Telling Your Story – Pitching Investors and Other Nightmares

Do Your Homework

Know Who You are Talking To

• What’s in their portfolio. • What’s their expertise?• What do you want from them?• What are their expectations?

Investor Expectations

• Angels – 10 x return in 5 years• VCs – Potential Billion $ Valuation and a 10x-

30x return.

How does your planned exit align with their goals?

Know Your Stuff – Write a Plan

A Business Plan Doubles Your Chances for Success, Says a New Survey Source: http://smallbiztrends.com/2010/06/business-plan-success-twice-as-likely.html

2,877 people completed the survey. Of those, 995 had completed a plan.– 297 of them (36%) secured a loan– 280 of them (36%) secured investment capital– 499 of them (64%) had grown their business

1,556 of the 2,877 had not yet completed their plan.– 222 of them (18%) secured a loan– 219 of them (18%) secured investment capital– 501 of them (43%) had grown their business

Your Story

Tell Your Story

• What’s the problem?• What's the solution?• What is the opportunity?• The Secret Sauce • How do you make money at it?• How will you get there?• Who are the competitors?• Where are you now and what do you need?

Grab Their Attention

• You have 30 seconds• Validation – Customers, Betas, Industry• Believable Upside• Financial Overview• Skin in the Game - Personal Investment

Short & Sweet The Pitch –

• Short & Concise• Why Are You Different?• Make Them Care• Leave Them Wanting More• Call to Action• Contact Info

Pitch deck should be about 10 slides and its goal is to get your audience to take the next step – due diligence, introduction, whatever…

Deal Killers

• Just Not True – No Competition• 30 Pages of Technical Jargon• Errors, Typos, etc• Exaggerated Claims

Being DifferentThese are not differentiators

–Cheaper– Faster– First Mover–Disruptive– I only need % of Market Share

Guy Kawasaki 10/20/30 Rule

• 10 Slides in your Pitch Deck• 20 minute time limit on presentation• 30 px is the smallest font used

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M13SObffog

Why You?

What Need Do You Fill?

What unmet market need do you fill and why is it different that what exists in the market?

I have a lot of options – why should I buy from you?

Why Are You the One?

• Integrity• Passion• Experience• Knowledge – Domain Expertise• Skills – Technical, Marketing, Management• Leadership• Commitment• Vision • Open to Input

Mike Doherty

Providing executives with the constant support necessary to transform great ideas into even better companies. We analyze your current situation, detect obstacles, identify resources and create options so you can maximize your potential.

“Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living.”― José N. Harris, MI VIDA

Working with Start-Ups for Over 15 Years

For over ten years, we have been working with entrepreneurs and businesses to support and grow their businesses. We recognize that it takes much more than financial support to get a company off the ground, thus we provide assistance in every aspect along the way allowing business owners to take their businesses to the next level.

– Angelsbootcamp – Berlin, London– Renaissance Entrepreneurial Center – San Francisco– Third Coast Capital – Chicago, San Francisco

Mike Doherty http://business-executive-coach.de/

+049 170 319 2068