Chris Jarvis

Yes!!! Nothing is worse than having someone read slides. Build a short (<11 pages) deck that makes key points and invite questions. KNOW your numbers! Answering their questions is far more impressive than doing your dog and pony show. You can have lots of backup material handy, but make the pitch short and sweet - Shark Tank style with the key items covered. This is also important because people have a tendency to ask questions on what you show them. If you can limit what you show them, you won’t waste invaluable face time talking about things that really aren’t important.

Yes!!! Nothing is worse than having someone read slides. Build a short (<11 pages) deck that makes key points and invite questions. KNOW your numbers! Answering their questions is far more impressive than doing your dog and pony show. You can have lots of backup material handy, but make the pitch short and sweet - Shark Tank style with the key items covered. This is also important because people have a tendency to ask questions on what you show them. If you can limit what you show them, you won’t waste invaluable face time talking about things that really aren’t important.

The biggest problem I see in a “pitch” is the need to offer an abbreviated business plan - touching on customer, distribution, product/service, team, financials, etc. The goal of the pitch is not to give an overview, raise money, or explain every aspect of your business. The goal of a PITCH is to get a second meeting. To do that, you need to create intrigue, curiosity, and interest so they ask more questions. A client of mine refined their deck around their elevator pitch: After 30 years in the legal department of a leading pharma company, we set out to create a drug-free solution to stress, anxiety and the trillion dollars of problems they create. Focus on the most important pieces of your business. They’ll ask for more.

The biggest problem I see in a “pitch” is the need to offer an abbreviated business plan - touching on customer, distribution, product/service, team, financials, etc. The goal of the pitch is not to give an overview, raise money, or explain every aspect of your business. The goal of a PITCH is to get a second meeting. To do that, you need to create intrigue, curiosity, and interest so they ask more questions. A client of mine refined their deck around their elevator pitch: After 30 years in the legal department of a leading pharma company, we set out to create a drug-free solution to stress, anxiety and the trillion dollars of problems they create. Focus on the most important pieces of your business. They’ll ask for more.

This is misleading. Knowing the audience is important, but how can you know exactly who will be in the room? Might another partner attend? You will undoubtedly pitch people of different ages, genders, religious affiliations, etc. etc. Your goal is to connect with the audience on a personal level - through stories (real and hypothetical) so the people in the room can SEE the situation and FEEL the pain your business is removing for the customer. The stories of your team’s or founder’s story will be integral for them to connect to the driving force that will push you (with their money) through every obstacle that will arise.