So, we’ve covered how to land a meeting with venture capitalists and firms in Phoenix to consider pitching, acronyms you need to know before heading into your pitch, and the most important slide you need in your pitch deck.
Ok, you listened to all of our advice and landed meetings with multiple VCs. Now what? What should you say? And, maybe more importantly, what should you stay away from? There’s plenty of advice on how to pitch, so let’s dive in:
Before the meeting
- Before your pitch, practice answering questions you have the biggest insecurities with. You’re going to need to know how to answer them.
- Have 3 asks going into the meeting. If a venture capitalist doesn’t want to write a check, have 3 other options for them to do if they want to be helpful.
- Have your spreadsheets and dashboards ready to go. Venture capitalists love to see ‘em.
- Make sure your core business is sound. Don’t go into a meeting ready to pitch your core business and 9 other potential revenue streams.
Check in during the presentation
- It’s totally ok to ask if what you’re saying makes sense. Better to make sure everyone is on the same page than drag sleeping venture capitalists through the meeting.
- On that last point, if everyone is nodding at a point you just presented, move on. No need to continue selling a point that everyone already agrees with.
Be honest
- Share your weaknesses. Don’t act like you’re perfect.
- Talk about your team. You didn’t build this sick company alone.
- Don’t be overly conservative on how big the business could grow. If you don’t believe in it, who will?
- Be completely transparent with the venture capitalists. If you don’t know the answer to the question, say that and be sure to get them the answer after your meeting.
- If a question is asked, answer it. Don’t put it off until a later slide. You’ll probably never circle back to it.
Non-negotiables for VCs
- Keep decks short. No more than 15 slides. Max 4 bullets per slide. Make decks as visual as possible.
- Make sure your demo is 5 minutes or less.
- Be able to explain your business in 10 words in 10 seconds.
- After the meeting, send a follow-up note that’s clear and concise. If you debated a point with the VC during the pitch, convince them of your side in the note.
We know there’s plenty more advice where that came from. Have anything to add? Find us on Twitter @AZTechBeat and reply with the advice you’d give any new (or seasoned) entrepreneurs.