There is an investor at every company stage. If you are the CEO, it’s your job to find and secure meetings with the right investors for your market, stage, and business model.
Extensive and insightful article on how to find the right investor.
Raising capital for your start-up is a more than selling an equity ownership in your company.
What you are selling is trust & confidence that you’re going to build something of great valuable and that you’re going to be enjoyable to work with over the coming decade of each other’s lives.
Increase your odds of closing a deal by understanding how VC firms make decisions. Great article by entrepreneur-turned-VC Mark Suster.
People’s perception of truth plays a critical role in how seriously they will consider your message and ultimately, in the decision they’ll make about your idea, product or company. What do we know about truth and can we anticipate how the audience will perceive our presentation? It turns out the answer to that question is linked to the concept of beauty.
Beauty is truth
My work always tried to unite the true with the beautiful; but when I had to choose one or the other, I usually chose the beautiful”.
Hermann Weyl
mathematician and philosopher (1885 –1955)
Financial presentations will fail to engage and convince if you make “the numbers” the star of the show – they should be the supporting actor.
This and more advice on how to nail your next financial presentation in this insightful article from Mandel Communications.
You have spent months preparing meticulously for that crucial pitch to investors. The problem you are addressing is huge, your solution super-compelling, your pitch-deck stellar. And yet investors remain skeptical…
What is going on?
No matter how great your idea is, your most formidable obstacle is prospects’ adherence to the status quo. It’s that voice inside people’s heads that goes, We’ve gotten along just fine without it, and we’ll always be fine without it.
How can you help your audience overcome their resistance to change? One effective approach is to focus not so much on the “why” the world needs your idea, but why it needs it NOW. Find your “why now” and add credibility and urgency to your strategic story.
Great insights on successful pitching by strategic storyteller Andy Raskin.
Every startup needs at least one home run, one thing that will capture the audience almost instantly. And that is not necessarily your product. An amazing traction could be your home run. Perhaps your stellar team. Or maybe it is an investor or a board member you were able to recruit to your mission.
Before going to market or raising capital, sit, alone or with your team and ask yourselves “What is our home run?”.
Read the whole article for another great piece of advice.
Getting ready for a board meeting? A strong board deck will contribute much to the success of the meeting.
Using the right slides will help you keep focus and maximise the value you will get out of it. Additionally, assembling the board deck is also a great opportunity for you, the founder, to take a big step back. Some sound advise from Sequoia Capital.
Read more about creating a killer deck.
Think of your investor pitch like a James Bond movie.
Everyone who watches Bond loves the opening sequence, before the titles come on: there is suspense, action, amazing stunts. Those first 5 minutes truly bring home why you love Bond, and that keeps you going through the next 2 hours of nonsensical plot twists.
In the same way, you need to convey the main reasons why an investor should love your business in the first 5 minutes of your presentation. Read here some great advice from the legendary team of Sequoia Capital.
Read more on pitching to investors.
Have you ever left a pitch and wondered what investors really thought about you?
According to a survey, nothing makes investors lose their interest faster than entrepreneurs who cannot clearly explain their business model, financials or metrics (the Financially Challenged).
But there are more aspects that are major turn-offs for investors. Like the inability to communicate effectively (the Ramblers); reacting defensively and being unwilling to accept feedback (the Know-It-Alls), or being too emotional or “salesy” (the Drama Queens). Here are the top 8 things that make investors cringe.
Read more about pitching to investors.
The pitch deck is perhaps the most important powerpoint document you’ll ever create. Do you know how to make a pitch deck that is clear, concise, and impossible to forget? Learn from the pros at Duarte, Inc.
Read more on business presentations.