Few Ways To Pitch And Get Investors For Your Fashion Brand
The fashion industry is one of the most cut-throat industries out there, rife with competition and home to only a handful of truly successful innovators. It’s an industry that pays its interns little to nothing, and where regulations around freelancing are sketchy at best. Yet the fashion industry is here to stay. People will always need to be clothed and the yearning for new fashion, trends, and bragging rights over brands will not be leaving us any time soon. In the field of tertiary education, fashion studies are quite prominent, and while many students praise the knowledge acquired and their teachers, many wind up being dissatisfied with life in the real world of fashion, with many citing unpreparedness when venturing into its actuality.
And that’s the thing about the fashion industry–it’s tough, really tough–and unless you’re from incredibly decent old money, funding your own brand will be challenging to say the least. However, it’s not impossible to get things off the ground; and so, with all this in mind, let us now examine a few ways to pitch and get investors for your fashion brand.
Find A Venture Capitalist Who’s On The Same Page
Venture capitalism is one of the biggest driving forces in the fashion industry. However, not all VCs are fashion-savvy or even involved in the industry. Hence, it is of great importance that if you’re going to court a VC, that both they and you are on the same page. In other words, it’s important to do your research to see which ones have fashion in their portfolio. Ideally, you should know more about imports, forex markets and taxes before bringing investors in, and possibly they have experience in these financial areas that can be of great advantage to your business. But that’s not all. You have to make sure that their ideals and vision aligns with yours.
Great minds think alike and two heads are better than one, hence, finding the right VC can be of great benefit in more ways than one. Also, it would count in your favor to be on the level in terms of jargon. Venture capitalists have their own buzzwords and acronyms and by loading up on their jargon, you’ll send a clear message – you’re in the know and you’re passionate.
Play It Cool With Investors
It’s been said enough times that life is like high school and in many ways, this is not too far from the truth. The teenage world of hormones and dating can very much figure into your investment strategy – that of playing it cool. You could liken it to dating in high school, when you were advised not to respond immediately. This is valid for a bunch of reasons; you don’t want to come off as desperate, and you want people to know that you’re important. Your time and talents are constantly being engaged, hence, the time you take to respond to emails or to return phone calls is gravely limited.
Think of the potential fashion investors as eager young teens looking to score. Remember, there’s profit to be had for both parties. Lastly, allow your cool and aloof attitude to extend to your dress sense, particularly at the first meeting as it will further drive home your unavailability and double down on your allure.
Don’t Say More Than You Have To
Short and concise wins the race. In other words, if you’re going to make a pitch about your fashion brand to an investor or a venture capitalist, say only what’s required. The last thing you want is to veer into unknown territory, and then try to “ooh and ah” your way out. Focus on what you’re good at. Highlight your strengths, be it your ability to recruit great talent or your sales figures. Also, don’t go in there alone – think of Dragon’s Den and how often two people have made the pitch as opposed to one.
Ideally, take someone with a mind for maths and charts or a business background. He or she can help you mold your investment pitch in just the right way.
Featured image: Teddy Tavan | Pexels