Raising funds or convincing an investor to join your e-commerce project is a high-stakes exercise. Investors want to see numbers — not promises. And the way you present these numbers can make the difference between “we’ll call you back” and “we’ll sign”. What investors want to see An e-commerce investor mainly evaluates: Traction — growth in turnover, orders, traffic month after month The economics unit — customer acquisition cost (CAC), lifetime value (LTV), average basket THE conversion rate — a good indicator of product-market fit Scalability — do the metrics improve with growth? This data must be presented in a clear, contextualized and credible manner. Why the dashboard format is superior Investors see dozens of pitch decks per week. Most contain slides with basic Excel charts. Do you want to stand out? Show a real dashboard. There science of visual persuasion shows that an interactive dashboard: Captures attention 10x more than a static slide Builds credibility (the investor recognizes the Shopify interface) Allows you to answer questions live (“What if we filter on the last 7 days?”) Creates a “wow” effect that sets you apart from other startups The workflow for an investor pitch Before the pitch Prepare two dashboards with one simulator like DashSim : Dashboard “current situation” — your real metrics (or realistic if you are in pre-launch) Dashboard “12-month projection” — your projected metrics after lifting During the pitch Present the problem and your solution (5 min) Show the current dashboard — “Here’s where we are” (2 min) Explain your plan for using the funds (3 min) Show the projection dashboard — “And here’s where we will be in 12 months” (2 min) The delta between the two dashboards = the value of the investment After the pitch Send a summary with screenshots of the two dashboards. The investor will be able to show them to his associates — and the visual will remain anchored in his memory. Mistakes to avoid with investors Unrealistic projections — investors see dozens of projections, they detect the artificial “hockey stick” instantly No unit metrics — gross turnover is not enough, they want CAC, LTV, margin No time comparison — show progress, not just a snapshot Forget the competition — contextualize your metric compared to the market Metrics that impress investors MoM (Month over Month) growth > 15% — sign of strong traction Conversion rate > 2.5% — product-market fit confirmed LTV/CAC > 3 — viable economic model Retention rate > 30% — customers come back View these metrics in a familiar dashboard, not in a table. The impact is incomparable. For entrepreneurs who are also in the sales phase , the same techniques work to convince customers.
Raising funds or convincing an investor to join your e-commerce project is a high-stakes exercise. Investors want to see numbers— not promises. And the way you present these numbers can make the difference between “we’ll call you back” and “we’ll sign”.
What investors want to see
An e-commerce investor mainly evaluates:
- Traction— growth in turnover, orders, traffic month after month
- The economics unit— customer acquisition cost (CAC), lifetime value (LTV), average basket
- THE conversion rate— a good indicator of product-market fit
- Scalability— do the metrics improve with growth?
This data must be presented in a clear, contextualized and credible manner.
Why the dashboard format is superior
Investors see dozens of pitch decks per week. Most contain slides with basic Excel charts. Do you want to stand out? Show a real dashboard.
There science of visual persuasion shows that an interactive dashboard:
- Captures attention 10x more than a static slide
- Builds credibility (the investor recognizes the Shopify interface)
- Allows you to answer questions live (“What if we filter on the last 7 days?”)
- Creates a “wow” effect that sets you apart from other startups
The workflow for an investor pitch
Before the pitch
Prepare two dashboards with one simulator like DashSim:
- Dashboard “current situation”— your real metrics (or realistic if you are in pre-launch)
- Dashboard “12-month projection”— your projected metrics after lifting
During the pitch
- Present the problem and your solution (5 min)
- Show the current dashboard — “Here’s where we are” (2 min)
- Explain your plan for using the funds (3 min)
- Show the projection dashboard — “And here’s where we will be in 12 months” (2 min)
- The delta between the two dashboards = the value of the investment
After the pitch
Send a summary with screenshots of the two dashboards. The investor will be able to show them to his associates — and the visual will remain anchored in his memory.
Mistakes to avoid with investors
- Unrealistic projections— investors see dozens of projections, they detect the artificial “hockey stick” instantly
- No unit metrics— gross turnover is not enough, they want CAC, LTV, margin
- No time comparison— show progress, not just a snapshot
- Forget the competition— contextualize your metric compared to the market
Metrics that impress investors
- MoM (Month over Month) growth > 15%— sign of strong traction
- Conversion rate > 2.5%— product-market fit confirmed
- LTV/CAC > 3— viable economic model
- Retention rate > 30%— customers come back
View these metrics in a familiar dashboard, not in a table. The impact is incomparable.
For entrepreneurs who are also in the sales phase, the same techniques work to convince customers.