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Advise for startup founders pitching on demo day to investors. Tips about writing your pitch deck, preparation for before and after the pitch and getting your first meeting. The emphasis is getting a meeting, not funding from the 8 minute pitch.
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!Alexander Jarvis - Partner
DTAC Accelerator - 8th August, 2014
• Partner at Jungle Ventures • Invest and support companies across APAC !
• Helped build some big companies: !!!
• Succeeded in learning a lot by failing and being poor: !!!
• Also used to be a banker in another life (where I learnt a lot but definitely wasn’t poor)
Me (Alexander Jarvis)
Stuff you didn't hear about
Follow and connect with me
• @ADJBlog !
!• https://angel.co/alexander-jarvis !
!
!• sg.linkedin.com/in/alexanderdjarvis/
• You can find this presentation here: !
http://www.slideshare.net/AlexanderJarvis/ !
• This is written as both a presentation and reading material
• Do not think this is best practice for your deck! • I talk fast and cover a lot of material to put info
into your brain • You will start dreaming of an IPO and stop paying
attention, I know that, so read it after
Relevant notes
• Objective of ‘Demo Day’ • Your deck • Presentation preparation • During presentation • Preparation for after the pitch • At event • After demo day • Secrets
We are going to cover (fast)
Objective of “DemoDay”
Get the investor to…
But wait, you totally have it twisted
• This is not your pitch, this is to get a meeting • Only need to show investors enough that they
want to meet you to learn more • Do not force a meeting, it doesn't lead anywhere..
Get a meeting, not $
• This means: • Will make $: Big market. Have
a business model (not a business plan) !
• People will buy: Real pain !
• It is useful: Solution is going to solve the pain !
• Able to write cheque: Asking for money for amount they write and category they will cover
Give enough to get investors to meet you
JUST GET THE MEETING, THAT IS IT
Key learning
• It only feels like it is important as it is a milestone !
• If you can say you have already started raising your round it is impressive !
• Some people have closed round before demoday…. !
• This isn’t a big deal so get over it
Demoday is a huge letdown
Your Deck
• Be the star • Focus has to be on you, you don’t want them staring
at screen • Investors invest in YOU not the deck
• Keep it simple • Do not have multiple bullets per slide, have a header
and a picture • If people are reading you are failing
Slides support the story… YOU are telling
• You could do the presentation without a deck (but better to have one)!
• What - We are uber for carrots (Put company in a box)
• Vision - We have a big vision to revolutionalise carrots by x
• Problem - Vegetarians have a huge problem with carrots. I couldn't make my son eat them
• Solution - We have listened to the people and made a unique app to make them love carrots. Our tie up with the national grocers creates barrier to entry
Key parts (1 of 2)
• Market size - There are 230m vegetarians in our 4 targeted markets that spend lots of cash. Our focus is on 5% of these
• Team - We are the best possible team for the job because we have done it before etc
• Traction - What this team has executed so far, key milestones (We get things done)
• Product/tech - Our product is beautiful and it works, have a try! (Quality UI/X matters now)
• The ask - We want $521k to get to these milestones when we will raise S-A in 13 months. We want investors who have regional expertise and focused on healthcare
Key parts (2 of 2)
• For market size I want stats, and referenced (other wise, yawn)
• These must actually make sense. If they are BS you lose credibility
• Put a footnote of where the support for market size numbers come from • Many VCs were bankers and this is an inside credibility
thing only bankers get • I don’t trust you, and whilst I don’t trust Euromonitor, I
trust them more. The fact you found them also says something positive
Market size means stats and reference
Source: Some really important company, year
This is a source
• Almost no one goes viral and it is simply bloody luck
• How you ‘scale’ is absolutely key • Even if it is through boring ways, that’s better than
saying something dumb like a make a viral video • Read my presentation on this topic
