Want Donors? Skip the Glossy Sales Pitches

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Adam Bryant

NEW YORK---Adi Tatarko, C.E.O. of Houzz, an architecture and interior design Web site, says she learned early in her company’s life not to tell potential investors “that the company is going to be worth X and make Y,” but to be clear about its vision. We wanted to find the right investors who supported our vision, and I didn’t want to go to V.C.’s on Sand Hill Road and start pitching people. I just didn’t want to do it. It’s not me. I love what I’m doing, and if somebody wants to join us as investors, they need to understand it without me making a standard pitch. So we would just have coffee with people in an informal environment and talk about what we are doing. We figured they’ll get it, and if they don’t, then they shouldn’t be our investors. This was the way we did it. It was very informal. [link]