Stories explain, captivate, disturb and inspire. We are more likely to resonate with a good story than we are bunch of information. “Entrepreneurship is about telling a story that connects the deep needs of a group of people with a repeatable solution.” The stories you tell during your pitch connects the information on your slides together like thread connects pieces of fabric together. Without the elements of story, your pitch deck is just a boring report about your company. Telling stories during your presentation will make your presentation persuasive and motivating. It will get investors interested in the product or service you provide. Here are three primary ways to use stories in your deck as shared by Baehr and Loomis in Get Backed:
To create a narrative arc that ties your slide deck together.
To explain one or more of your slides.
To have as a reservoir of things to discuss and ways to respond to questions during a conversation.
Here are some different types of stories you could tell during your pitch to investors. To use as an example let’s say you created a business selling a new healthy and tasty vegan snack that you feel will be a game changer because there is nothing else like it on the market.
Origin Story
Your origin story is a story about how you came up with the idea for your product or service.
So, if you were telling an origin story about your vegan business, you can say whenever I go to the grocery store looking for vegan snacks the selection is very limited. The snacks that are there don’t look appetizing and are bland in taste. I thought there should be more options than this and vegan snacks do not have to be bland.
A compelling instance of utilizing an origin story is demonstrated by Everlywell, a company that appeared on Shark Tank, offering a solution for obtaining clear results to a range of medical tests. By watching the video below, you can witness how they effectively employed their origin story to engage the investors
Customer Story
Your customer story is a story about how your customers have benefited from your product or service.
At an event where I was selling my snacks, I had multiple customers try them and received feedback that they were the tastiest vegan snack they have ever eaten. One customer told me that by having a tastier snack option it has helped them to stick with their vegan diet plan which was difficult especially when they wanted a snack.
Here is another excellent illustration of how to integrate a customer story into your pitch. It’s worth noting that the story doesn’t necessarily need to be about a real customer. In the following video from Shark Tank, you can witness Bug Bite Thing, a company presenting their business to investors, effectively utilizing a fictitious customer scenario to illustrate the problem their product solves. This approach enables them to vividly showcase the relevance and impact of their solution.
Industry Story
Your industry story is a story about how the industry you are in is changing and how your product or service is taking advantage of that change.
The vegan lifestyle was not always popular but all that has changed. There has been an increase in the desire for vegan foods as more and more people are choosing to be vegan. The plant-based market grew by 27% during the COVID pandemic.
In the following example, PaddleSmash presents their company to the sharks on Shark Tank, seeking investment. It is interesting to observe that instead of focusing on a specific problem they are solving, they discuss how they are taking advantage of the growing popularity of pickleball.
Venture Growth Story
Your venture growth story is a story about the traction your company has been experiencing.
At first, we did not have many sells, but once we started reaching out to people in the community business really took off. At every event, we sell out. We are in multiple stores, and we are consistently having reorders.
<a href=”https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos”>Free Stock photos by Vecteezy</a>
After learning about all the different stories, you can tell during your pitch, you will need to decide which story you want to lead with. The story you led with should be your strongest story that will really capture the investor’s interest and motivate them to want to get behind your company. Here are some tips for when it may be a good idea to tell each type of story during your pitch:
Consider telling your origin story when introducing your company or talking about your team.
The industry story is a great to tell when talking about the opportunity in your industry.
The customer story can be introduced when describing your problem and solution.
The venture story can be given either when talking about your competition, unique advantage, business model, financials, or your ask.
You may not have a story for each type and that is fine. Having at least one strong story can go a long way. If you feel like you do not have time to tell stories during your, remember these stories do not have to be long. Your story can last less than 2 minutes! Hope you found this article helpful. Wish you well on your pitch. If you need help with crafting your pitch deck schedule a free consultation and we will tell you how we can help.
Reference
Baehr, Evan, and Evan Loomis. Get Backed: Craft Your Story, Build the Perfect Pitch Deck, Launch the Venture of Your Dreams. Harvard Business Review Press, 2015.
