How to land successful investment funding
How can you work to land a successful investment?
The short answer: start with a great pitch deck. The pitch deck is arguably the most important single document you will generate in the life of your company. It is the opening the hook by which you will (or will not) capture the attention and imagination of a potential investor, therefore, your pitch should not be boring, should be branded and pleasing to the eye and get to the point.
Pitch decks need to be refined to optimize for the immediate audience to whom the deck is being presented. There are some basic guidelines, and elements that can help you prepare a pitch deck that will capture the right attention from your investors.
Key Elements of a Perfect Investor Pitch
1. High-level summary slides
These are one or two opening, preliminary slides that highlight your business. These slides capture the your story.
2. The problem you’re solving
These can be a couple of perfunctory slides or three, four or more educational slides, depending on your audience’s sophistication. Convey the nature of the market opportunity you address with your business or product by highlighting the problem(s). Scope out the size of the market opportunity. Make it clear market participants are spending real dollars for imperfect products/services that do not adequately address their needs.
3. Your product
Having set up the problems faced by your customers, the next few slides are all about YOU. First and foremost, describe your solution, at a high level, for the unmet market demands described in the preceding slides. Drill in on how your products are differentiated. Convince your audience you have a better “mouse trap.” You want to make sure these slides leave no holes in your story or questions unanswered.
4. Marketing strategy
After wowing your audience with your product and and business model, articulate a go-to market strategy. The scope of these slides is dependent on your stage of development but clearly demonstrate you have thought about how to roll out your product and how to capture market share.
5. Your team
Investors are investing in your team, your passion and your dedication. Introduce your team in a few slides. Highlight your team’s strengths, make it clear they are committed to building something big and that they will be great to work with.
6. Financial projections
Unless you are a later-stage company, the numbers in your projections typically don’t matter. Nonetheless, putting together a set of thoughtful projections on both the revenue and cost sides enhances your credibility with potential investors.
In these slides you should, demonstrate an appreciation of the capital you are raising and how you intend to deploy it to meet milestones that will be critical for future fundraising. While your audience may feel projections are premature in assessing the business, they will appreciate that you understand financial metrics and how to operate a business.
7. Tone
When pulling together your presentation, consider the tone you want to convey. Nothing is more important in determining the right tone for your audience. Be creative. Avoid a dry, mind-numbing presentation. Always gauge your audience and play to them. At the end of the day, content is king when it comes to a deck. Layer in creativity with great content, show some personality and you will have a winning combination.
Pitch Slide Decks & Books
We provide branded pitch slide decks that tell your story and keep your audience captivated to land successful investment. A solid pitch deck is probably the single most important document your company will need in the life of a company. It is the hook to capture the attention and imagination of your potential investors. We also recommend Pitch Books as a memorable way to leave a lasting profession.
