Written By: Kelly Bryant
I’ve had the privilege of helping over a dozen tech entrepreneurs across numerous industries with different backgrounds navigate the fundraising process and they all have something in common.
They overcomplicate their pitch.
Entrepreneurs are brilliant. Most are incredibly passionate and knowledgeable about their product and industry. However, when you only have an hour to tell someone why you’re the next Mark Zuckerberg, you have to be strategic in your messaging.
Here’s my top 3 ways to improve your pitch:
1) Keep it simple
When working with clients, we find role playing to be an effective form of learning. During this process, I’m often asked to ‘play’ the role of entrepreneur and pitch a deck back to a room full of ‘investors’. The purpose of this exercise is to showcase that sometimes acting as if you know less about your industry than you actually do, is the key to keeping your story short and sweet.
2) Give big picture answers
If a VC is interested, they’ll be asking questions. When responding, it’s easy to go down a rabbit hole and start digging into unnecessary details about irrelevant aspects of your company. Always tie the answers to their questions back to, “this is a billion dollar idea” and “I’m the right person to bring it to life.”
3) Be a jockey worth betting on
During your seed and A-round fundraising, VC’s are investing in entrepreneurs, not ideas. They need to believe that you have the ability to inspire, motivate and show resilience. Get out of your own way and don’t be afraid to highlight your strengths. While the horse is important, it’s the jockey who wins this race.
Happy pitching!