Five must-read articles for pitching VCs

Bambi Francisco Roizen · December 29, 2010 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/1554

Write a killer deck; perfect your elevator pitch; avoid common mistakes; talk to 'enough' customers

Among the popular articles written by VatorNews contributors are those about pitching VCs and writing the perfect pitch deck. Here are five articles that we hope will help you articulate your ideas in 2011.

1) How to write a killer deck and get funded - by Immad Akhund

The key preparation material that most people create for pitching potential investors is a presentation deck. This is normally a PowerPoint/Keynote presentation that highlights key parts of your pitch and something you talk along-side when pitching. To help you write your deck I have complied the most common advice I give to most start ups.

The two most important aspects of pitching are: 1) being confident and 2) conveying a consistent powerful story.

Go to the article to read the rest of the story.

2) How to write an elevator pitch by Adam Hoeksema

I am constantly pounding in the importance of your executive summary, but something that may be even more powerful for your business is your elevator pitch. An elevator pitch is just what it sounds like, if you stepped on to an elevator with a potential investor and new that you had seven floors before he got off, what would you tell him about your business?

These “elevator opportunities” happen everyday when someone asks, “So what do you do?” Obviously not every person you speak with is a potential investor, so you might tweak your pitch a little bit.

But ultimately you need 200 to 300 words that you can recite on command when the opportunity presents itself. Here are a few guidelines as you create your elevator pitch: 1) The grab 2) Big problem 3) Unique solution 4) Vision 5) Request

Go to the article to read the rest.

3) The VC Pitch - How to do it right by Steve Blank

Entrepreneurs hear that VC pitches ought to be short - 10 to 20 slides.  What most don’t know is that there is no way they can deliver a presentation that short by just “writing” the slide deck.  Most of the advice founders get about Venture Capital slide decks are from the recipients of the presentations – the VC’s – letting you know how they want to see the final deck. And most of their recommendations are essentially “show us your business plan in PowerPoint.” Few VC’s have experienced the process a founder uses to get their idea into 10-slides. And none of them tell you how.

If you find yourself trying to shoehorn your 35-slide presentation into a “VC-ready” format, you don’t know enough yet. And you won’t know any more by sitting in your office surfing the Web and writing more slides. Get out of the building and talk to potential users and customers. The irony is the more you know, the easier it is to make your presentation short and concise.

Go to the article to read the rest.

4) How to get funding from VCs and angels - by Don Dodge

Once you have learned everything about how to put together a great pitch, business plan, and understand how much you need, the next step is getting a meeting with an investor. The best way to get the first meeting is to get referred by someone the VC knows. Someone like a former entrepreneur, board member, another VC, one of your advisors, etc. The chances of a first-time entrepreneur getting a meeting without an introduction from a trusted advisor are very small.

Go to the article to read the rest

Top 30 business plan mistakes - by Adam Hoeksema

Raising capital is hard enough as it is. Don't make it even harder by committing any of these common business plan mistakes.

Go to the article to read the list!

(Image sources: assistantsindia.com, ec.mashable.com, journey2where.com, under30CEO.com)

Image Description

Bambi Francisco Roizen

Founder and CEO of Vator, a media and research firm for entrepreneurs and investors; Managing Director of Vator Health Fund; Co-Founder of Invent Health; Author and award-winning journalist.

All author posts

Support VatorNews by Donating

Read more from our "Lessons and advice" series

More episodes

Related Companies, Investors, and Entrepreneurs

6593

Don Dodge

Joined Vator on

46335

Steve Blank

Joined Vator on

51331

Adam Hoeksema

Joined Vator on

52097

Immad Akhund

Joined Vator on