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Funding your startup? This is how you convince an investor.

Fred Wilson, a seasoned investor says "You can explain your startup in mind numbing detail or you can inspire an investor and let them imagine. Guess what works better?"

Think about your startup.

Think about your product as well.

Now, think about the range of startups that co-exist with you in the market. Scary, right?

With an overall increase of entrepreneurs, it has become as challenging as ever to bag investments for your dream startup. A simple elaboration of your product fit in the market does not get the job done. While preparing a successful pitch deck you need to create a shift of questions. Rather than answering “What is your product?” try to answer “Why your product?’ Rather than thinking of your product as your child, critique yourself as to why should someone invest in you? A pitch deck that successfully and convincingly answers all these questions will definitely get you 10 steps ahead of your peers!

A compelling pitch is what most startups struggle with these days. Whenever I mentor startups to get them funded the crucial question is “How do I create a pitch that gets my investors invested?” Well, the answer can be quite simple if you believe in your startup, practice the narrative for the pitch and follow the steps below!

  1. An Attractive story: What is your inspiration? Why did you make the product? What is your aim? An investor is always looking for stories to live. By investing in your product, they become a part of your product’s narrative. Bringing an investor on board is more or less like co-parenting. So, deliver a story the investor can connect with. Best pitches oscillate between problems and solutions. Convince your investors as to why your product is the perfect solution to an existing problem through your story.
  2. Experience = Quality: A necessary step that entrepreneurs often overlook is the guidance of someone experienced. There’s a journey you need to travel with your business mentor before you succeed. It’s the journey of turning your business model into a product pitch that fetches you funds. Being under mentorship helps you create a pitch deck that works on different levels. It allows overlooking the product as the creator, the investor and as the customer. Don’t be afraid to reach out to business mentors.
  3. Simplicity for the win: It is unlikely that your investor would like to sit through a complex wordy presentation. Keep it breezy. Focus on facts and goals. Elaborate on what grounds your product functions and how it helps the target audience. Focus on data and use numbers to increase your product’s market appeal. Target the selling aspect of your product and why would it do well in the market. Use your numbers and convince them how you can make it big in the game!
  4. Play your cards: What makes you stand out? It could be your efficiency, your concept, your marketing or maybe your team. Play to your strengths. Sell out the points that differentiate you from your competitors. Point out the benefits that your investors achieve due to your unique idea. Make the investors feel advantageous by your product’s exclusivity. Compel them to fund you regardless of millions of entrepreneurs existing. Because like us, who does not like being at benefit?
  5. What’s the money situation? A good pitch clearly elaborates the usage of the investor’s money. Providing your financier’s with thorough monetary plans builds clarity as well as trust. Lay out financial figures in your pitch deck. Explain the pricing of your product, how you plan on using the invested money and what you expect from the market in return. Create a graphical representation of expected future earnings and the product supply. Remember, the more trustworthy you seem, the higher your chances to bag funds become.
  6. Execution to Exit! Have a team on board that can win and sustain. With the right team that is lean and strong you know how to play smart and can think, strategize and execute plans for the long run. An investor will easily see how you will not just go from point A to B but cover the entire lifecycle and keep scoring the winning points needed to grow or exit.

Is mentorship necessary to build my pitch deck?

“You know the start, You aspire for the destination. But fear the obstacles of the journey.” 

Being a novice in business, filled with ideas, can be exciting but also very challenging. An important yet often forgotten decision for an entrepreneur is to consult a professional business mentor. Imagine starting a company with someone who has already worked in the business for so long. Sounds promising, right? Because it is!

A mentor with experience can make your journey less daunting and more exciting. Mentoring can make you understand the competition and create strategies that return maximum profits. Finding yourself the right mentor can be one of the best initial steps you can take as an entrepreneur. Being under a supportive mentorship helps in making better choices leading to early successes and also assists in step by step research.

Will a mentor vouch for my success?

As a starter in business, tons of questions race through your mind. Some of the biggest being “Can I do this?” or “What if I lose a lot of money?” Well, the answer lies in your approach. I have been a business mentor for the past 3 years and have assisted various entrepreneurs in different industries. A key point that you need to know is your market and the competition you will face.
Think about what shapes you as a starter. As a mentor, I have always believed in living my client’s story. My mentoring sessions thus begin by understanding the ins and outs of my client’s product and their motivation to build it. This plays a major role in our success. 

Aim, Work, Achieve!

All ready to ace with your pace? Start strategizing!
Strategy is the path to your entrepreneurial success. Your pitch deck should break down your idea into details ranging from ideation to marketing, logistics, costing, everything.

As a business mentor, I advise new and seasoned entrepreneurs to create plans that tackle every aspect of the business model;

  • Have a superior vision and value proposition 
  • Step by step market research for the win!
  • What’s wrong with multiple business models? 
  • Try pivotal approaches for bootstrapping funds
  • Use design and creative skills for that professional looking pitch
  • Emphasize post- making as much as the making process

Over the years, these pointers have helped my mentees bag investors and kickstart their careers with great efficiency.

Practice the art of pitching. Learn story-telling!

In my career of mentoring, I have witnessed a lot of entrepreneurs not knowing how to make the final pitch. After you get all your slides done now is the time to make the pitch. You need to get the narrative right so you leave less room for unnecessary investor queries. You need to know how long or short the pitch should be, which slides to elaborate and which ones should tell the story on its own. As a mentor this is the one aspect I work with all entrepreneurs in detail. I rehearse a pitch over and over again and make sure you eat, breath, sleep your business and the pitch deck.

Finally - a pitch deck in 3, 10 and 15 mins!

You are all ready with your business model. You feel confident about your presentation deck. But there’s something that entrepreneurs often forget. 
Cut, Trim, Shorten!

While working with many of my clients, I have advised them to think from the investors POV. Take a step forward that others do not think of. Look from a fresher perspective and try to be as non-redundant as possible. Cut down unnecessary information. Double-check the quality of the product before the presentation. Improve what you think can be improved. 

And finally create 2–3 versions of the deck to present based on the time allotted for you.

A case study for everyone

During my career, I have been able to help various startups with my business acumen. Working closely with a mentor allowed them to create a professional pitch deck backed with strong finances and networking strategies. Letting my clients understand the importance of post-making helped them build a business model that promoted growth, expansion and sustainability in the long run. Remember, the slightest details matter. These can range from color grading to font sizes to good content writing. If you want big numbers in return, leave no stone unturned.

You can read my latest PITCH DECK CASE STUDY to find out how I can guide you to build a winning business deck and get funded. 

“What I think the mentor gets is the great satisfaction of helping somebody along, helping somebody take advantage of an opportunity that maybe he or she did not have.”

 

 

“An entrepreneur is someone who has a vision for something and a want to create. Chase the vision, not the money, the money will end up following you.”