definite startup pitch guide (updated feb 2015)

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vidarandersen.com The FREE Rheinland-Pitch #rpitch @STARTPLATZ with Vidar @blacktar Andersen APPLY NOW: http://rheinlandpitch.startplatz.de February 2015 Version vidarandersen.com HOW TO PITCH YOUR STARTUP

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Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/blacktar for more - This presentation deals with the different startup pitches, high-concept, elevator and slide deck (or investor pitch), their purpose, their content and how to create them and perform them successfully. This is my slide deck for the pitch coaching I provide for the Rheinland Pitch pre-selection rounds at http://startplatz.de in Cologne, DE. CC Attribution-NonCommercial License: Attribute me and venturehacks.com as authors and provide a link back to this original Slideshare page if you want to use this presentation as I update it frequently. Thanks.

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Page 1: Definite Startup Pitch Guide (UPDATED Feb 2015)

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The FREE Rheinland-Pitch#rpitch @STARTPLATZ with Vidar @blacktar AndersenAPPLY NOW: http://rheinlandpitch.startplatz.de

February 2015 Version

vidarandersen.com

HOW TO PITCH YOUR STARTUP

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I’M VIDAR ANDERSEN• Norwegian living in Cologne, DE since 2005

• Professional experience creating enterprise solutions for global F500s and GOs since 1997

• Startup Founder (both hits & misses)

• Corporate Entrepreneurship Consultant to F100s http://plusandersen.com

• Educator (Startup NEXT Instructor, University Lecturer on Startup Entrepreneurship & Certified Lean Launchpad Educator by Steve Blank @Stanford

MORE? vidarandersen.com

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SOME I’VE WORKED WITH

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SOME I’VE FOUNDED

plusandersen.comis.gd/onesecgetGauss.com

plone.org

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I’VE BEEN AROUND

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SOME PEOPLE I HAVE PITCHED

In person

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vida

rand

erse

n.co

m

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CERTIFIED LEAN LAUNCHPAD EDUCATOR BY STEVE BLANK, JUNE 2013 @STANFORD

vidarandersen.com

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GET CONNECTEDtwitter: @blacktar

email: [email protected]://facebook.com/blacktarhttp://is.gd/blacktarlinkedin

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THIS PRESENTATION IS INTENDED FOR STARTUPS

- NOT FOR PITCHING NEW

COMPANIES OR PROJECTS

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A STARTUP IS A TEMPORARY ORGANIZATION IN SEARCH OF A SCALABLE AND REPEATABLE BUSINESS

MODEL OPERATING IN AN ENVIRONMENT OF

EXTREME UNCERTAINTY

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A COMPANY IS A PERMANENT ORGANIZATION

DESIGNED TO EXECUTE A PROVEN REPEATABLE &

SCALABLE BUSINESS MODEL IN A PREDICTABLE

AND STABLE ENVIRONMENT

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ARE YOU A STARTUP OR A COMPANY?

- THE FOLLOWING

PRESENTATION WILL ONLY BE HELPFUL TO STARTUPS

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INVESTORS DO NOT EXIST TO GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO START SHIT OR MAKE GOLD OUT OF YOUR CRAP IDEAS

AN INVESTMENT IS A NEXT STEP AFTER FIRST HAVING DONE SOME INTERESTING SHIT ON YOUR OWN

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TL;DRThe one single big take-away

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THE ONE THING

•Answer these two simple questions:

“What PROBLEM are you solving & what SOLUTION do you offer?”

•You must be able to tell this in one or two short sentences AT ALL TIMES (even 4am in the morning)

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GUT CHECKWhat problem do you solve& how are you solving it?

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REALITY CHECKWhat is the VC investor looking for?

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REALITY CHECK

•What you pitch:- Problem / Need- Solution- Market Size- Goto Market- Team- Competition- Financials- Ask

•What they hear:- Is there money to be made here?- Are these the right people who will make me money?- How much money can we make here?