You are getting ready to pitch at demo day. Congratulations on making this far in your business where you are ready to start fundraising. At demo day you really want to make sure you leave a lasting impression on the investors who are present. It is important to remember that on demo day you are not likely to receive a check in your hand from an investor. What you want to do during demo day is to leave a lasting impression so they will want to follow up with you. Unfortunately, you are going to have distressingly short time to do this which is about 5-10 minutes. So, you need to use every minute of your pitch wisely. To help you to do that, I am going to share with you the most crucial elements you need to include in your demo day pitch.
Your Story Just like any other presentation, your demo day presentation is a story. Your pitch should tell the story of your company by stating the problem, solution, market opportunity, and the product you are building. The very best demo day presentations have 4 core qualities: Clarity-the presentation is clearly and simply presented Excitement-the opportunity is compelling; it demands listeners pay attention Informative-it teaches listeners something they did not know Memorable-you story stays with the audience; later they can recall who you are and what you do Important Points in Your Pitch These are the main points you want your pitch to answer. Answering these questions will pique the interest of investors. What are we building and for whom? Why hasn’t this been done before? Why is it hard to do what we are doing? Why is this an opportunity not to be missed?
Organization of Your Pitch Demo day pitches usually follow a consistent structure. Here are the slides you want to make sure you include in your pitch deck. Slide 1: Cover This slide is also the opening or title slide. On this slide you want to make sure you include company name, company tagline, inviting picture that showcases your company’s brand, name, contact information. Slide 2: Summary/Value Proposition This slide is your company’s overview which is also the “elevator pitch” version of your deck. This slide should contain your value proposition. The value proposition is one sentence that states your problem, solution, client, and product. You want to mention the industry
you are in and the trends in your industry that your company will be riding. If your company has had great traction, you can mention your traction. Mentioning traction early on can be an excellent way to standout and pique the interest of investors. Slide 3: The Problem Great way to introduce the problem you are solving is to lead with a story. It can be a story about how you came up with the idea or a customer’s story. To this effectively make sure you have clearly defined who your target audience is for your product/service. List what problems you will be solving for this audience on the slide. Slide 4: The Solution Identify the solution you will be solving for customers. After showing your solution, you can do a product demo. Slide 5: The Product Do a product demo. Show how your product or service works. Remember do not give a complete tutorial on your product. The purpose to let the audience know what your product or service is. Slide 6: Business Model On this slide show who your customers are, the size of your target market, and how your company will make money. Slide 7: Market Size Show and tell the size of you target market. Slide 8: Competition/Your Unique Advantage Show who are your competitors are. Compare and contrast yourself with your competitors. Slide 9: Go to Market Strategy Show how you reach your customers and which customers you will be targeting first. Slide 10: The Team List your executive team members. Include their titles and a short description of any valuable experience.
Hope you found this article helpful in preparing for your next pitch. If you need help with constructing these slides listed above and designing your pitch, we would be happy to help. We will walk you through the details of your pitch and write your content for you. Schedule a free consultation to learn more about how we help make sure you are prepared for pitch day to raise the funding your company deserves.
Need to create slides for your pitch deck? Have a meeting with investors coming up soon? This is an exciting point in your business that could make or break your business. You want to make sure you put your best foot forward. There are so many factors regarding your business you can share during that meeting: sales, story of how you started, your teams’ accomplishments, features of your product etc. However, most pitches are time-limited, and you do not have time to share every detail about your business.
When preparing for you pitch, it is important to remember the pitch is not designed to raise money. The whole purpose of your pitch is to get the “second date”-that is, a follow-up meeting where your business will be discussed in greater detail. So, what should you focus on during your pitch? You do not want to overwhelm the investors by telling them your entire life story or everything about your business.
There are 12 essential slides to make an effective pitch deck.
Slide 1: Cover
This slide is also your opening or title slide. On this slide you want to make sure you include: company name, company tagline, inviting picture that showcases your company’s brand, name, contact information.
Entrepreneurs often overlook including their contact information on the cover slide of their pitch decks and instead place it on the final slide. However, it is advisable to have your contact information prominently displayed on the cover slide. This ensures that investors reviewing your deck can quickly access your contact details without having to search through the entire presentation. By placing your information on the cover slide, you make it easily retrievable and readily available to interested parties.
