#5 Tips to Keep in Mind for the Perfect Pitch to Investors Entrepreneurs need to understand the worth of the time given by investors
By Agamoni Ghosh •
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Raising funds is a crucial part of every entrepreneur's journey, and for investors to believe in them an efficient business proposal is necessary. While some entrepreneurs may be lucky to have an hour or more to discuss their ideas with a potential investor, most get less than five minutes.
It's not everyday that you meet a VC or an angel investor, as they can be really tough to get an appointment with. So value that time and make the best use of it by taking into account some of these key tips given below:
Weigh your Time
Asses the time you have been given by the investor, or client and design the pitch accordingly. If an investor has given you half hour, make sure you have 20 minutes worth of solid content on your file else. Investors are bound to ask questions so make sure you know what you put in the presentation, so you can answer any doubts about it.
In pitch meets and competitions where time is as low as 3 minutes, prepare your pitch keeping in mind the time constraint. Focus on the core message you want to give, and don't beat around the bush by being verbose.
Focus on the Product
Most of the time given to the presenter is lost in giving bogus and ling intorductions. This should be done away with to fous more on what the coe product is and why you think it has the potential to do well.
"When you have as little as 3 or 5 minutes of time in many pitch competitions that we see, focus on what you are selling. Emphasise on what the unit economics of the business model is and more such core areas," said Mayuresh Raut, Managing Partner for SEA Fund.
The Perfect Font Size
If you ar egiven the chance to give a visual presentation, its important to get the font size right depending on how many people you are addressing and what is the size of the screen you project on.
"Cramming up too much information on one slide is a bad idea," says Rajat Agarwalof Matrix Venture Partners."You should have big bold fonts but just right for the person assessing to grab the key points easily," he added.
Work on Your Delivery
Communication is the key to make or break your pitch. In case you are not confident of your delivery work on it, or let a co-founder take over who may be able to explain the presentation in a better manner. This is more important when you do not have a PPT or PDF file to assist you.
Sometimes even average ideas resonate with investors if a great communication link is established while presenting a pitch, and more than often promising innovations may be brushed under the carpet due to lack of efficient communication.
Keep it Simple
While communication is key when presenting a pitch, one should not go overboard to compliucate their pitch. The investor you meet may not have a background on the product or service you are pitching, so its important to break it down to the simplest level for them. Avoid using jargon that you are not confident with, as you may be trapped by them later when questioned by investors. A simple, focused pitch with a clear buiness focus always resonates with investors.
The first meet with an invetstor is less likely to get you the money immediately, unless ofcourse you are in a Shark Tank scenario. So save the complucations and details for later, but attempt to secure that second meet with the investor, even if it is after re-working and improving your idea.
