Getting funded sometimes seems like a career itself (and indeed it is a big part of the CEO’s responsibilities). In order to succeed, need to understand both the rules of the game and the equipment – without these you may squander some of your most valuable resources - time and relationships. Two keys communication tools are the Executive Summary and the PowerPoint Presentation (Pitch Deck). This forum will help you understand how these tools are used to generate a face-to-face meeting, make a persuasive and memorable presentation, and then follow through with the details needed for investors to begin their due diligence process.
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1. Hall & CompanyTHANKYou to our SponsorsSPONSO Thank YOU
TO OUR
2. SELLING YOUR STORYTom Miller, Persuasive Business Plans J.J.
Richa, Trenchant Ventures, LLC
3. STORY is KEY
4. In preparing forbattle I have alwaysfound that plans are
useless, but planning is indispensable
5. Think it Through!
6. CAN YOU MAKE, MARKET, AND SELL? WILLPEOPLEBUY IT? CAN YOU
DEVELOP IT?
7. YOUR SALES TOOLKIT And Financial Model
8. BEGIN WITH THE PROBLEM 05Can you ever have enough storage on
yourdigital media or can they ever be fast enough?
9. BETTER, CHEAPER, FASTER 10Our patented blue laser diodes can
dramaticallyincrease capacity and decrease transfer speeds.
10. MARKET SIZE & REVENUE MODEL 19The market for these
components in optical storage and communication exceeds $4.0
billion per year. Well tap into this market through licensing,
distributors, and direct sales.
11. THE TEAM IS CRITICAL 24Our team has profitably produced red
diodes for the past 5 years.
12. WHAT DO YOU NEED? 34To date, weve raised $6 million at a
$24 millionvaluation. Blue Light is seeking $5 million to finishour
R & D and ramp up sales and marketing efforts.
13. PowerPoint is the Illustrations
14. 12 slides is all you need1. Cover Page 7. Customers/Revenue
Introduction Model2. Overview 8. Go to Market3. Problem 9.
Competition4. Market 10. Financials5. Team 11. Milestones6.
Technology 12. Summary Solution
15. Company NameBrief Business Description / Tag Line Presenter
Name and Contact Info Good Example: Autonomy Dominates Enterprise
Search
16. Overview Who are you? What is your role at the company? Why
are you here? (i.e. how much you are raising?) How long have you
been in business? How much have you raised and from whom? What are
some major milestone reached so far? An investor wants to know why
he/she should belistening to you. This is a good place to summarize
the status of your company
17. The Problem What is the problem you are solving? Describe
the pain points you are addressing Quantify the pain and how deep
it is Why does the problem exist? Why has no one solved this
before? What barriers exist? Why are you addressing them? What
advantages do you have in solving this problem?You want an investor
to understand that your company issolving a problem that really
exists and that you have the qualifications to solve it
18. Market Size How big is the problem you are solving? Can you
quantify it? Use a Bottoms up approach Are there any
references?Investors want to know that this is a good
opportunitythat they can build a big business around. You need to
show that the market is significant enough.
19. Team List key team members and brief history Highlight
former work together and the length of the professional
relationships Highlight former startups or corporate experience
Emphasize successes and/or relationships obtained that can be
leveraged as potential customers, advisors, or future acquirers.
Especially highlight experience in venture backed companies with
successful sale/IPO Are there any gaps in your team that this
funding will help to fill? Indicate total amount of FTEs In this
slide, you want to show why you are relevant.Link the teams
skills/experience to the problem you aresolving. No need to go too
deep except to answer above points plus any name-brand affiliations
that addcredibility. Add Board Members and existing investors to
add credibility and references.
20. Technology/Solution What stage are you at? Pictures of your
product / technology in action Screen shots of your software (if
applicable) Infrastructure before/after your technology is
implemented Visual/chart on how your technology works Say what your
primary product does (e.g. XYZ will enable virtual environments to
be used for project sharing across different countries.) Say how
this is an improvement (e.g. This will allow for an average time
savings of 30 minutes/day for every FTE.) You willtechnology
defensible? what your solution does Is your want to focus more on
vs. how it does it. Talk about the benefits - not justfeatures, and
dont go too deep on technical details unless the investor shows a
real interest or asks.
21. Customers/Revenue Model Who are your customers? Define
verticals Identify existing clients What is your pricing model?
What is the LTV of your customers? How profitable are these
customers?Investors want to know who is buying your product andwhy.
They also want to understand the economics of the customer and how
much they are worth. Investors are interested in companies who have
momentum.
22. Go to Market How will you reach your customers in an
economical way? What is your distribution strategy? What channels
will you use? Are there key partnerships you have locked up? How
are you planning to build momentum?No investor likes to spend money
going to market the old- fashioned way (paying for awareness and a
large direct sales force) What resources/partnerships can you use
to get there faster/cheaper??
23. Competition Who are your main competitors? How are they
currently addressing the problem you are solving? In which key ways
is your product superior? Where are your competitors in the
development stage? (behind you in development or major established
market players?) What direction are they moving with their
technology? What IP protection do you have?An investor wants to
know that you know the space very well,they are depending on you to
be the expert. You need to be up and to the far right (referring to
X/Y graph)!
24. Financials Provide financial information for current year
and previous year Provide 5 year forward looking projections
Provide top line revenues, costs, and margin figures Summarize
again how you plan to execute on this planAn investor wants to know
that you understand howmuch cash is required to break-even and that
this is agood business that they will be able to make money through
their investment.
25. Milestones What stage are you at? How much have you raised
to date? Who have you raised from? What have you accomplished with
the funding raised so far? How much are you looking for now? What
milestones will you achieve with the funding you are looking for?
How long will those funds last (24 months, to profitability,
etc.)An investor wants to know you are scrappy and that youhave
skin in the game. They also wants to know whether or not there will
be additional rounds of financing.
26. Summary This is the highlight of the story you are
telling... What you are doing What problem you are solving Why it
is such a big problem Why your solution is the best solution Why
your team will be the one to succeed Why this investor is the right
one for youRecap the key elements of your presentation that
wouldlead the investor to believe this is a great opportunity to
invest in and to bring you back for a second meeting. Dont be
afraid to ask for the next meeting.
27. Appendix Detailed Financials Detailed competitive landscape
Detailed value/customer, cost/customer Technology/IPIn case
investors have more in depth questions, you should have extra
information available in the appendix section
28. Presentation Delivery Know your deck own your deck Be
flexible know where your slides are Dont read the bullet points
have a conversation Use visuals / logos /graphics Preparation: Do
your homework and know your audience Ask questions (e.g. any
competing deals they are looking at?) Take notes No more than two
of you should present Practice, practice, practice and let your
enthusiasm and passion show!
29. Sample Presentations by VCs Baris Karadogan-
http://baris.typepad.com/venture_capitalist/200
6/11/pitching_to_vcs.html Marc Friend
http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=dxhqvmk
_18dh32shgz&skipauth=true Dave McClure -
http://500hats.typepad.com/500blogs/2009/03/
how-to-pitch-a-vc-aka-startup-viagra-how-to-
give-a-vc-a-hardon.html
30. In preparing forbattle I have alwaysfound that plans are
useless, but planning is indispensable
31. And Financial Model
32. External FactorsProduct / Service Implementation
ResourcesOffer
33. And Financial Model Income Statement Balance SheetStatement
of Cash Flows