Looking to get funding for your new business idea or startup? Pitching your concept to investors can be daunting but following these 10 tips can help you craft an effective and persuasive pitch.
Know Your Audience
The most important thing is understanding who you’re pitching to. What type of companies do they typically invest in? What scale and stage are they looking for? Research the background of specific investors you’re meeting with so you can tailor your pitch accordingly.
Solve a Problem
Investors want to fund ideas that solve real problems for customers. Make sure you can clearly articulate the problem your business addresses and why customers urgently need a solution. You can do this using a business case template. Use data to quantify the problem and market opportunity.
Highlight Your Competitive Advantage
You need to stand out from the competition. Demonstrate what makes your product or service unique. Do you use a new technology or have proprietary IP? Does your team have relevant experience and expertise? Communicate your differentiators.
Have a Clear Business Model
Explain how you’ll make money and the economics behind it. Will it be subscription based? An advertising model? What are your projected customer acquisition costs? Break down your pricing strategy. Investors need to understand your financial plan.
Build a Minimal Viable Product
If you don’t have an actual product yet, create a prototype or demo that allows investors to visualize your idea. This could be drawings, product specifications, an explainer video or early software version. MVPs demonstrate you can execute.
Know Your Funding Needs
Have a clear understanding of how much funding you need, how you’ll use the capital and what you plan to achieve with it. Your funding request should be reasonable based on your current stage and growth plans.
Have Strong Financial Projections
Create 3-5 year financial projections showing expected sales, costs, profits and cashflow. Use realistic assumptions and have data to back up your projections. This instills confidence that you understand the financial side.
Highlight Your Team
Investors bet on teams as much as ideas. Introduce your key team members and emphasize why their experience makes them the right people to execute on this business. Demonstrate a balanced skill set.
Define Your Go-to-Market Strategy
Outline how you plan to acquire customers and rapidly scale the business. Do you need a sales team? Distribution partners? Marketing and PR plan? Share your growth strategy and what milestones you aim to achieve.
Practice and Get Feedback
Rehearse your pitch extensively. Time it to fit within your allotted slot. Get feedback from trusted contacts to refine your messaging and flow. Anticipate likely investor questions and concerns. Practice addressing these.
Securing investor funding requires an effective pitch that sells your business vision while also addressing concerns. Know your audience, highlight your competitive edge, have strong financials, showcase your team’s abilities, and clearly map out your go-to-market strategy. With practice and solid preparation, you can deliver a winning pitch that gets investors on board. Do your homework, tell a compelling story, and convey your passion.
