To
learn more about “The Art of Telling Your Story” workshop,
go to http://preflightVENTURES.COM/preflight/overview.html or
contact tellyourstory@preflightventures.com
Here are
some guidelines as you prepare your presentation for
the workshop:
Goals and Expectations
Your challenge
is to present a concise and compelling story for why
an investor or corporate partner should team up with
you. The goal is to: (a) give you a chance to practice
your presentation in a safe, constructive environment,
(b) give the coach and audience an overall understanding
of your business and how you present it (enough for us
to speak intelligently and provide specific, useful feedback),
and (c) manage the day’s schedule so we can provide
you maximum feedback on your presentation and on your
business and fundraising strategies.
In any
5–40-minute presentation, your goal is to make investors
and prospective partners want to know more about you.
This may come in the form of them interacting and interrupting
you during your talk, participating in a Q&A session,
arranging a follow-up visit, or, if presenting at a venture
conference, requesting a one-on-one phone call or meeting
with you.
Preparing Your
Slides
You do
not need to have a perfect presentation with pretty graphics
when you come to the workshop. Do the best you can or
simply bring the slides you normally use to present.
Since our goal is to help you improve your pitch to increase
your chances of raising money and signing up corporate
partners, it is fully expected that your slides are a
work in progress. Virtually every person who has ever
attended “The Art of Telling Your Story” workshop
over the past few years has made changes, often substantial,
to their slides (and even more so to their presentation
style). So use the workshop as a safe opportunity to
develop and improve your pitch.
Presentation Time
Limit: 10 Minutes
This may
not sound like much time, but it is plenty to accomplish
your goal. In many cases, you get just 10 minutes or
less to tell someone about your business. But even in
a 40-minute venture capital pitch, the first 3 to 7 minutes
can make or break investor interest. Please don’t
use the excuse that 10 minutes is not enough time to
present what you would normally present. Give it your
best shot in that amount of time. Use fewer slides. Say
less. Focus on business issues. Show how your technology
can be applied to make money.
Audience to Target
The feedback
you receive will apply to almost any audience, including
customers, employees, board members, and suppliers. In
order to properly focus, imagine that you are speaking
to a group of prospective investors or corporate investors/partners.
In addition to being an immediate need for many of you,
this audience is the best test for you. If it is more
appropriate to your company situation, you can practice
presenting to a specific corporate partner. Simply tell
us at the beginning of your pitch who your target audience
is.
Topics to Cover
Topics
you can choose to cover briefly, in no particular order,
include your mission, market focus, problem you solve,
product overview, management team, current capitalization,
technology, intellectual property position, products,
partners, competition, and very brief financial projections.
As you go through these, speak the language of investors
every so often (e.g., entry barriers, payback, exit path,
burn rate).
As you
may know, most venture capitalists virtually require
some corporate partnership — preferably already
signed up — to be part of your business plan before
they will invest. Therefore, you need to incorporate
your partnership strategy into your presentation.
Room Set-up
The typical
room set-up for the workshop is a conference room setting.
There will be 8–10 people sitting around a large
table, and possibly a handful of others in chairs behind
the main group. A projector and a laptop personal computer
will be set up prior to your arrival and located at the
front of the room. Although not required, we prefer you
to send us your Microsoft PowerPoint slides a week ahead
of the workshop so we can have your presentation file
loaded, tested, and ready to go when you arrive.
We can
also arrange for an overhead projector if that is what
you need. A video camcorder will be unobtrusively running
on a tripod in the back corner or side of the room. Depending
on the actual room and camera sound quality, we may have
you wear a Lavaliere microphone.
Other Points to
Keep in Mind
- Do
not try to verbalize your entire business plan. It’s
not possible and is not the
purpose of any presentation you give, especially a 10-minute
one.
- Clearly
state your business model. Explain how you and your
partners will make money.
- Make
sure to summarize your management team. Cite the
relevant experience of two or three individuals,
but don’t try to recite the resume for each
person. You can also mention a board member or advisor
who has particular industry experience or is a recognized
expert.
- Preempt
risks and concerns.
- Tell
the audience specifically what you need — money,
technical help, marketing, manufacturing, distribution.
- Do
not reveal anything proprietary. You do not have
to tell any secrets in order to accomplish your goal.
Plus, corporate partners don’t want to hear
it — not yet.
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