So, you're at a networking event and you get an opportunity to talk with a venture capitalist for just a few minutes. After breaking the ice with quick introductory formalities, you present your elevator pitch, right? Wrong.

How can you possibly capture that VC's interest if you don't know what excites them? Would you try to sell meat to a vegetarian or bricks to a carpenter? Not if you knew a little about their needs and interests!

When you are raising money, you are selling yourself and your company to your prospective investor. A great sales person knows that learning the needs and desires of your prospect is much more important than telling them about what you're selling. Yet, all too often, entrepreneurs focus on conveying as much information as they can in the short time they have with a VC rather than asking questions to learn about the VC's motivations. What are some of the more important things you should desire to learn in the first five minutes?

Here are some of the top questions to ask a VC in that first short meeting.


Which specific sectors are of top interest to you?

If you've done any homework, hopefully you know whether the VC's fund invests in