Overview
Drafting and crafting the right pitch deck and then presenting it to an investor is a super crucial task for any startup. As a known fact, nothing comes to you without putting in hard work, dedication, and determination; dreams do materialize though need persistent actions. Thus, to raise capital of any size from an investor, requires startups to nail a super cool investor pitch. Your pitch deck should reflect the perfect rationale - why people should invest in your idea and give you money?
Well, the answer to this lies in the glamour of entrepreneurship, which has driven millions to start their own venture. With more startups competing for investors, in turn, investors have begun to set up higher and higher expectations of business ideas, concepts, and plans. So what’s the secret sauce to the recipe? Well to grab the attention, it is all and all damn critical to have a strong pitch deck, folks this is a do-or-die time as you only get a few minutes to pitch.
In the subsequent lines, we are mentioning key factors to keep in mind while crafting your story, and your pitch deck as a unique beast.
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So, are you ready? If yes, just deep dive and absorb the points mentioned.
Pitch to the Right Person like a Pro
Before pitching to an investor which is obviously a person, you must ensure you’re pitching to the right person. Take your time to get to know what type of investors best suits your company’s ambition. The goal for pitching must be clear, and it is - to secure an investment for your startup. Mainly, there are two approaches to consider - either you can pitch one step closer to the decision maker or you can pitch with the potential direct impact in front of a decision-maker.
Sounds interesting till now, good. To find the right investor for your startup, check out our blog on another hot burning topic - How to find the correct investor for your startups?
The First Five Minutes to Hook
It is of utmost importance to grab the audience's attention right from the start, from the very beginning till the first five minutes try to earn a point chance to move further into more details for the next fifteen minutes or so. Likewise, if you lose your audience in a short time during pitching then you are likely to be lost forever. Make the most out of the first five minutes and we guarantee, you will be awarded with attention for the next period as well.
If you want to hook your audience in the first few minutes, you need a great start and keep the fire on for the first five minutes, and then pause, maybe ask a few questions here and there. Here we explain some key points to consider when you open the pitch book in front of the investor -
- Show them what’s Changed – Convey the breakthrough innovation, you are trying to create as an opportunity.
- Say Loud and Clear What You Do – One sentence explanation, that’s it, about what you do.
- Showcase Fast Key Facts – Introduce your company, and what you’re looking to raise. This sets the context for the rest of the presentations.
The first three slides of your presentation will catch the eye, and be narrative while explaining these points. Once you grab their attention, it is time to continue your pitch.
Tell a Story
Always keep in mind, that people remember the stories, not the data. The slides you’re going to present must reflect how you have wovenvestor .n them together to inspire the audience. Investors should understand you and your vision based on how you put facts and data together to sell a vision, a dream come true, it gains the worth of what you’re selling.
Storytelling is a powerful technique that should be used while pitching to investors. Stick with your audience and instigate interest in your startup. It will help you establish an emotional connection with the audience, which leads to a positive response to your pitch. Many famous brands have adopted storytelling and used it in their pitch deck in the past.
- Leave Enough Time for Q&A – A great investor pitch is a conversation, not a presentation. It talks and interacts with the investor. Have enough time to engage in the conversation and limit your presentation for a while, spend the rest of the time answering specific questions.
- Relate your Audience with your Story – People care about most of the things that affect them, so, just don’t give facts, information, and figures in your presentation try to build a story that makes business a trusted source as your audience will be able to relate to you better.
Take the example of Sketch Deck, which was funded by Matrix, they provide outsourcing services for presentation design. Their pitch deck is strong with narrative and compelling but a more convincing way to frame the value they provide would be to make a story around a VC getting their own presentations completed.
Be Confident and Honest
From everyone in the room, you’re the only person who spent most of the time with your presentation. So, present a very positive story and appear highly confident about your business. The investor with their limited understanding of your presentations is not only evaluating your business but also getting to know what kind of person you are, as there is a possibility to work together in the future.
“Hard challenges are a part of building a successful business, but it is important how you lead your team through them.”
Don’t be too nervous and apologetic while presenting, if you are building great stuff. Just focus on explaining the vision to the investor. The best way to do this is to identify your best metric and angle for your presentation so that it puts your business in the best possible light.
- Prove your Traction – With the introduction of social media and big data, there is now an offering with the investor to gauge a wide spectrum in predicting success and the prevalent chances of getting funding increases. As a result of increasing competition, the investor wants to weigh in and assess their profit and ROI before investing in something.
It is highly recommended and suggested to find a way to talk about profits. ROI initially and then hard sell it. By applying more focus to these aspects of the business, you can get early traction and can prove to investors your idea and build an engaging audience for you.
Be Persistent
Persistence is perhaps one of the most important factors. Overall that needs to be considered to appear confident at the time of pitching. Moreover, here preparation really provides you an edge. The answers you give to any question must have consistency in your overall story. An excellent answer should provide a point-to-point, detailed, and factual answer and also a reference to the whole story.
Summing it Up
A great investor pitch helps you fetch finance for your startup. Ensure that your story is compelling and interesting. Add the topics the investor is looking for. How you present matters the most for investors and it must leave an everlasting impression on the investor. Don’t try to show that you are the master at it. Albeit you need to be genuine all the time and be convincing and inspiring. If you can successfully deliver on what an investor wants, you will have a truly irresistible pitch!
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