Too many times a pitch deck lands across our desk (or more accurately, our screens) where the narrative is bloated with jargon and convoluted points – what makes an effective pitch that gets startups the likes of Airbnb and Uber off the ground? Here’s some things to check you’re doing:

1. Name an undeniable change that is happening in the world
   Every story starts with some kinda change and people are wired to pay attention to it. It could be an observation of change in the market (e.g. online purchases have over taken physical stores) or highlight the problem that your competitors represent (e.g. CO2 is spiking due to xyz)

   
   

2. Highlight the stakes
   Channel your talk into how this change is affecting your market, industry or world. Perhaps a new niche is created, or a new opportunity is for the taking — something must be done to stay above the water. (e.g. we can see successful businesses change to online models)

   
   

3. Sell the dream
   Introduce your product and its benefits to your audience. Try not to sell overly grand promises like “we’re transforming healthcare” or “we’re doing everything better” — be specific and always relate back to the change and stakes your mentioned (e.g. by channeling your network into loyal online followers, you’ll have what it takes to win). The ‘big dream’ should serve as the motivation so you can get into what you are selling.

   
   

4. Summarise the obstacles and how you can overcome them
   VCs are immune to shiny proposals and sugar-coated pitches. Show that you are realistic, reasonable and reliable (alliteration unintended) by acknowledging the challenges your company faces. The best negotiators first stand on the opposers side to get them to agree (“that’s right”) — then they change the situation around. Look for alignment, identify their concerns and build a business model that addresses those things, whether that’s in your go-to-market strategy, road map or the killer team you have recruited.

   
   

5. Prove your point
   If you’ve got a track record, like successful products in the past, an experienced team, promising test results from prototypes, beautiful UI designs, social traction — now’s the time to show them. Better yet, real life use cases like case studies and testimonials show it’s not just you hyping it up, this of course depends what stage your company is in.

   
   

6. Finally, make sure the whole story flows smooth
   Ben Horowitz, technology entrepreneur and co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz famously said: “If you don’t have a clearly articulated story, you don’t have a clear and well thought-out strategy. The story IS the strategy.”

Practise it to your nephew or grandfather (no, really) — if your story can be understood by a layperson, your VCs will too. Many make the mistake that just showing graphs and statistics will make the argument, but we forget the practise of storytelling is that makes facts memorable, engage people’s minds and move their hearts. #VCsarepeopletoo

If you’ve got all the information in your deck but need some pizzaz, some storytelling magic to “szhoosh up” your pitch, reach out to us! We’d love to help