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REALITY CHECK

• A VC will only invest if - if and only if - team is right + market size is big enough to grow in

• People do NOT buy your product - They buy what it solves: the end-state, the outcome; Either how it makes them feel OR which job they will get done with it

• Customers do not exist to buy from you - you exist to solve their needs and problems

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THE TYPES OF PITCHESWhat they are and how to use them

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3 TYPES OF PITCHES

1.The High-Concept Pitch2.The Elevator Pitch3.The Pitch Deck

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HIGH CONCEPT PITCH“Summarize the company’s business on the back of a business card” - Sequoia Capital

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HIGH CONCEPT PITCH

•Distills a startup’s vision into a single sentence•Perfect tool for fans and investors to spread the word about your company•The “We are the X for Y” pitch•The 140 characters or less “twitter pitch”

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HIGH CONCEPT PITCH

•Hollywood has perfected the art of the high concept pitch: “Its Jaws in space!” (Alien)•For startups: “Friendster for dogs” (Dogster)“Flickr for video” (YouTube)“We network networks” (Cisco)

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•Be brief: One short sentence•Be familiar: A 6 year old child should understand the words and concepts in your pitch

HIGH CONCEPT PITCH

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ELEVATOR PITCH

•The major components of the elevator pitch are:

TRACTION, PRODUCT, TEAM & SOCIAL PROOF

•“An introduction captures an investor’s attention, a great elevator pitch gets a meeting.”

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ELEVATOR PITCH

• A 30 second talk you can present a captive audience (e.g. when riding in the elevator, sharing an Uber or at a cocktail party)

• OR a short e-mail that a middleman can forward to someone with a recommendation as an introduction for you

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ELEVATOR PITCH

•Many investors will ignore your deck and ONLY take a meeting if the introduction and elevator pitch are good•Without an introduction, an elevator pitch is critical to a successful cold e-mail or getting that meeting

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ELEVATOR PITCH

1. Traction2. Product3. Team 4. Social Proof

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1. TRACTION

• “A rolling stone gathers no moss”

• Tell all the compelling facts, be it user or revenue growth, be it publications or awards, advisors secured, event invite - whatever you have achieved in the last period of time

• Show momentum - no investor wants to waste time on someone who’s been fiddling with an idea for years and has nothing to show for it

• “Use what you’ve got” and roll it into a compressed story where the compelling facts are on an accelerating curve that goes up and to the right, hockey stick style

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2. PRODUCT

• What problem are you solving and how are you solving it?

• Where does your product live (web/mobile/physical)?

• What is the status of your product? (idea, prototype/MVP, paying customers, etc?)

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3. TEAM

• BRAG! - Why are you guys so fucking awesome?

• Which relevant things have you done in the past that makes it believable that you are the right people to make this a success?

• Convey the feeling that you have all the relevant skills in your team to make this happen (do you?)

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4. SOCIAL PROOF

• The “I am not just another a crazy person with ideas” proof

• Show who and what else that you can vouch for you

• Interviews, publications, patents, events, awards, user figures or user testimonials, advisors or board members secured

• Use what you’ve got to convince people you are not just talking, that this is real and you’ve exposed it to the world

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ELEVATOR PITCH

1. Traction

2. Product

3. Team 4. Social Proof

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PITCH PROGRESSION SUMMARY

1. A high concept pitch gets people’s attention, an incentive to let you keep talking2. An elevator pitch convinces investors to read your deck3. A deck sells investors on taking a meeting4. A meeting will lead to a funding decision

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THE PITCH DECKThe magic 13 slides to a funding decision

HTTP://VENTUREHACKS.COM/ARTICLES/DECK

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THE PITCH DECK

•An introduction and elevator pitch are critical to getting a meeting •And the pitch deck is what you send investors and what you present in that meeting•The deck is NOT a Business Plan•NEVER send an investor a business plan - EVER

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DECK CONTENTS1. COVER2. MISSION3. SUMMARY4. TEAM5. PROBLEM

6. SOLUTION7. TECH 8. MARKETING 9. SALES10. COMPETITION

11.MILESTONES12.CONCLUSION13.FINANCING

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COVER:“MEMORABLE”

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COVER

• LOGO

• TAGLINE

• CONTACT DETAILS

• 30PT FONTS OR HIGHER

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MISSION:“WHAT YOU ARE

STRIVING TO ACHIEVE: THE WHY & HOW”

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MISSION

•What you will do and how you will do it•Also: What you will NOT do•The thing you are striving to accomplish but have yet to complete•Optionally: Fill white space with logos of customers and testimonials•What will also guide decision making for you•e.g. ”Acme Gadgets will create and dominate a new network service category that defends web applications from distributed-denial-of-service attacks."

