As you start lining up meetings to get the funding your startup needs, you’re no doubt stressing about the day of the pitch. Bill Gurley from Benchmark says “Venture capital is not even a home-run business. It’s a grand-slam business.”
So, is your pitch a grand-slam, and is your pitch deck setting you up for success?
We broke down hundreds of successful VC pitches, and combined them to create the best pitch deck template for getting started. Here’s what it entails, and how to access it:
When it comes to investors, Venture Capitalists (“VCs”), are some of the most savvy out there. This group of highly educated investors looks for top-tier companies to invest their money into, typically reaping a handsome reward at some point during the investment; moreover, they’re willing to wait for the payoff.
The business of venture investing has seen a 42% increase in capital raised, thus it is imperative for many of you to get this part down. See Medium.
VC’s can get involved at many different stages (e.g., seed rounds, series A, B, or C). Firms like the renowned Kleiner Perkins look for specific types of deals, at all ends of the spectrum, but they lean toward investing in “unicorns,” or companies that have successfully disrupted a market and have a clear path toward a Return On Investment, or ROI.
However, Kleiner Perkins is no longer the only game in town. Knowing this data, executives can start to develop their pitches for the appropriate audiences. How does one prepare for a number of different VC audiences? Ideally, they would prepare a few different pitches, but most can successfully pitch by finding a middle ground, and going from there.
So, what’s in a middle-of-the-road-pitch/PowerPoint Deck? Here’s a general run down:
- Cover Page – you’ll need to catch their attention from the onset. Boldly display your branding;
- Elevator Pitch – two sentences that describe your business model completely;
- About Us – a short, concise explanation of who your company is;
- Vision – what is your vision for the brand and the company;
- Mission Statement – a paragraph detailing your mission for the company;
- Milestones – explain, in short blurbs, your key milestones;
- Company Structure – Describe your teams, and how they fit within the company;
- Timeline – detail your time-to-market. How long will it take to get your product into the hands of consumers, reach profitability, expand, and go public?
- Customers’ Pain – what does the customer want, that they’re not getting?
- Problem – explain the problem the customer, or the market, has;
- Solution – give the customer a solution to the problem;
- Conversion – how does the sales process convert viewers, or visitors, into customers;
- Market Size – how large is the market for your product or service;
- Market Growth – how fast will the market grow, and is it sustainable;
- Product or Service – layout your product or service in short, concise blurbs;
- Revenue Model – how does your revenue model work?
- Competition – who are your major competitors? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
- Product Pricing Model – layout your pricing in short concise boxes or circles;
- Team – who is on your team? List each member of executive management, include their highlights;
- Metrics – list key metrics for sales and internal operations;
- Use of Proceeds – what do you plan to use the money for? Give 4-5 key points;
- Financials – a short and concise P&L; and
- How to Contact You – be sure to list all communication preferences, phone, email, etc.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when preparing for a pitch, so we created this free Investor Pitch Deck Template to get you started:
{{cta(‘8c474acd-2daf-41bb-ad0a-71abbb555597′,’justifycenter’)}}