• http://www.slideshare.net/AlexanderJarvis/growth-hacking-conference-presentation-how-to-get-creative-with-marketing-when-paid-channels-are-too-expensive-or-customers-arent-looking-for-you
How you will grow matters, do not say viral
• You are not 12 • Keep it simple
NO transitions and animations
Presentation preparation
• Jobs was great because he made it look simple, but was obsessive about rehearsing • Compare Apple to Microsoft…
• Get a camera and record yourself (everyone selfies these days anyway) • I am not joking. Get your camera
and a friend to do this now • Get people who don’t like you to
review your performance • Better now than later
Practice till perfect
• Have a backup on USB • Have printouts
• These can potentially be more detailed and ideally unique and engaging
• Bring your own laptop and ensure you have connectors for AVG and HDMI
• Someone else on the team as an understudy • If the speaker gets ill, someone
else has to step up
Be prepared for the fact things go wrong
• I like and hate stories, many go too far and don’t get to the point
• Stories help investors relate • Stories help people relate to real issues they have and your
solution, or to problems they don’t have but ideally lots of people do
• You want to spark an emotional connection to what you are doing so people relate to the size of the problem
• Keep to the point! Make it a short story • These can work if the stories are light AND apply to your
business model • Sometimes they are bedtime stories and put me to sleep
• A good ~story is “My dad was using this software for work and use to swear how much he hated it. Lot’s of other people hated it too, so one day I fixed it”
Be careful with ‘stories’
• I care about product and results • Show me product, demo it or screenshot • It shows you actually build stuff even if it sucks
• Put yourself in a box, because I will and its faster if you do it first • Once I get what you are doing I can spend time
listening, so you being ‘uber for carrots’ helps • State your enemy, who are you going to make
angry (Do not say you don’t have competition) • Nothing is new under the sun, everyone has
competition • Who is your goliath and why are you going to slay
them?
Other tips: results, box, enemy!
During Presentation
• Relax and be confident • Smile! • Have energy and passion • Look respectful, but don’t wear a suit
(i’m not) • Know what you are saying, don’t have
notes • It is better to be talked about than not
at all, so be bold and take (moderate) risks
• Have a sense of humor, particularly when things go wrong • Roll with the punches. You get respect
for dealing with adversity well
Be the kind of person girls like to talk to
• Nothing is personal, have think skin • Never get annoyed at questions. Everything is a data
point • This is a game. You need to ‘pick up a girl at a bar’
• The stage is your first impression, your ‘entrance’ • This is also a numbers game. If she says no you find
another • Ask for what you want
• If you want money ask for it • You don’t get what you don’t ask for
• Dont talk her to death! Keep to your [6] minutes • Give a next step
• “Meet us outside. We are wearing pink t-shirts”
Be the kind of guy that is actually successful
• Speak English - I need to understand! • Better to have non-ceo speak if English is
bad • Start by specifically saying what you do
• I have given ‘feedback’ that “I have no idea what it is that you do after your whole pitch!”
• Keep to the point and be succinct • You do not need to give details • High level, leave ‘em wanting more
• Don’t run out of time, you don’t need all the time you think you need • Running over time means you are
unprepared • Don’t write essays on slides, just
headline and picture
How to not fail (Hygene factors)
Preparation for after the pitch
• Have business cards • Hustle and get a group discount together! • No excuse. Can get the next day • Don’t buy fancy ones, don’t get cheap
crap ones • Keep simple (I use evernote to photo them
with OCR) • Get the attendee list before the event
• Ask for the list • Know who you are pitching to. Research
what they invest in- not everyone is interested. Why are they your ideal investor?
• Make a check list to prioritise who you want to talk
Get business cards and the attendance list
• Know what your objective is and be clear about where you are • Do you want to raise money? How much and
when? You will be asked so you need a clear answer
• If you don’t need money do you want intros or advise? Who specifically? What advise on what?