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SUMMARY:“SHIT WE

HAVE DONE”

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SUMMARY

• Summarize the key, compelling facts of the company

• You can steal the content from your elevator pitch

• Things you HAVE DONE, not what you may or may not do in the future

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TEAM:“BRAG - WHY ARE YOU SO FUCKING

AWESOME?”

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TEAM

• Highlight the past accomplishments of the team, BRAG

• If your team has been successful before, investors may believe it will be successful again (although a logical fallacy)

• Do NOT include positions you intend to fill (save that for the Milestones slide)

• Tell a story about how your career has led to the discovery of the…

• Put yourself last in team if you must: it seems humble

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PROBLEM: “BE QUICK -

BE EMOTIONAL”

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PROBLEM

• Without yet getting into your product or service, describe the nature of the problem you address

• Emphasize the pain level and the inability of incumbents, the current established players, to satisfy the customer need

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SOLUTION:“SHOW -

DON’T TELL”

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SOLUTION

• Introduce your product, and the benefits (which should obviously address and fit the market problem you just described like hand in glove)

• SHOW DON’T TELL: Include a demo such as a screencast, a link to working software, or pictures.

• ONE SLIDE ONLY: This is not your product manual

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SOLUTION

GOD HELP YOU IF YOU HAVE NOTHING

TO SHOW

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Solution Presentation Tips:• You have to prepare for any and all eventualities if you are demoing product -

Videos will stop working, Internet will disappear, and so on

• ALWAYS have the following prepared in deck:

1. Live Demo (link out - skip to next slide if not working)

2. Video of pre-recorded Live Demo (skip to next slide if not working)

3. Screenshot sequence of key features in pre-recorded demo (always works)

• Start with 1 and skip ahead towards 3 if everything fails, LIVE in same presentation

• Practice the SAME user journey story through your solution for 1, 2 & 3

• DO NOT EVER MENTION SOMETHING NOT WORKING - just move on to next option and NO ONE will ever notice that the live demo or video did not work.

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TECHNOLOGY:“HARD FACTS - WHAT’S UNDER THE BONNET”

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TECHNOLOGY

• Elaborate on the technology or methodology you have developed to enable your unique approach

• Open Source? Licensed? DIY? Are there hidden costs and liabilities? Is the IP yours or someone else’s? Maintaining your own software is going to be how costly vs using something else?

• If appropriate, mention patent status

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MARKETING: “QUANT -

NO BULLSHIT PROJECTIONS”

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MARKETING

• Include market size estimates here or in the Problem

• If you haven’t launched, discuss your plan to acquire users or customers, show the expected cost of customer acquisition

• If you have launched, include CAC vs CLTV & growth rate and activation rates, if appropriate

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vidarandersen.commint.com acquisition strategy as pitched

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SALES: “ACTUAL -

NOT BIZ DEV”

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“NO BUSINESS PLAN EVER SURVIVES FIRST CONTACT WITH CUSTOMER”- STEVE BLANK, FATHER OF THE LEAN STARTUP

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SALES

• If you don’t have sales, discuss your business model and prospective customers, use a Business Model Canvas (BMC) to explain it all in one single slide

• IGNORE the cost of customer acquisition UNLESS you have some insight into the issue

• IF you have sales, show off early customer or distribution progress: show numbers, logos, testimonials

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SPOT CHECK: UNFAMILIAR TERMS?

TIMEOUT: Key Metrics Explained

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CAC vs LTV• For each dollar you spend acquiring a

customer, how many dollars does it leave behind in the whole lifespan you have them as a customer?

• CAC = Customer Acquisition Cost

• LTV = Customer Lifetime Value

• A CAC : LTV ratio of 1 : 3 or better = good

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Growth Rate

• Google “Startups = Growth” byPaul Graham YCombinator

• What is your growth week over week?

