Structure of a Good Answer

Module 5 * Part 3

Funders and investors do not like to waste time, so when you are given a simple question, you should answer the question directly.

If you don't answer a simple question directly, then the audience will feel that you are trying to hide something.

Example 1: Who are your competitors?

Answer: Currently, we are competing against UberEats and Deliveroo, both companies having operation in the Shatin area. Individual fast food restaurants such as McDonald's and Pizza Hut also offer delivery services to varying extent.
Example 2: What's your budget?

Answer: The main cost is the app development, which we estimate to be HKD$600,000. Promotion of the app will also cost $50,000. The rest of the cost will be part of the university app's maintenance. The total cost, with overheads and administration, will come to about $750,000.
You may also be given open-ended questions. This is a structure to follow:
  1. Thank the person for his question.
  2. Identify and articulate the area of concern
  3. Provide a short answer for the question.
  4. Elaborate on the answer. Reiterate how you have therefore addressed the area of concern
Example 3: How long will this program take for it to be self-sustaining?

Answer: Thank you for your question. The sustainability of the proposal is something we spent a lot of time studying. We believe that the since the App is integrated into the university's app, the current funding only needs to ensure that the app itself is developed and functional. We believe that if the app is a stand-alone app, then this will take extra marketing effort to gain users. If the app is integrated, then university staff members and students already have access to the app, and this will increase usage, thereby eliminating the problem of the lack of users. Hence, this method will make the app sustaining.
Remember: you should always try to provide the best possible answer for your funder / investor. Do not try to fool anyone or to give some fake answers.

If you don't know the answer to a question, say that you don't know, but try to find the closest piece of knowledge you know about the issue and address that.