• Do you know your key milestones? If you are live do you know your numbers
• Be ready 2 days before the event • Sleep the night before well and work out so you
have energy • You will fail if you are tired and not passionate • This is more important than messing with slides • Day before should be spent working not
preparing pitching, you are still building and traction matters more than powerpoint
Know thy self and be ready 2 days before
At Event
• You only have limited time, people leave • Spend enough time to build a ‘friend’. Contacts are
people in linkedin. A friend will actually reply to your email and help
• Leave them wanting more • Try get a definite ‘next step’ • Do not spend too much time, that you miss other
people • Bring your whole team
• Everyone has cards, everyone’s job is to raise money • The more people you have creating ops the more ops
you have • Your geeky dev needs to suck it up and contribute
Divide and conquer
• Be the energizer bunny • Passion sells. If you aren’t excited
no one else will be. Your energy can be infectious
• Work the room don’t be a wallflower • This is awesome opportunity to
meet people, so don’t miss out • Meet everyone, you know them
now. That will help you get to meet other people
Be a social butterfly
• Check off who you talk to • When you talk to the investor knowledge is power
• Have something I want to talk about, like my portfolio companies
• Ask for one of my portfolio companies to talk to (again more network building)
• Try give value before you take it. Pay it forward. People don’t do that enough and you will be notable
• Make notes of the discussion • Write on the back of the card
• Date met • Key takeaway
Use your checklist and your research
• Smile and shake hand (firmly) • Put index finger on their pulse
• Get their name and use it 3 times • People love their own name, so “Say my
name, say my name..” • Make friends not contacts • Exchange cards
• Get email if they don’t have (or ran out of cards)
• Ask if ok to add them to your update list • to periodically send updates on your
traction • Ask if this is something they can or
would invest in • If not why (Do NOT be defensive)
Key things to do when meeting people
No suit though
After demo day
• Follow up before the sun sets • Read how to win friends and influence
people • Send a simple email with your deck
referencing your chat. No essay! • Can use a dropbox link to aid download
speed • Use evernote for business cards, photo
and dispose (auto add to linkedin) • http://blog.evernote.com/blog/2014/05/07/
evernote-linkedin-perfect-business-card/ • Get feedback, if no, get a meeting if
you didn’t already • Follow up… nicely. People are busy
Use your contacts!
Secrets
• VCs are more interested in the person sitting next to them than you • They like to talk to each other and have fun • You are NOT important until you are • If you don’t get attention you lose it
• Will not pay attention if your hygiene factors are fails
• Personality sells more than anything else, particularly if everyone else sucks • I gave a prize to someone because he was
funny and his idea was crazy big • Also, we didn’t like everyone else… • He made the whole audience laugh so
much everyone loved him. Popularity matters
Get attention, investors don’t care about you
Investors on phones
• I will look for you if you are good • You only look for me if I am not interested
• If you look for me and are eager for feedback I am more interested • Genuine interest in learning is hallmark of great founder • Ask real questions to learn to get better and will get
feedback • Do not take things personally
• What gets people excited? 1. Traction, exponentially rising metrics 2. Revenue 3. Product awesomeness 4. Technology – unique and defensible 5. Design excellence
Get excitement and interest up
• Make contacts, don’t ignore those who say no (now) • Your network makes the world go round. Make friends with
everyone… be cool • Don’t waste time with people that clearly aren’t interested
• Some people wont be interested for many reasons • Be polite and move on
• I don’t want to get into the details now • If you meet me just give me the key points and get a meeting if I
am interested • Lots of people are talking and I am not going to remember
everything • You also need to spend your time working the room to get more
meetings and feedback • If you say “I know it’s crazy now and it’s not the best time to get
into details”, I will have more respect for you, you seem to ‘get it’
Make friends, network , act like you are in the know
• We don’t know who you are • We have done no research • There are only ever 1-3
extroverts that will ask questions in the audience
• Often people ask questions because no one else will and we want to make you feel good • If no one asks you are either
very good or irrelevant, normally it is the latter
VCs do not prepare for events
Remember this is hard, go to war!