Presenting a company concept as an investment opportunity

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Presenting a company concept as an investment
opportunity
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Length and Detail Tailor to time available

• Elevator Pitch (30 seconds).
• Think of it like a magazine ad
• Focus on a crisp description of the business
  and value proposition for investor
• Written or Oral Executive Summary (3-10 minute
  pitch or 3-5 pages )
• Meeting with an investment committee in the
  office of a VC or bank (15-30 minute pitch)

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CONTENT Investors need clear, compelling,
credible information

• Cover only the most important points.
• (Leave the details for the full Business
  Plan)

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Overview

• Customer Pain and Your Solution
• Market Niche and Sales Potential
• Marketing and Sales Strategy
• Competitive Analysis
• Product Development Stage
• Management Team
• Projected Financials
• Requested Funding and Use of Funds
• Exit Strategy

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Business Positioning

• Position the company to create a
  framework for balance of information.
• Your name
• Company name
• What you do
• Carnage Company manufactures
  non-flammable seats for automobiles and
  aircraft

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Market OpportunityCustomer Pain and Your
Solution

• Describe what creates the demand for your
  solution the Pain
• Explain the value-proposition

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Market Niche and Sales Potential

• Define the characteristics of the companies or
  consumers that need your solution your Market
  Niche
• Quantify the opportunity number of prospects
  that have the need
• Explain how the market is growing and why

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Marketing and Sales Strategy

• Briefly explain the selling cycle how you
  propose
• to reach your target audience.
• Marketing To raise customer awareness of your
  product and stimulate interest
• Sales To give decision makers a convenient way
  to learn details and place order
• Support To help customers understand product
  before during installation and use.

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• If you rely on indirect channels, explain
• Your approach to reaching intermediaries
• Whose responsibility it is to raise awareness and
  generate demand among end-customers?
• Who provides pre- and post-sales support?

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Competitive Positioning

• Address barriers to adoption. How you propose to
  win against these
• Inertia How will you get customers to change
  what they are using / doing?
• Big Dogs How will well-known companies with
  established relationships with your target
  customers react to your company?
• Also describe your Barriers to Competition

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Barriers to Competition

• Patents Received, pending. US and abroad.
• Black box technologies Is your technology
  impossible to reverse engineer?
• Lead time advantage Would it take a competitor
  years to reproduce your technology?
• Major Customers locked in with exclusive
  long-term agreements
• Critical suppliers locked in

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Product Development

• What work remains before you can start mass
  producing and selling product?
• Product development time-line
• Identify major development risks or challenges
• Provide estimated levels of effort and/or costs
  still required to bring product to market

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Management Team

• CEO Prior entrepreneurial experience in
  similar business
• CTO Demonstrated know-how of technology
• CMO Proven knowledge of the target markets
  strong relationships with buyers
• CFO Prior profitable experience for investors
• Who is full-time, part-time? On the
  sidelines awaiting funding?

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Board of Directors or Advisors

• Indicate if you have a BOD and/or BOA
• Highlight members that have particular strengths,
  renown, or connections in your industry

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Projected Financials

• Explain dramatic numbers, such as
• Hockey stick growth
• Unprecedented margins
• Goodness is positive cash flow in 6-12 months

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Requested Funding /Use of Funds

• How much capital do you need?
• How will you use these funds to grow the company?
  

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Exit Strategy

• If you anticipate being acquired
• Identify the two or three most likely buyers
• Explain why they would be interested
• Describe recent acquisitions of comparable
  companies and the deal value
• Describe any relationships you already have with
  potential acquirers

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B. THE MEDIUM (How you
say it)
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To Pitch Effectively

• Grab attention
• Lead with strongest suit
• But do not make unsupportable claims
• Be
• Stay within the allotted time

Memorable!
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Presentation Style

• Demonstrate control and leadership
• Let your passion and confidence show
• No whining

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Legibility of Slides

• Short words and phrases
• 7 by 7 rule
• 7 lines, 7 words, no word wrap
• Light text on dark background
• Audience-friendly text
• Arial or Helvetica
• 24 pts. or greater (this is 32 point)

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14 point 18 point 20 point 24 point 28 point 32
point 36 point 44 point 48 point 52 point Arial
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Charts and Graphs

• One idea per slide
• Slide content should be grasped in two seconds
• Slides should support/supplement oral argument
• Put a sales message in title
• Labels must be legible
• No unnecessary detail or graphics but add your
  logo to all slides

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Presentation Style

• Demonstrate control and leadership
• Let your passion and confidence show
• Do not make claims you cant support

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And Finally .

• Rehearse, Rehearse, RehearseIt does make a
  difference
• Videotape yourself
• Practice in front of anyone that will listen
  friends, family, your management team, the dog
• Practice until smooth and polished easy to
  listen to
• And remember ..

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C. EXHIBITING

• The name of the game is making lots of contacts

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Exhibit Space

• Dont sit
• Keep uncluttered
• Bring a box of business cards
• Ensure someone is always on duty
• Dress for success

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• Dont bring your business plansave that for the
  meeting
• Do bring copies of your beefed up presentation
  as your handout or other marketing materials
• Dont spend time doing demossave that for the
  meeting
• Dont talk too muchit gets annoying

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Answering Questions

• Prepare answers to likely questions
• Memorize statistics and numbers
• Be open to advice and criticism from investors