• More than 5% week over week is great

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Engagement Rate

• Google “30 / 10 / 1” by Fred “AVC” Wilson

• What is the % of all your registered users that will use the service or app Monthly / Daily / Concurrent (At Any Given Time)?

• 30/10/1 or better is good

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Cohort Analysis - You need to understand it

• Video: Cohort Analytics Explained

• Video: Google Labs Cohort Analysis Workshop

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SaaS Metrics - You need to track it

• The Ultimate SaaS Metrics Cheat Sheet (a must)

• Christoph Janz' Blog (kpi dashboards)

• David Skok's Blog (SaaS metrics)

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How to define market size

•TAM - Total Available MarketTheoretical total market size or customer mass with problem today•SAM - Serviceable Available MarketTheoretical total market size or customer mass that are able to use / purchase a solution like yours right now•SOM - Serviceable Obtainable Market (or TM - Target Market)Your target market cap or customer base within the next 2-3 years, your credible ambition

TAM

SAM

SOM

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TAM SAM SOM - Rough Example• Say you want to make a dating app for iOS

• Your theoretical TAM would be 1.6b world wide, the number of all adults in the world seeking a partner, the number of people with the actual need or problem

• Your theoretical SAM is the percentile of 1.6b adults who has an iPhone, not all iPhone users in the world, not all smartphone users in the world, e.g. 1.6b people out of 7b is 14% of all people, your SAM could then be 14% of the 500m iPhones sold worldwide = 70m

• Your SOM or Target Market could be the percentile of the 70m that you can realistically acquire and serve in the immediate next years. This varies individually because it is based on your personnel (team size, funds, locality and competences, current and planned) and the efficiency of your marketing (CAC vs LTV, current and feasible) of your individual product

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How to find market data

• Use Google, use Quora. Seriously, JFGI: Just Fucking Google It

• Find facts in reports from Gartner, Forester, BCG, etc to lend some named sources to your numbers - You’ll be amazed by what you can find online

• TAM/SAM/SOM is an ART, not a SCIENCE - Don’t make it too complicated.

• Do NOT make facts and figures up, do not use questionable sources, do not conflate markets - EVER

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Business Model Canvas Instead of Biz Plan• Understand how

your business couldwork - or NOT

• Get the book “Business Model Generation” to understand and communicate your Business Model

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BACK TO THE REGULAR SCHEDULEThe 13 Magic Slides Continues…

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COMPETITION: “THE HONEST

TRUTH”

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COMPETITION• Describe why users or customers use your product instead of the

competition’s product

• Describe any competitive advantages that remain after the competition decides to copy you exactly, your UNFAIR ADVANTAGES

• Competitive landscape. Be sure to anticipate competitive responses (before the VC does and puts you in an embarrassing spot)

• Never deny that you have competitors, no matter how unique you think you are. It is OK to compete. Even against giants.

• Are you in an existing market, a re-segmented market, a new market or a clone market? Figure it out.

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Existing MarketClassic: “Up and to the right”

Quality

Economical Expensive Discounted

High

Low

CO A

CO B

CO D

MY CO

CO C

CO D

CO A

CO B CO C

MY CO

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Resegmented MarketProduct Comparison Matrix

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Cloned Market

• Why and how will this work here?

• Show how you understand and have validated the local needs & differences

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New Market“Petal Diagram”

http://steveblank.com/2013/11/08/a-new-way-to-look-at-competitors/

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MILESTONES:“WHEN, WHAT &

WHY - NO PROJECTIONS”

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- DAVE MCCLURE,INFAMOUS SV INVESTORFOUNDER 500 STARTUPS

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SERIOUSLY:NO FUCKING

PROJECTIONS

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MILESTONES

• DO NOT build a detailed financial model if you don’t have past earnings, a significant financial history, or real insights into the issue - It’s a bullshit fantasy exercise wasting everybody’s time

• Instead, include your current status and milestones for the next 1-3 quarters for product, team, marketing, sales with quarterly and cumulative burn rates

• How are you going to burn the investor’s money in the next 12-16 months and what experiments do that cover and what do you expect to get out of (test & learn) those experiments?

