New startups are in need of all kinds of marketing collateral: pitch decks for investors and/or potential customers, product brochures, and a web site. I think that in the beginning, people are aiming too high with the web site: super effects, video backgrounds, sparkle, and glitter.
But the experienced investor or corporate purchaser sees through the facade immediately, this is a brand new startup with hardly any customers and 6 months of VC funding left. Instead, you can build a web presence that show yes, that you are young, but that you are serious and know what you are doing.
- There is actually some sort of web page on your URL, not an “under construction”
- Use squarespace, Wix, or another template engine for a modern look and feel, with at least a premium enough version that it does not say “proudly built with Wix” at the bottom.
- Make sure your branding is consistent: accent color (you don’t need a lot of it), and a simple logo (does not have to be a master piece)
- No gmail or hotmail email addresses
- Your LinkedIn profile actually says that you are the CEO of this company, and not a marketing consultant from 2004 to present
- The company has an address that when entered in Google street view does not point to a residential street
- When the site has a “news” section, or a blog, it should contain fresh articles, if not, just don’t put it on.
- The web site should actually describe what the company is doing, without buzzword overload
In the early phases, especially for enterprise sales, Google will land you a lot of customer inquiries, but rather people will visit your web site after a meeting as a form of due diligence.