Thisarticlewas originally published onBuilt Inby Russ Wilcox.
Closing a venture deal during 2020 is like writing a pop song that hits No.
1 on the charts.
It takes tremendous work and skill to achieve, not just luck.
Composing the perfect story for a financial audience
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Youmay not be founding a company purely to make money, but professional investors are.
The pitch deck is afinancialdocument.
A pitch meeting is afinancialdiscussion.
The deck has one job: Show that your company will earn profits.
Whether you talk about user needs, product performance or marketing campaigns, always translate that qualitative information intodollarimpact.
Dollars are the dimension that matters most to your financial audience.
We can take it a step further.
The ideal story followsthe same outline as an income statement, thus communicating perfectly to a financial audience.
Convert the story into a deck
Next organize your slides.
Write a deck like this:
Why do you need an attention-getter?
Opportunity is at hand, andyouhave a plan to capture it.
Suddenly, they are looking up and turning up the volume.
Before they absorb the details, they first need to be sure you are backableas a person.
So now the team slide.
Then explain how you have attracted a team of all-stars.
At this point, they areallears.
Know your hook
Hit songs have a hook somewhere in the middle that listeners find irresistible.
What is going to make your company unusually important and valuable in the future?
Is it your business model, barriers to entry, web connection economics or competitive dynamics?
What unique insight have you developed about the customer?
How do you build outsized value?
Why is this a profit machine?
Why will customers keep coming back?
What are theimplicationsof your companys success?
Is it economies of manufacturing scale?
Make your hook abundantly clear.
Drafting and polishing individual slides
Start with thePillar seed stage pitch deck template.
Then develop a voiceover for each slide.
Think about main points and transitions.
Polish and refine your story.
Then hire a graphic artist to give it pizzazz.
The visual quality of a business presentation matters more than you might imagine.
Simplifying ideas and eliminating clutter with your editorial eye is demonstrated proof that you know how to prioritize.
Keep it simple, clean, clear, attractive and full of white space and readable font sizes.
Make the teaser an attachment,nota DocSend.
Investors do not make decisions in a vacuum.
They do a lot of behind-the-scenes discussing with their internal team, fellow investors, and expert advisers.
So make your deck easy to forward.
Just assume your competitors will see it, and keep it generic where you choose.
See How VCs Really Evaluate Seed Investments.
The 25 slides walk through every element of the story, plus the financials.
Back-up data and detailed answers to common questions are available as needed in your appendix.
It is important that the deck stand on its own.
The medium-level version should fit in a one-hour meeting.
That all boils down into you being able to present 20 slides in 60 seconds each.
We suggest you write this out at first.
Finally, for each meaningful slide, prepare a three- to five-minute colorful story.
Memorize your key numbers.
double-check you are well lit.
This projects a strong image and makes you completely visible.
Sit up straight and verify you are in full view.
If your laptop has an older camera, buy an external camera that supports at least 720P or above.
Keep your background simple and clean.
Always keep your eyes focused and looking at the camera.
Facial expressions are important on video pitches.
Speak more carefully than usual, taking care to enunciate.
It is critical that investors hear every word.
Practice in advance with a colleague.
If you are not coming through, invest in an external mic.
If you are pitching with another member of your team, practice the handoffs until the transitions are seamless.
Remember, you cant control everything.
It is OK for your kids to make a surprise appearance during a pitch.
We are all human and managing WFH at the same time.
Now lay down the tracks
With your deck in hand, start taking meetings!
Bring a co-founder or teammate to watch the audience and take notes.
After each meeting, revisit the audiences reaction at each slide.
Write down every question you get.
Draft a slide with a crisp answer to each and put it in the appendix.
After a while, you are ready to handle anything.
Are you hearing rejections?
Even great companies take a lot of work to explain, and even experienced CEOs start off hearing rejections.
So be like Taylor Swift andShake It Off.
