Pitching Your Business Idea To Investors

Eager to learn how to effectively present your business idea to potential investors and achieve success? Scroll no more. We have compiled a list of all the key elements your business presentation must have.

Beginning Your Business Presentation

When it comes to making a business presentation for Series A funding, the obvious truth is that it all depends on your ability to attract and convince outside investors to provide financial support, in exchange for a stake in your company. As a result, by far the most important factor in this process is your pitch. The pitch is an opportunity for you to present the best of your business or product to any number of investors and secure that vital backing your company needs. In this article, we will guide you through the process and offer advice based on years of experience in business pitches.

How Your Business Presentation Format Should Look Like 

When it comes to pitching your business idea, there are 4 possible presenting scenarios you will be faced with:

• A business plan presentation consisting of no more than 20 slides, and lasting around 20 minutes
• A two-page brief based on your longer 20-slide presentation
• An elevator pitch
• A comprehensive business plan in a document no more than 50 pages

 While all of these have slightly varying approaches, there are a number of important things to remember that are relevant to all scenarios. However, the most commonly seen pitch and the one we are focussing on here is the business plan presentation, consisting of no more than 20 slides and lasting around 20 minutes.

The Structure Of Your Business Pitch

 By this stage, you should know that the Pitch Deck represents the single most important document for your business (check out our guide on “How to Write a Pitch Deck”). However, you still need to convert this document into an effective presentation. The Key themes to remember when generating this presentation are as follows:

• Neatly summarise both your business and your product early
• What achievements do you have so far?
• Focus on the consumer benefits
• Who are your targeted customers?
• Why is your market growing?
• What sets you apart from your competitors
• The financials (forecast revenue and profit may be enough for the pitch, but always be prepared to answer further questions on this)
• How much capital you require and how will you use it

While this represents a basic structure of what your presentation and your pitch should look like, let’s look at some of the most important pieces of advice to consider in both the building of the presentation and the investor pitch itself.

Pitching Advice

At Challenge Advisory, we watch hundreds of pitches each year and work closely with our clients to create effective, impressive and successful pitches. The following advice is based on the very best pitches we have seen.

Focus On Selling Yourself

• When pitching, your pitch deck is only half the battle. You have to make sure your audience wants to invest in you, and not just your idea. 

Succinct but Attractive

• Investors need to know that your business is able to draw in customers, and then keep them. If you cannot to do this in 20 minutes with an investor, they will not trust you with consumers. 

Have Practical Experience Beforehand

• You need to be able to inspire investors with facts and guarantees. They will not want to take a risk only on your dreams.

Engage In Further Conversation

• Think about the most important elements of your company they need to know. They are looking to make sure you and your company are a good fit, based on your industry position and the level of investment you need. This is half the battle.

Think Long-Term

• Many investors will want to know how you see the company in the future. Do you have an exit strategy?

Understand the Risks

• Make sure you appreciate what the investors are putting on the line. Excessive demands in the form of large salaries, etc. will not impress.

Challenge Advisory pride themselves in dragging startups across the finish line and helping them secure funding in all industries. We have helped hundreds of business owners secure the amount of venture capital they need to make a difference in their business. If you are keen on learning more about what we have to offer, visit our website challenge.org and also do not forget to follow us on social media to find out more about series a funding and what it entails.