Venture Capitalists weren’t born in the Matrix but sometimes it can feel that way if you’re a startup looking for capital.

They will invest in startups that have the right idea and key people to solve a big hairy problem with a large amount of potential revenue or users, needed for a successful VC exit. Whether its in the Metaverse or Matrix all VC’s want one thing.

Startups must scale very quickly to be successful.

Developing a scalable sales tech stack takes time and requires a very flexible and rapidly scalable CRM platform to manage all the sales tech data pipes. Startups must focus on keeping things as simple as possible for end users but still give them the right actions to do at the right time. This can be expensive for startups since they are often forced to pivot as they learn what is working or not. By building flexible and scalable tech systems from the beginning their odds of succeeding improve dramatically.

Entrepreneurs must consider what a VC or Investor maybe looking at when evaluating their company for a potential investment – at least from “What are they Going to Sell” perspective.

With that in mind. This is what VCs are looking for when evaluating your startup sales tech stack:

5 Reasons Why VCs Want You to use CRM / Sales Technology

1. Improved Revenue: A high-quality CRM properly implemented can help a Startup manage its sales pipeline more efficiently, resulting in improved sales and revenue. This helps boost the startup’s valuation and obviously more attractive to investors.
2. Superior Customer Engagement: A CRM can help a startup improve its customer experience by providing insights into customers behavior, preference and needs. This can help the startup develop better products and services, resulting in increased customer loyalty and higher revenue.
3. Operational Efficiency: A high-quality CRM can help a startup streamline its sales and marketing processes, resulting in improved operational efficiency. This can lead to cost saving and increases profitability, which can make the startup more attractive to investors.
4. Data Insights: A CRM can provide valuable data insights that can help a startup make more informed business decisions. This can help the startup develop more effective strategies, leading to improved revenue and profitability.
5. Scalability: A top CRM can help a startup scale its sales and marketing efforts more effectively and quickly. This can help the startup expand its customer base and grow its revenue, which can make it more attractive to investors.

Investors want startups to succeed or fail fast!

Their investment window is dependent on some of their investments growing quickly and that is where they need to focus, while others will fail and need to get off the books/harvest patents.

Many VCs prefer that you use Salesforce as it is the number one selling CRM.

They know they can get people to configure and implement the system, most sales people are familiar with it and it’s enterprise grade so scaling isn’t a big concern. It ticks a big funding box.

Next – whether a VC prefers a startup with Salesforce CRM or no CRM would depend on several factors. In general, if a startup already has a Salesforce CRM, it often indicates that they already have a well defined sales process and are using data to inform their decision-making. This makes their evaluation easier as they can see actual numbers vs. a hockey stick graph.

However, the absence of a CRM doesn’t always mean a startup is less attractive. VC’s maybe willing to invest in early stages of development – especially if a clear value proposition is backed by a clear sales process tracked to achieve rapid growth. Often VC’s have favorite CRM implementation partners that can quickly come in and set things up because they have a repeatable process in place.

One other way VC’s use CRM’s is to look at the numbers every day. Leading CRM AI packages (Such as Sentia) show VC’s every one of their investments in a simple dashboard showing daily sales, outbound activities and tracking to quota. They don’t have to call the CEO, they see it in real time. Most VCs like this because it reduces surprises and uncertainty.

Ultimately, whether a startup has a Salesforce CRM or no CRM it’s only one factor that VCs consider when evaluating potential investment opportunities. The most important factors are the startups overall business plan, the problem they plan to solve, quality of chosen team, potential for growth and profitability, and often most importantly how does your startup fit in the VC investment strategy and ten-year plan.