How to nail a 5 minute pitch at Startup Weekend. How to nail the five-minute pitch. Editor’s note: Chuck Dietrich is chief executive of online presentation startup SlideRocket. Startup CEOs wear many hats. None, perhaps, is more important than that of “company pitchman.” In today’s competitive funding climate, CEOs often present at events like Under the Radar, South by Southwest, and DEMO –- where they have five minutes on stage to ‘sell’ their company to potential investors, partners, and customers. Getting these presentations right leads to financing, buzz and growth; getting them wrong doesn’t. In my role as CEO of SlideRocket, I view hundreds of presentations a week and thousands over the course of the year. I’m frequently surprised by how many presentations don’t convey a clear story. So how do you make a great startup presentation? 1. Critical questions to answer during your presentation include: What is the company vision?
2. 3. The Basic Pitch Outline Following is a sample outline that I have seen many successful startup presentations follow. The Art of the VC Pitch: A Roundup of Advice from 6 VCs. I have a few different friends who are trying their hands at entrepreneurship; some have met with investors already, while others are closing in on their meeting date with anticipation and uncertainty. Based on hearing some of the things they were doing to prepare for their meeting, I thought it would be wise to roundup some of the best pitch advice I've come across not only for them but for the other first time entrepreneurs out there who may not know what typical VC pitches are like.
Pitches range in length from 5 quick minutes to a half hour or more, but what I have consistently seen while researching this topic is that no matter what length the pitch is, the key is to keep things simple and understandable while not patronizing the VC. But don't take my word for it, here is advice from six venture capitalists on various aspects of the all important pitch. David S. Chris Dixon - Pitch yourself, not your idea Mark Suster - Who Should Attend Your VC Pitch?
So what have we learned? Grab a VC’s Attention… While you’ve got it! Grab a VC’s Attention… While you’ve got it! By now you're probably thinking that you are pretty good at giving presentations. I thought I was. I mean after all, I had spent the past 15 years in high-tech marketing, where creating PowerPoint presentations in 15 minutes flat is a way of life. Yessiree, I thought I was a pretty decent presenter - until I took the Mandel Communications Effective Presentation Skills workshop last June.
But more about that later. It was proven to me that brushing up on presentation skills is not unlike brushing up on skiing skills. Here are the top 12 things that a venture capitalist is looking for in your presentation, (as told to me by a venture capitalist who has witnessed his share of "thumbs up, and down" presentations): 1. 2. 3. 4. Product or Service Business Objective Target Market Market Size and Opportunity Sustainable Competitive Advantage Management Team What You Will Need to Succeed 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
By: Denise A. The Five Minute Presentation - Mastering the Art of the Five Minute Presentation. The five minute presentation is the most challenging of all presentations to create and deliver. The five minute presentation from an audience perspective is more engaging and less boring than a typical sixty minute talk. Creating a compelling, focused speech with a single message is the ultimate goal of the five minute presentation. Whether you are crafting the five minute presentation for a venture capital pitch, selling a product, or educating an audience -- the creation process is the first vital step. But is five minutes enough time? What Can Be Accomplished in Five Minutes? Five minutes doesn't seem like much time to accomplish anything but keep in mind the insight of George Matthew Adams: Five Ways to a Successful Five Minute Presentation Apply these five methods to your five minute presentation for a memorable means to engage your audience.
Simple Is: Once you have the materials, narrow down your topic to one core concept. The Five Most Important Lessons of Presenting to VCs - Silicon Valley & San Francisco Bay Area Directory. The executive walks into the conference room of a top-tier venture capitalist firm in Silicon Valley. Four polite but skeptical people welcome him as he enters the room. He's solely focused on securing the B round of funding for his young company. The past three years have been especially brutal for his business - from its exhilarating beginnings in 1999, to its failed market penetration, and now several rounds of debilitating layoffs, including the original CEO. This new CEO was recently hired to be the change agent - the pinch hitter - with the directive to regroup the company and establish stability.
What went wrong? A good technology, even coupled with a good CEO bio, is not sufficient for winning the financial support that your company deserves. Knowing how to avoid the five most common critical mistakes that CEOs make in their presentations will greatly improve your ability to control the agenda and begin meaningful discussions with your target VCs. Lesson 1: Forget the "I" word.