Nail the Perfect Investor Pitch and Get Funded with Our Recommendations

Drafting and crafting the right pitch deck and then presenting to an investor is 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 needs 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, that 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 on business idea, concepts and plans. So what’s the secret sauce to 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, your pitch deck as a unique beast. 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 utmost important to grab the audience attention right from the start, in 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 span of 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, may be ask for 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, what you’re looking to raise. This sets context for the rest of the presentations.

The first three slide of your presentation will catch the eye, 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, people remember the stories, not data. It is important that the slide you’re going to present should reflect how you have woven 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 the investors. Stick with your audience and instigate interest for your startup. It will help you establish the emotional connect with the audience, this leads to a positive response for your pitch. Many famous brands have adopted storytelling and used in their pitch deck in the past.

• Leave Enough Time for Q&A – A great investor pitch is 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 in answering of specific questions.    

• Relate your Audience with your Story – People care most of things which affect them, so, just don’t give facts, information and figures on your presentation try to build a story which make business a trusted source as your audience will be able to relate you better.

Take an example of sketch deck, who got funded by matrix, they provide outsourcing services for presentations 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 a great stuff. Just focus on explaining the vision to the investor. The best way to do is to identify your best metric and angle about your presentation, so that it makes your business in the most 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 competitions, investor wants to weigh in and assess their profit and ROI before investing into 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 that needs to be considered to appear confident at the time of pitching, here preparation really provide you an edge. The answers you give to any question must have consistency in your overall story. An excellent answer should provide point-to-point, detailed and factual answer and also 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 matter 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, be convincing and inspiring. If you can successfully deliver on what an investor wants, you will have a truly irresistible pitch!