Example cover slide with a big picture representing the product/service and relevant information.
Slide 2: The Problem
The slide dedicated to the problem is of utmost importance as it establishes the foundation for the entire presentation. Its purpose is to not only engage the audience logically, but also evoke emotions. Ideally, the readers of your problem slide should be compelled to acknowledge the significance of the issue at hand, recognizing it as a substantial problem in need of an urgent solution. To effectively capture the attention of your audience, it is advisable to start this section with a story that introduces the problem. Storytelling has a powerful effect in combining both logical and emotional elements.
When constructing your problem slide, you have a couple of options: you can either enumerate the specific problems that your product or service addresses, or you can opt for a visual representation that vividly demonstrates the problem. You are encouraged to explore creative ways to illustrate the problem, allowing your audience to grasp its essence more effectively. However, it is important to focus on a select few problems that your product solves, rather than presenting an exhaustive list of issues.
Overall, the problem slide holds immense significance, and leveraging storytelling techniques, concise problem identification, and impactful visuals will greatly enhance its effectiveness.
Tip: When describing the problem make sure it is from the perspective of the buyer of your product/service. Not identifying who is experiencing the problem is something I see lacking in many pitches. If you have two types of beneficiaries of your product/service make sure you specify which one has the problem.
The solution slide is where you address how your product/service solves each of the problems you mentioned previously. The solution slide is not the same as doing a demonstration of your product. You will do a demonstration next.
Slide 4: The Product
Do a product demo. However you choose to do your product demonstration remember the purpose is to show how your product or service works. You will need to show you have a working product. If you have patents, bring it with you to the meeting. If you have a physical prototype remember to bring it to the meeting as well. Some ideas for doing your demonstration:
Show a video
Do a live demonstration
Hand out samples of your product
***Important Note State your value proposition when introducing your product/service.
I have come across numerous pitch presentations that lack a crucial element. Despite being aware of the importance of having a value proposition statement, many entrepreneurs overlook it. I have witnessed this gap in various pitch practices and competitions. Consequently, investors and the audience often struggle to grasp the exact product or service being offered by the entrepreneur.
Recently, I attended a pitch competition where multiple entrepreneurs presented their ideas to potential investors. One particular entrepreneur aimed to provide a solution for keeping young athletes hydrated during sports activities. Surprisingly, even after her pitch, the investors had to inquire about the specifics of her offering. If she had mentioned her value proposition upfront, the investors wouldn’t have needed to ask this question later. If you have experienced similar inquiries after your pitch, it is highly likely that your value proposition is not clearly stated. It is crucial to mention it early on in your pitch, rather than leaving it until the middle or end. Investors and listeners are eager to understand your proposition quickly, as it helps them determine their interest in what you have to say.
A good template for creating your value proposition
Our [Company Name] is [Product Category] for [target customer] that [key benefit].
Example using this template
Company Name is a software only orchestration platform that lets service providers and large enterprises create low-latency cloud infrastructure anywhere, at any scale, on any network.
Slide 5: Business Model
One this slide show how your company makes money. You do this by showing your pricing structure similar to the one below. Make sure you state exactly who will be paying you.
Slide 6: Traction
Show number of sales and/or users of your product and/or service. If you are pre-revenue, share feedback received from beta testers and potential customers who have experienced your product or service.
If you lack the elements mentioned above, it is advisable to refrain from seeking funding until you gather some information regarding the market reception of your product or service. The traction slide serves the purpose of demonstrating the existence of a market demand for what you are offering. Without being able to substantiate this, it becomes considerably challenging to convince investors to invest in your company, as they remain uncertain about the potential return on their investment.
Slide 7: Market Size
Tell how many potential customers are out there who will want to by your product. Discuss how you reach your target customers. Give specific numbers for how many people fit your customer descriptions. State what percentage of those people you expect to buy your product.
The objective of this slide is to provide evidence of a substantial customer base for your product or service. It is crucial to remember that investors are primarily concerned about how they can generate a return on their investment. Therefore, if there is an insufficient number of potential customers for your product or service, the revenue potential would be limited. Conversely, if there is a sizable market, the opportunity to generate significant profits becomes substantially higher.
