Nathan Mcalone (@nmcalone) of the Business Insider wrote about how to catch an investor's attention when pitching your idea. Usually VC’s are extremely busy and flooded with numerous business plans from entrepreneurs, so it’s imperative to set yourself apart. Eliam Medena, founder of Willing, an end-of-life services company, made an impact when applying for Y Combinator, an investment program. He made customized urns with each investor's name on it to bring the reality of one’s death to the forefront of their minds. This is a risky way to make your service seem relevant, but it’s better to make a big splash than none at all. It allowed them to see how realistic it is that at some point they, or their loved ones, will have to organize end-of-life services.

“With the urns, Medina says he wanted to represent how important end-of-life issues are. There's nothing like seeing your own urn to remind you that death is coming for everyone, and we should all be ready. Medina's gambit got Y Combinator’s attention, and Willings was accepted into this year’s "class." This means the company received investment and mentorship, and will participate in “demo day” on August 18-19, when they will pitch their vision to prominent tech figures.”

Here are three things you should ask yourself when preparing a presentation for potential investors:

1. What problem does your service solve?

2. How can you make your pitch relate to each individual?

3. Are other people providing the same service? If so, what makes yours different?

The competition among startups is brutal, and there are countless people out there with great ideas. Every company needs to ask themselves these questions before pitching their business idea. Otherwise consider yourself as background noise, overshadowed by the other hundred people pitching the same idea. Make it unique!  You need to make an impression on them, so you can get on their radar and  be remembered. Make sure not to do something solely for shock value, though your product or service needs to solve big problems and make money.