahead! In case you missed our annual report we linked it in the comments below. #Entrepreneurship #Startups #VentureCapital #Fundraising

Our team is proud to share Lyonshare's first ever Annual Report! We're excited to celebrate the wins and successes in our ecosystem from 2024, and to enter the new year with strength and momentum. Happy Holidays 🎊 

Proof of how important copywriting is in business communication 😆 Every single word matters!

🚀 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗩𝗖 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 ⏰ 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿: Fundraising cycles are taking nearly twice as long as they used to, so it’s crucial to start early. VCs are taking their time with due diligence, which can last weeks, or even months! Be prepared for a more drawn-out process as investors carefully evaluate each opportunity. 💵 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Investors are still doing their due diligence, digging deep into the numbers and what’s behind them. A certain total revenue number is no longer enough; they’re analyzing revenue type, customer concentration, and other revenue health and stickiness factors. If yours isn’t strong, be prepared to take cuts on valuation. 🔥 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹: As it takes longer to secure funding, you must prioritize managing your burn rate. Plan your runway carefully to ensure you can not only endure a longer fundraising process, but also meet milestones after your next funding round that will drive 2-3x valuation growth. 🔍 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗩𝗖𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: Not all VCs that take your meeting request are actively deploying capital. Before engaging with potential investors, do your homework to ensure the ones you reach out to are actively investing. This saves time and helps focus your efforts on the right partners. 🤝 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆: Relationships are more important than ever, and time goes a long way in strengthening them. If you have time before you launch your process to get coffees and have casual meet ups with your target investors, do it. #Entrepreneurship #Fundraising #Startups #VentureCapital

Our Chief of Staff Abby Lyall sharing fundraising wisdom from her past career as a venture capitalist!

🍲 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗹 Receiving notes like this from the startup founders we work with puts a huge smile on my face and is the reason why I do what I do. Almost always, our investor readiness clients raise more capital, more quickly, from higher quality investors and at better valuations as a result of their partnership with Lyonshare. It’s no surprise that our clients are our best advocates and top referrers! #Entrepreneurship #Fundraising #Startups #VentureCapital

💡 𝟱 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗡𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 Consider these essential strategies to effectively communicate your value proposition, key differentiation, and fact-based competitive edge: 📖 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺: Start by clearly articulating the pain points your customers face. Help investors understand the significance of these issues and why your solution isn’t just a “nice to have”. Make sure you’re covering the targeted problems of the customer who is actually the end-customer responsible for buying your solution. 📉 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺: Don’t just provide a laundry list of problems, quantify the result and impact of those problems using numbers (like wasted money spent annually, lost revenue, increased costs, decreased margins, etc.). 💬 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Clearly position your offering as the solution to these exact challenges. Describe how your product or service improves outcomes, again quantifying the results of your solution using individual customer case studies or across the board results. 🥊 𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀: Segment your competition into a few different category types, and explain how your solution is superior to each type. Whether competing with established companies, other startups, or in-house alternatives, highlight what sets you apart and why your solution is most effective. 🔢 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗜𝘁 𝗨𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮: Use metrics to support your claims. Highlight trends in customer acquisition, revenue growth, or any other relevant KPIs that demonstrate the effectiveness and scalability of your business model. Don’t make us take your word for it– prove it with numbers. #Entrepreneurship #Fundraising #Startups #VentureCapital