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Seed-Stage Milestone Tips:• As you probably only have a vague problem-solution fit and most likely insignificant product-market fit

indications at this stage, think of raising money at this time to put the indications you have found so far to the test, to put more money towards testing if what you have not proven so far can be proven and what you found so far can be repeated and at scale

• Think of the seed funding round as fuel for two or three of these critical experiments or milestones - based however on actual stuff that you found so far, not on fantasy bullshit you might do in the future

• The experiments or milestones should explain what you are going to test and which outcome you are expecting and why you are going to test it and how much it is going to cost and what those costs contain and when and for how long the experiments will run

• These experiments should go towards proving your most critical hypotheses in your venture

• Can we sell to businesses, acquire consumers, get high and predictable engagement, increase revenue, boost growth, when we do X will Y consistently happen?, etc. i.e. can we acquire some quantified data and evidence towards proving ourselves in a short period of time

• The evidence, the outcome of these experiments will be proof for raising your next round - OR NOT - so do not fool around with fake bullshit metrics, don’t lie to yourself and investors

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CONCLUSION: “RINSE, LATHER

& REPEAT”

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CONCLUSION

• This slide can be inspirational, a larger VISION of what the company could do if these current plans are realized, how wonderful a place the world will be

• Or just repeat another version of the “Summary” slide

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FINANCING: “GIVE + ASK”

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FINANCING

• Dates, amounts, and sources of money raised to date

• How much money you are raising in this round

• How much of your company are you ready to sell in this round

• DO NOT FORGET THE GIVE! If you are asking, tell what you are giving

• Be careful about cementing a valuation - you might not want to lock it down in the deck: “We believe we will create significantly more value with an investment of $X and we are prepared to sell up to Y% of our company.” will help you set the base of negotiation

• Remember, you can give different ASK & GIVE to different investors (but assume everybody talks to everybody) - Once your deck is out the door, you’ll be surprised where it might end up.

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ABOVE ALL: TELL A F*ING

STORY

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AS YOU WOULD TO A 6 YEAR OLD CHILD

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SEQUENCE OF STORY

• The sequence of slides tells a story:“We have a mission and a team that is taking us there. Why? We discovered a large problem and solved it with a product that has this amazing technology inside. We’re going to market and sell it to these customers, with these advantages over our competitors. In particular, we’re working towards these milestones over the next few quarters. In conclusion, this financing is a great investment opportunity.”

• SOURCE: HTTP://VENTUREHACKS.COM/ARTICLES/DECK

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GET CONNECTEDtwitter: @blacktar

email: [email protected]://facebook.com/blacktarhttp://is.gd/blacktarlinkedin

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PITCHING TRICKS+ BONUS ONLINE MATERIAL AT THE END

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SLIDE TRICKS

• Put IMAGES in the SLIDES and TEXT in the NOTES

• Keep the slides simple, VISUAL, and minimal

• With 30 point OR LARGER font

• Put talking points, reasoning, and prose in the notes that accompany each slide

• Don’t try to cram logical arguments into bullet points on the slides

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REACH THE LIZARD BRAIN

• FAST: Get to the point ASAP!

• NOVEL: Don’t be boring, do something remarkable, something TRULY unexpected

• CONCRETE: Don’t beat around the bush!

• VISUAL: Use photos, less text!

• HIGH CONTRAST: Black or white, no shades of gray, no nuances, 1 or Zero, no in-betweens, be absolute!

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TO BE “STICKY”

• Simple: KISS, KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID

• Unexpected: Surprise & Delight

• Concrete: No ifs & buts, DON’T MAKE ME THINK

• Credible: Build rapport, authority & trust

• Emotional: Be personal, relate, emote, be visual

• Stories: TELL A F*ING STORY!!!

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CAPTIVATE IN 30 SEC:USE SSAME

• Story: Tell a story!

• Simile: A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g., as brave as a lion, crazy like a fox )

• Analogy: a comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification

• Metaphor: a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

• Examples: Use real-world, realistic, relatable examples

SSAME

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VOICE & EXPRESSIONWhat does people remember and judge you by?•Words 7%•Voice 38%•Facial Expression 55%

93% IS HOW YOU SAY IT - NOT WHAT YOU SAYSO SHOW SOME F*ING ENTHUSIASM!!!

