Pitch Presentations

1. Pitch Presentations

2. Agenda • Opening Comments • Typical Pitch Outline • Pitch Principles • Some Additional Thoughts • Today’s Task

3. Opening Comments • Science? Or Art? • Pitch presentations are not created equally • They don’t need to be • But, there are some basic guidelines and outlines • In the end, the flow and content needs to tell a compelling investment story • Practice, practice, practice…and you will get a good feel for the flow and key messages

4. Investor Pitch Outline • Elevator Pitch • Key Highlights • Problem Being Solved • The Solution • Market Opportunity • Business or Revenue Model

5. Investor Pitch Outline • Market Approach & Growth Strategy • Team & Key Stakeholders • Financial Forecast • Competition • Required Investment • Some Optional Slides

6. Elevator Pitch • A brief overview of your company or a quick one-liner summary that combines your vision, product, core value proposition, and/or the mission of your company • Keep it short and memorable • Focus on the “Big Idea” • Be provocative

7. Elevator Pitch • Try making it relatable… • As in “We are X for Y” • For example… • “We are AirBNB for Event Spaces” • “We are the Starbucks of Frozen Yogurt” • “We are the Uber for RV’s”

8. Key Highlights • Show your timeline and milestones achieved to date • Give the audience a sense of your traction or momentum • Key numbers already achieved

9. Key Highlights • Highlight press, partnerships, patents, accolades • Customer success stories and/or testimonials • Highlight your expertise

10. Problem Being Solved • Define the real problem or need you’re solving. • Who are you solving the problem for (i.e. the customer)? • What need do you fill? • Show the insanity of how customers address the issue today • Answer the “So What?”

11. Problem Being Solved • Who else is already doing this? • How are they going about it and, importantly, what are they not getting right or doing wrong? • Ensure you are solving real pain or real problems • Nice to haves are not investable

12. The Solution • Unique features and benefits and advantages • The value proposition • What makes it novel?

13. The Solution • Tell the story of your customer • Make it easy to understand • How customers use or value your product or service • Images and visuals are better than lots of text • Show don’t tell (screen shots, photos, MVP’s)

14. Market Opportunity • Define your market. • What business or space are you in? Your place? Your segment? Your niche? • Who are your customers? • Clearly define exactly who you intend to serve.

15. Market Opportunity • What is the total market size? The “addressable” or “reasonable” market you can serve? In dollars? In units? In users? • What is being spent on the problem today? • What are the macro trends in the industry?

16. Business or Revenue Model • How are you going to make money? • What is the pricing structure or pricing model? Average deal size? • Show basic math on revenues, number of customers, conversion rates. • Life-time value of an average customer? How many months, how many dollars?

17. Business or Revenue Model • Are there any other meaningful revenue streams? • Is the business (i.e. revenues) scalable? What makes it scalable? How will it scale? • Simple is better. Too complicated will leave investors scratching their heads.

18. Business or Revenue Model • Cost to acquire is perhaps the most overlooked and important metric. • What are the downstream costs to sell and service the customer. • Is the model sustainable if competitors start to steal share? What will the downward pressure be on price over time?

19. Market Approach / Growth Strategy • How will you “go to market”? • How do you plan to grow your business? • Will you use direct sales? Will you license to partners? • What channels? Retail? Professional? Online? • Where will you get in front of them?

20. Market Approach / Growth Strategy • Where are your customers looking today and finding help? • What are the most important and unique channels and methods you will use to find and win customers? • How are you doing it differently than others in the space? • How will you achieve your target growth rates?

21. Team & Key Stakeholders • Highlight key team members and their prior positions, successes, domain expertise. • Demonstrate relevant experience. • Which roles are key to success in your company or your space? • Do you have the “know how” and the “know who?”

22. Team & Key Stakeholders • Highlight key experts or advisors. • Highlight “smart money” or domain investors who know the space.

23. Financial Forecast • Include a 3 year financial projection. • Where appropriate, mention key & critical assumptions in your financial model • And, be prepared to defend the assumptions • Be able to speak to the impact of various scenarios (e.g. price changes) • What is the “burn rate?”

24. Financial Forecast • Highlight each of the following: • Total Revenue • Total Expense • Profit (or “EBITDA”) • You may also want to highlight: • Total Customers • Total Head Count

25. Competition • How are you better? • What is your “Secret Sauce” and how is it a benefit or value over the competition • What are your unique advantages? • Where do you exist in the larger overall market space?

26. Competition • How is your place in the market unique to you, and the right one for your company growth and customers? • Who are the competitors, why have they succeeded, and how do you truly differentiate from them? • Hint: Illustrate in a simple matrix or grid to compare your product to the competition

27. Investment Requirements • This is your ‘ask’ for funding and ‘use of funds’ • State how much capital you are raising, and with what general terms: equity, debt, convertible note • What is the timing of your capital raise? When do you need the money? What are the required installments to achieve milestones?

28. Investment Requirements • What are your key uses of funds and how much for: • Founder salaries (…keep it real…) • Sales & marketing & product launch • New hires • Technology / product or service development / patents • Capital expenses / equipment / prototypes

29. Optional Slides • Exit strategy (i.e. how you plan to payback the investors or liquidate their investment) • Partnership agreements • Product / service demo • Existing sales / clients

30. Pitch Principles • Storify - Create a well paced, logical narrative….think storyboard. • Disnify - Use visuals, frameworks, graphics and images…but only where they make sense…you are not keynoting a TED talk • Personify - Relate to the team’s personal experiences…investors are in the people business.

31. Pitch Principles • Simplify - Avoid too much detail, overused buzzwords and jargon…getting a term sheet after the first meeting is not the goal. • Quantify - Show how you make money for the investor. • Verify - Can you finish this sentence? “As evidenced by…” Back up your claims wherever you can with visible proof

32. Pitch Timing • As a general rule, a pitch should take between 10 to 20 minutes. Shorter is better. • If you cannot convey the real problem, the attractive market, your unique advantage, and the compelling investment in a short amount of time… • You will lose the interest and attention of investors

33. In the End…The Investment is in You • Honesty. Give straight answers to investor questions. • Vision. Demonstrate your customer insight and thought leadership. • Resourcefulness. Can make an investor’s dollar go far.

34. In the End…The Investment is in You • Logic. Makes wise, pragmatic decisions quickly • Drive. Genuine passion for early stage business & an ability to excite • Humility. Coachable and seeks help to address weak spots

35. In the End…The Investment is in You • Leadership. Has the ability to attract and lead a winning team • Critical Thinking. Challenges assumptions • Agility & Decisiveness. Cuts losses & pivots at the right time

36. In the End…The Investment is in You • Commitment. Not just involved…sweat &/or capital invested • Patience. Tolerance to the ambiguity of innovation • Credibility. Well researched…uses data to back assumptions

37. Today’s Challenge • 5 minute pitch • Focus on the value proposition and your unique advantages. • Support the value proposition with customer validation. • Illustrate the financial opportunity based on your assessment of the market. • Oh…and practice your pitch!