TAM (Total Addressable Market) refers to the total market demand for a product or service.
SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market) represents the portion of TAM that a company can realistically target.
SOM (Served Available Market) is the specific segment of SAM that a company successfully reaches.
Slide 8: Milestones
The inclusion of a milestones slide in a pitch deck is not universally necessary for all companies. This slide serves as a timeline highlighting the achievements and growth your company has experienced. In the case of post-revenue companies, the milestones slide may not be essential. However, for pre-revenue companies, it becomes a valuable component as it demonstrates a clear roadmap for success and showcases progress towards generating revenue in the near future with the support of investment.
I have come across numerous pitch decks where startups, particularly pre-revenue ones, are seeking significant investment amounts, such as $500,000 or even more. In such cases, it is beneficial to utilize the milestones slide to exhibit the progress made thus far, leveraging personal funds, contributions from friends and family, and any previous fundraising efforts. This provides investors with a comprehensive overview of the strides you have already taken and instills confidence in your ability to utilize the forthcoming investment effectively.
Slide 9: FinancialProjections
This slide should show your financial projections in a simplified form. You will show typically in a chart how much money you believe your company can make over the next 3-5 years. Investors will often request financial projections presented in the form of a spreadsheet. It serves as a tool to assess the potential impact of future events or decisions by providing a systematic calculation of the financial outcomes. For a deeper dive into financial modeling Click Here.
Slide 10: Competition
Show who your competitors are. Compare and contrast yourself with your competitors. Competition is inherent in every industry. Claiming that we have no competitors indicates a lack of thorough research and understanding. Investors expect us to have done our due diligence, and if we assert that there are no competitors, they may perceive it as a failure on our part to adequately assess the market landscape.
Slide 11: Team
The team slide serves as an opportunity to provide additional details about your qualifications, experience, and the composition of your team. It may also be appropriate to mention any advisors you have. The primary objective of this slide is to demonstrate that your team possesses the necessary capabilities to ensure the success of your product or service.
You might be curious about why this slide is placed at the end rather than being one of the initial slides in the deck. When starting the presentation, it is common to provide a brief introduction that includes your name, job title, and the names of any other presenters. However, delving into an extensive discussion of your experience should be avoided at the beginning. It is more effective to immediately address the purpose of the meeting, which revolves around the problem your product or service solves.
There is an exception to consider when it comes to incorporating team information at the beginning of the presentation. If you and your team have achieved exceptional past success, such as growing a previous company into a million-dollar enterprise, it may be advantageous to feature this accomplishment early on.
Slide 12: Funding Request and Use of Funds
On this slide state the size and type of investment you are looking for. List how you will spend the money and what it will help you to accomplish.
It is crucial to avoid overvaluing your company, as it can undermine your credibility and deter potential investors. An example of this would be requesting $500,000 in exchange for a mere 5% stake in your company, effectively valuing it at $10 million. Without demonstrating that your company is truly worth that amount or providing evidence of market validation through sales, investors may struggle to perceive you as a credible investment opportunity. It is essential to align your funding request with the current value of your company and the amount of capital required to reach the next significant milestone.
Closing
You may be thinking you want to end your pitch with a thank you slide stating thank you for your time. However, this is not the best way to conclude a pitch. You are not just grateful for the investors’ time you want them to invest. Therefore, it is better to end with a call to action inviting the investor to join your company by investing.
We offer a CLICK HERE TO VIEW pitch deck template that incorporates all the essential slides we have discussed, along with additional elements, to simplify and facilitate the creation of an impactful pitch deck.
Click here for additional resources to assist in helping you to build a successful pitch and make sure you communicate effectively to secure the funding you deserve.
Hope you found this article helpful in preparing for your next pitch. If you need help with constructing these slides listed above and designing your pitch, we would be happy to help. We will walk you through the details of your pitch and write your content for you. Learn more about our pitch deck design services. CLICK HERE TO Schedule a free consultation to learn more about how we help make sure you are prepared for pitch day to raise the funding your company deserves.
Having a wonderful business idea is just the start of the exciting entrepreneurial journey. As you grow you will want to start raising funds for your business in order to help it to grow. In this blog I am going to share with you some tips to help make your business irresistible to investors and get you funded.
