Laurel Mintz, GP
The reason that an investor might say no to you may have absolutely nothing to do with you or your company. Here are some excuses investors use to say no to founders:
#1: Your investment range might be too big.
A funder might be a little scared off if you say "I might be raising between five and 20 million". Being very clear about what your fundraising is really critical.
#2: Misaligned values
There's not always the right fit on the vendor or the partner side or the founder or funder side. So don't take that too personally.
#3: Miscommunication or lack of spark
If I am investing in a company, I want to make sure that I can support them and that I also like the founders. There's got to be a culture fit as much as there needs to be a company fit.
#4: The company might have no metrics
If you are sending a pitch deck and you're way too early stage and you not only don't have metrics about your company or you have no metrics about the industry, you might be too early. The investor won't be able to have anything to say positively or to support the company that early stage.
#5: You might have too much competition
We see this a ton in the skin care and beauty category. It is a super, super saturated market and a lot of investors say no very quickly to markets that they don't feel like they can really be competitive and win in.
#6: Already invested in a similar brand or a direct competitor
Most of the time, investors want a diversified portfolio. So it as even if they invest in specific categories, they might want a diversified group of companies within that category, even if it's something like CPG.
So those are some of the reasons an investor might tell you no, might have nothing to do with you but keep going forward. You'll find the investors that are right for your brand.