What exactly is revenue?

How do you pitch when you aren't sure what your revenue model will be?

• I'm still in beta, and so I'm not charging. I have some ideas of what my revenue model will be, but I'm not exactly sure which way I'll monetize. How do I pitch this? Should I pick which revenue model looks the most promising and make up revenue projections? When I tell investors I have a few ideas of how I'll charge, but I don't know what the exact pricing will be, it seems to scare off investor. How should I deal with this?

• Answer:

  You should not be pitching if you have no idea where your revenue will come from.  You need to have some sort of roadmap to success, even if it's 100% likely that the plan will get thrown out the window at your first pivot.  If you can't even point to a hypothetical scenario where you're making money and profitable, you do not have a business. You should also consider charging for your beta.  What good is an MVP if it doesn't help you answer your one central question, "will people pay for your product?"  It's one thing if a beta tester tells you you have a great product and he'd definitely consider paying for it in the near future.  It's an entirely different thing to ask him to open his wallet and give you his credit card.