7-key-elements-your-site-needs-to get-vc-funding

T H E 7 K E Y E L E M E N T S Y O U R S I T E N E E D S T O H E L P Y O U G E T V C F U N D I N G

The 7 Key Elements Your Site Needs to Help You Get VC Funding

G U I D E L I N E S

Updated July 2016

[email protected] | www.uptrending.com


VALUE PROPOSITION

SOCIAL PROOF

IMPRESSIVE DESIGN

CAPTURING LEADS

YOUR TEAM

CONTACT METHODS

INTERACTIVE CONTENT & MEDIA

01.

02.

03.

04.

05.

06.

07.

Table of Contents


Let’s Get StartedA brand’s site is the face of a company; the go-to place where potential customers

and investors go to learn more about the brand, the team, and the service or

product you are offering. Getting venture capital funding for your startup can be

a roller coaster ride. The last thing you need to be worried about is whether your

site is making your company look small and unimpressive.

Before you take your pitch before investors, make sure that you’ve considered

these key elements of your site to ensure you are setting up your company for

success.

“I’ll be the first to admit that

not only does my first visit to a

company’s website play a role in

my assessment of it — in fact, it

can have a major impact.”

M AT T B I E H L E R

A N A LY S T AT O P E N V I E W PA RT N E R S


Value Proposition

Investors want to know why they should give you money, with real business

backing. In other words, what do you bring to the market that makes you unique

and different? It’s one of the most important parts of your pitch.

Don’t make them dig through your site to find it.

Your value proposition should be on the homepage in high prominence, plainly.

Think 1-2 sentences, ideally without having to scroll at all. You can spell it out with

more detail in your About section, but make sure it’s found within 5 seconds of

hitting your site.

Essentially, this is your elevator pitch condensed down and clearly presented in

an ideal placement.

01

C H A RT B O O S T


Social Proof

Your site needs to show potential investors that you’re already achieving market

traction.

There are several ways you can do this:

These factors all help allay investor fears that you’ve got a great idea, but lack the

ability to make it really work in the marketplace. Social proof makes them say,

“Well, if they work with Company X, they must doing something right.”

• Logos on your site of prominent & recognizable customers

• Highlight industry-leading partnerships with top companies

• Case studies that showcase product or service success in action

• Reference press coverage by notable media outlets

• Statistics of revenue, market share or user base displayed prominently

02

K O N T I K I


Impressive Design

To impress potential investors, you want a site that feels modern & impressive. So

what does that look like?

Font ChoiceFirst, choose a set of fonts for your site that have a purpose. In other words, your

font should reflect the personality of your company. Is your brand fun, lively,

energetic? Perhaps futuristic, modern, sleek? Perhaps you need something that

is bespoke, hipster, nerdy-chic? Don’t just use an off-the-shelf font, be intentional

and select a font that reflects your brand.

03

U P T R E N D I N G


Cater to Short Attention SpansSecond, cater your designs and content to users who scan. Attention spans have

never been shorter, and the best companies have responded by altering their

online presentation.

The top websites have some things in common:

• Short, simple sentences that are easy to read

• Use of images, icons and videos for explanation of concepts

• Use of headlines and subheads to allow for faster scanning

• Bulleted and numbered lists to break up chunks of text

• Custom graphics and real life images (no stock photos)

• Icons and thumbnails to represent themes or categories

• Custom animation or infographics to engage the audience

03

S U M O L O G I C


Capturing Leads

Cutting-edge companies know how to make their sites magnets for new customers.

Your startup can show investors that you think like an established brand by using

a variety of modern lead-capture systems.

These systems include:

• Subscription to ongoing content like blog posts or a newsletter in the header or footer

• Lightboxes with sign-up forms triggered by user actions (showing exit intent, scrolling to a certain point on a page)

• Gated content such as whitepapers, videos or reports locked behind a signup form

• Embedded CTAs in website content, such as service/product pages or after blog posts

Having these types of features on your site signals

to venture capitalists that you understand the

power of growing your customer base, and are

actively pursuing that in the most up-to-date way.

04

S U M O L O G I C


Giving lip-service to “our stellar team of experienced professionals” is a bit like

saying you have “great customer service” - it just isn’t compelling. Instead, make

showcasing your team a priority on your website.

If you can, have a page featuring all of your staff with information about their

experience, backgrounds and expertise. Provide links to LinkedIn profiles or any

other appropriate professional social listings for each individual.

If that’s not possible, or most of your team members are new, then focus on

your executives. Give detailed bios, name-drop big time former employers and

their accomplishments. Knowing that your company has an top-tier team with

expertise in the industry, and the knowledge to grow the brand, gives investors

much needed confidence in your growth potential.

Your Team

Unlike some customers, investors care deeply about who is on-staff at your startup.

You need a way to show them that you’ve hired the best and brightest, with years

of experience that will make your company successful and worth investing in.

05

M E T R I C I N S I G H T S


Contact Methods

It’s not enough to have a Contact page with an address, phone number and

generic email address.


• Have contact info readily accessible in the navigation, rather than buried on an internal page in your About section

• Use unique forms for each type of interaction - your Careers page form shouldn’t look anything like your Support form

• Utilize live chat functionality for real-time responsiveness to customers and prospects

• Make company social media channels available and easy-to-find (unless you’re going to ignore them, in which case don’t waste anyone’s time by putting them in your header)

Venture capitalists spend their

days looking to the future, which

means you need to present a site

that lives in next year. Case in

point: how do customers, peers,

media reps contact you?

06

M E T R I C I N S I G H T S


Interactive Content & Media

You may think that great photos and

clever words are enough to sell your

brand, but investors hear hundreds upon

thousands of pitches - you need to stand

out.

One way to improve your standing in a

VCs eyes is to flex your media muscles.

Not only will it be more visually interesting,

which increases engagement, it also

shows your brand is current and knows

the power of appealing to different

personalities.


Once you’ve settled on a medium, don’t settle for status quo. Your video could

be an interview, a product demo, a custom animated sales pitch, a conference

presentation or any other relevant content.

• Videos

• Whitepapers

• Interactive content (calculators, quizzes)

• Infographics

• Live social feeds

• Webinars

07

K O L L E C T I V E


By following and implementing these 7

key elements to your site, you’ll be on the

path to success to build your digital brand,

impress investors and get the funding you

need to grow your business.

Bottomline


Let’s Work TogetherContact us for more information at [email protected]

or visit us online at www.uptrending.com

Small Business & Entrepreneurship

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