Above everything else you want to make sure you are in the right room with investors who have money and are interested in what you are doing. If an investor does not have money how are they going to be able to invest in your idea. If they are not interested in being a part of your industry, they will lack the motivation to want to be a part of your company.
The best way to reach your ideal investor is through a warm introduction from someone they know. As said by John Livesay, “If you can’t figure out a way to get a warm introduction, you probably can’t figure out how to get to your customer either.” Once you receive a warm introduction, follow up immediately by email outlining your business idea and then ask for a meeting. Keep following up until you receive either a yes or no. If you receive a no, ask for feedback, thank the investor and ask, “Who else do you know that I should talk to?” Investors tend to know other investors, and that investor may just be the one to fund your business. You will eventually reach an investor to agree to a meeting if you stay persistent.
Once you get a meeting with an investor, you will want to learn as much as possible about them. Research what deals they’ve done and the size, the deal points they seem to favor (e.g., particular equity or debt arrangement, seats on your board) and so on. If you really want to build rapport with the investors, research what gets them excited outside of work and activities they enjoy. See if there is a connection between the activities, you, or your business. For example if you find out an investor likes rock climbing and you have an app that helps people find and arrange their perfect vacation, you might want to emphasize how the “outdoor travel” segment of your market uses your app to plan trips to places like Yosemite. Research your investors the way you do your customers. Customizing your presentation to appeal to their interests can get you closer to a yes.
Remember the whole purpose of a pitch is to get the “second date”-that is, a follow-up meeting, where your business will be discussed in greater detail. Your goal is to get the investors interested in your business and thirsty to know more.
A great pitch answers two questions
Why you? What makes you and your team uniquely qualified to execute this idea? Investors care to know why you and your team are passionate about this idea.
Why now? Timing is important. For example if so many people did not own smartphones by 2009, Uber would not have worked. Explain the reason why now is the perfect time for your idea.
While these questions are very important it is not enough to get funded.. There are three unspoken questions that need to be answered, not by the data of your presentation, but by the investor’s perceptions of you and your idea.
Unspoken Question 1# “Do I think this will work for me?” This is a head thing. Your startup needs to fit within their current portfolio of companies. They need to know they can bring value beyond just money. As stated earlier, it is important to choose investors who have an interest in your particular industry. Also, if they are invested in another company that could be a competitor they may not invest.
Unspoken Question 2# “Do I like you?” This is a heart thing. When investors invest they are potentially entering into a three-to-five-year (or more) relationship with you and your company. They want to make sure they will like spending time with you. When you can show a connection with your customer’s problems, investors are more inclined to believe in your solution.
Unspoken Question #3. “Do I trust you?” This is a gut thing. During your pitch it is important to be honest and truthful. Investors are taking a huge risk by investing in you, because there are few startups that produce a significant ROI.
To answer all these questions successfully and get to the “second date,” your pitch needs to be a combination of (1) a clear business plan as outlined in your pitch deck, wrapped in (2) a compelling presentation filled with interesting stories instead of dry facts, (3) delivered by you with confidence, passion, clarity-and brevity.
At Slide Navigator, we would love to help you with crafting your pitch deck. We will help make sure your presentation includes all these key elements and design a polished presentation that makes you stand out from the pack and get you funded. You can check out our pitch deck services here. Click here to schedule a free consultation for our pitch deck creation services.
Reference
Robinett, Judy. “Secrets of Creating and Delivering a Compelling Pitch.” Crack the Funding Code: How Investors Think and What They Need to Hear to Fund Your Startup, HaperCollins Leadership, Nashville, TN, 2019, pp. 128–130.
Who would not love an opportunity to pitch their business in front of billionaires. If you do get an opportunity to do so which will be a once in a lifetime opportunity, you want to make sure you do it right. I am a longtime fan of Shark Tank. I have seen people on the show pitching their products and not too long afterwards I am seeing their products in my local stores. From watching the show I have noticed some key characteristics between those who get funded and those who do not. Here are 23 tips that I have seen from the show.
Business is too niche. Investors believe if your market size is too small, you will not have enough customers to buy your product/service.
