With your new venture idea in tow you arrive at Trump Towers lobby and spy the bank of elevators. The reality: only one of twelve will elevate you to the rare air where angel investors reside…in the penthouse. Your elevator speech — your sixteen-second sound bite — must push all the right buttons or your ride will end far from the top of the building. Simply put: Do you know how to talk to money?

To get your venture funded, your Elevator Speech to investors, including Venture Capitalists (VCs), needs more than the usual qualities of a standard elevator speech:

• Short and easily comprehended
• Compelling and memorable
• Showcasing your uniqueness
• Leading to further inquiry

It's not enough! Investors, and especially VCs, listen with a different set of values, need different questions answered and play for far higher stakes. Indeed their requirements for doing business are very different.

Thus your Elevator Speech to VCs should focus on the following:

• Showcasing your maturity (Are you CEO material?)
• Demonstrating your brilliance
• Presenting a proven track record (to show you're bankable)
• Documenting your technical skills
• Letting VCs (and sometimes investors) know there's a role for them

So whether you've a built a better mousetrap, found a cure for cancer, or simply designed a product that is faster, cheaper or easier to manufacture, keep these tips in mind for your sixteen-second sound bite:

• Don't get too technical
• Keep your pitch short and sweet
• Tease (don't tell)
• Make it memorable!

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