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BODY LANGUAGE

• Be the Tree, feet solidly planted on the ground

• Hands to the side, never crossed - EVER!

• Don’t swerve, stay put

• Don’t be defensive - be assertive

• Step forwards - not backwards - lean into it

• Look people in the eyes, stay focused, select a few people left, right and center to focus on, distribute eye-time

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STYLE

• Don’t be apologetic - EVER! YOU ARE THE AWESOMEST!

• Be positive and enthusiastic - you ROCK!, you NEVER suck!

• Be concrete, crystal clear, short and to the point

• Over-State, never ever understate

• Careful with self-deprecation, irony, humor - leave it out

• Use adjectives and superlatives, over and over (Think Apple Keynotes)

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TIMING

• Practice your pitch until you nail the timing

• NEVER EVER go over the time limit, PRACTICE!

• Finish slightly before the time limit to leave more room for the questions

• Do NOT rush through - Make sure you dwell on the important points (think: dramatic pauses)

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Q&A SESSION

• Be in control: Answer questions with whatever answer you like

• Paraphrase the question as a question back to the judges to buy you time, think while you reflect that you have understood Q

• Lean forward into it, no defensive gestures, keep eye contact, keep your presence, remain in control

• Be honest, don’t lie - “I don’t know, but I’ll find out” is the best answer

• KEEP IT SHORT AND TO THE POINT: Answer like a 6 year old will understand, and in ONE SENTENCE at best

• PRACTICE ALL NASTY QUESTIONS UP FRONT - They will ask!

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MORE TRICKS

• Acknowledge the audience, own the presence before starting the pitch (see Bill Clinton)

• At the end, keep in control and actively give the word to the jury for questions instead of waiting for the moderator to do it for you

• DO NOT USE A SCRIPT - EVER! Imagine your pitch as a journey instead and use keywords as guideposts to get you through - because when you forget a line of the script you are f*ed on stage while trying to remember it, and with keywords on a path you’ll be fine (and use cheat cards in your hand if you need to - it’s OK!)

• Above all: PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE up to the point where you can pitch in your sleep - literally - and practice by doing all sorts of other public speaking, because public speaking equals building your confidence

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6 TRICKS TO MAKE PEOPLE SHARE YOUR STORY

6. Social Currency - We share things that make us look good5. Triggers - Top of mind, tip of tongue4. Emotion - When we care, we share3. Public - Built to show, built to grow2. Practical Value - News you can use1. Stories - Information travels under the guise of idle chatter (SO TELL A F*ING STORY!!!)

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STARTUP WEEKEND CGN

Last Weekend of January EVERY YEAR!www.up.co/communities/germany/cologne-germany/

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facebook.com/NEXTColognehttp://startupnext.co

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BONUS MATERIAL

• Get “Pitching Hacks” from Venture Hacks (Seriously - GET IT!)

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BONUS MATERIAL

• ALL YOU NEED ABOUT FOUNDING A STARTUP (Read all articles - every single one, it’s the BIBLE!): http://VENTUREHACKS.COM/ARCHIVES

• Read & Understand “What VC Investors are Looking For" by VC Thomas Grota, T-VENTURES:http://www.slideshare.net/tgrota/what-investors-are-looking-for-a-view-from-a-venture-capitalist

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MORE BONUS MATERIAL• SaaS Metrics Cheat Sheet:

https://chartmogul.com/blog/2015/01/the-ultimate-saas-metrics-cheat-sheet/

• Christoph Janz Saas Metrics:http://christophjanz.blogspot.de/2013/12/a-kpi-dashboard-for-early-stage-saas.html

• David Skok SaaS Metrics:http://www.forentrepreneurs.com/

• Startup = Growth:http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html

• 30 / 10 / 1 Engagement Metrics:http://avc.com/2011/07/301010/

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AIRBNB’S VERY FIRST PITCH DECK

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AIRBNB RAISED $ 620K SEED

IN TOTAL ALMOST

$ 800 MILLION TO DATE

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STILL THINK YOU NEED MORE THAN 13 SLIDES?

JUST FORGET ABOUT IT

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