Too high valuation. Do not fluff your numbers.
Not enough sells. Without sells it is difficult to prove there is a market for your company. Check out the video below to see how the company, Sweepeasy, got a deal with two sharks without any sells. Scoring a deal with one shark is almost impossible with no sells, but Sweepeasy managed to get a deal with two sharks. You definitely want to take some good notes from this one.
Product or service is based on trends. If your product is based on current trends, an investor may think over time your sells will decrease due to changing trends. You want to make sure you create a product/service that will be around for a while. I remember one company on the show who had a lot of sells due to their product going viral on Tik Tok. However, none of the sharks were impressed, and the owners were shocked. The sharks replied to the owners that they think their sales are based on a temporary trend which will eventually die out. As a result, the sharks did not invest.
Product is not good. You will think this is an obvious one. You need to make sure what you created actually works. *cough* Theranos
Being split between your business and another career. If you are not 100% committed to your business neither will an investor. Sharing your story about why you started your company can show you are committed even though you have another job.
High amount of debt in the company. Having a lot of debt in your company is a turn off to investors as their money will more likely have to go towards paying down the debt.
Cannot scale the company. Investors want to invest in companies that have potential to grow and expand.
No clear way for the investor to make a return on their investment. Lacking a clear way for an investor to make money is a sure fire way of receiving a “no.” During your pitch be sure to let the investor know how they will make money.
Making unproven claims about your product. A popular claim made on Shark Tank is claiming their product will make you lose weight. Every time, the sharks reply where is your proof. If you make claims about your product be sure to include proof.
Owner does not listen to corrective criticism. It can be difficult to hear someone criticize your precious idea or product. It is like hearing someone talk bad about your child. However, do not take offense. When you can take corrective criticism, it shows investors you are a good listener and someone who is easy to work with. What they say may be helpful in growing your business.
The profit margin is too low. If the cost to make your product or provide your services is too high, this can be a turn off for investors.
A sudden drop in sales or steady decline in sales. If this is your situation, be sure to have an answer for the reason for the decrease in sales.
Too much competition. If there are too many other companies already providing what you provide, an investor is not likely to invest. Your share of the market will be seen as small. Investors like to invest in unique and inventive companies. In the video below you will see how the company Baobab struggled to communicate how their company will stand out in a competitive market. The sharks gave feedback that you may find helpful for your company.
Go to market strategy is too expensive. Make sure you keep your costs down. If you have a product based business make sure your product is easy to understand so you do not have to spend a lot of money educating clients on using your product.
Not solving a real problem. Whatever your product or service is, it needs to solve a real problem your customer has. Your customers have to see this problem as big enough problem to spend money to solve it.
Investors are not interested in your industry. You may be pitching the next greatest invention, but if the investor is not interested in being a part of your industry they will not invest. It is in your best interest to choose investors who are interested in investing in companies in your industry. Here is a clip from Shark Tank from the company Frozen Farmer. See how this entrepreneur was able to secure a deal even though the sharks were not interested in getting involved in the food industry.
Saying if I get X% of the market I will make X. People will say this is a billion dollar industry and if I just get 10 % of the market, my company will make 100 million dollars. This is probably the most irritating statement to the sharks on Shark Tank.
Owner is indecisive. If you watch the show regularly, I am sure you have seen a shark go out due to the owner taking too long to make a decision to accept their deal. Investors want to work with confident people who are sure of what they want.
The investor is working with your competitor. If the investor has already invested in another company providing similar services/products, they are not likely to invest due to conflict of interest.
Focused on too many products/services. It is great to have multiple ideas of how you want to expand your product line or service, but it can paint a negative picture that you are not focused. It is best to be focused on one main product or service at a time. Once that product/service is doing well then expand.
Barrier to entry is small. Whenever a company comes on Shark Tank with a small barrier to entry, I can just hear Kevin aka. Mr. Wonderful saying, “What will keep them from stomping you like the cockroaches you are.” If you have nothing propriety about your idea then your competitors can easily steal your idea and beat you to market. Patenting your product is a great way to prevent this.
If you need some help with creating your pitch deck, we can help you out. Sign up for a free consultation to see if we will be a good fit for you.
