If you dream about pitching like Tim Cook, then you are in the right place! At this stage, you're about to reach one of the most important moments for any startup: fundraising!That’s when you make them love your business and show how well-prepared you are! And we’ll help you how to create a killer pitch deck, even you have no technical background.
The pitch deck is a keynote presentation of a business plan entrepreneurs make to convince investors to put money into their product or solution.Approach your potential investors with the story of how your business will evolve and grow. Share with them your vision and where this project is taking to.As with any story, there should be a beginning, a development of the storyline that includes how it will grow, and some relevant ideas they will be able to connect with.
You start by explaining how things are today and ensure that you have a climax your story is driving towards. In the case of a startup, the climax is generally how your project will change how people do something. Show them your product is based on a trend, rather than a fad! It must be evident that there’s a real need for the solution you are providing.Demonstrate that you’ve done your homework, and by that, we mean: market research! Use a framework such as SWOT or Porter’s Five Forces, to demonstrate your product positioning, and answer some questions, like:What are the needs you identified?Who’s your target audience and their behaves?Which are your competitors?And your Unique Selling Proposition?This is your first big sell! You need to convince investors of how great your product and management skills are.Check our articles about tech management, trends and fads, and product positioning, to really give you insights on how to prepare yourself!
A pitch deck, just as any great story, has the plotline and the details all really clear, so the reader doesn’t get confused nor disappointed.Use a Roadmap to plot the course of your project. Explain what you have done so far, the next small steps and their relevance, what comes after that. It’s the best framework for small businesses to keep the projects organized and show investors a consistent vision for the future.The Roadmap should include the first version of your website and the versions that will come after that. Also incorporate the technology you will use, the features and how they will improve the way people’s lives.Describe the project from a technical perspective, if needed. Show how things will get from the first version to the ultimate one. Investors need to know how your product will be improved and what are the necessary actions to do so.
No story is complete without supporting characters – in this case, the stakeholders or what we like to refer to as the project’s ecosystem.Remember that as you tell your story, you must include all of the relevant players – the investor and the people who will use your product on both sides – and illustrate how they will be benefited.An amazing tool we use here in My CTO Friend is the character chart, used by professional writers. The chart is used to list all the major and minor characters of a story, and it can be easily adapted to your pitch deck business plan.Ensure that everyone engaged and impacted by your solution is on the list. Then, include their desires, their contributions, the value they will get. This is not just about financial perspective, but knowledge, capacity, and future capability, as well. Don’t forget to include your own company in this big picture.
Pitch deck for investors is telling the story of your company, and you know a good story catches the reader by emotions, no? Well, in this case, you also need the support of really good numbers.So, don’t forget that what you are developing is a business plan. Your potential investors want to see that you have control of your budget and that you truly understand the costs of development.This means you must be able to not only explain where your costs are but to justify them as the option that makes the most sense.
It’s never too much to remind you of some general good practices to have a successful pitch deck for investors.
And above all, don’t feel discouraged if it doesn’t work right in the beginning. It might take a while until you get the first investments. Learn a lesson each time, to improve your presentation for the next one.Check our Startup Roadmap Definition and other courses to help prepare a killer pitch. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter for more tips and advice about startup and tech management!
