If you're going to be successful getting your new business off the ground, you've got to know how to pitch.
And no, we're not talking about the great American pastime and the speedy and accurate delivery of the ball across home plate. We are talking about what an entrepreneur needs to do to raise capital, recruit and hire key employees, convince customers to buy products or build an important strategic partnership with another firm.
The ability to "pitch" — to communicate with clarity, create passion and secure commitment — is one of the key attributes of an entrepreneur.
Not too long ago I saw how important this ability could be when I had the opportunity to work with a young entrepreneur as he was formulating his business plan and later as he began to raise capital and organize his business. At first glance, he seemed an unlikely candidate to found a technology company. After all, he was coming directly out of an undergraduate education in history. But he was able to erase any handicap created by his young age or limited experience with his ability to pitch. Within a few months he raised $2 million in angel financing, built a small team and secured his first customers. Within a year he raised an additional $4 million after receiving multiple term sheets from several venture capital firms.
The investment pitch has become so common that most investors have an expectation of how it should be delivered and what it should include. After sitting through hundreds or even thousands of presentations, many investors find it unacceptable to sit through a pitch that is lacking in content or is delivered poorly.
Will Price, a partner in a West Coast VC firm, suggests that every pitch to investors include such information as: what we do, who we are, how we plan to make money, what we are asking for (how much money), a product or service demonstration, market analysis, competitive assessment, business model, financials and targeted milestones.
Once the presentation is developed, the next step is to concentrate on the delivery. In "The Art of the Start," Guy Kawasaki agrees with the number of slides that should be included in a PowerPoint-type presentation. He goes one step further with his "10, 20, 30" rule: 10 slides delivered in 20 minutes with a minimum font size of 30.
Many professional investors believe that the objective of the initial pitch meeting is to get to a second meeting. An investor cannot be expected to approve the deal after the initial presentation; therefore, gaining a commitment to move on to a subsequent session is crucial to building the relationship.
Another key ingredient: don't just pitch. You also need to listen. Be willing to hear what the investor is saying. The questions that are being asked may reflect concern or high interest in an aspect of the firm. Listen and then respond with a direct answer. If you do not know the answer, DO NOT make something up. The best response is to recognize the value of the question and make a commitment to follow up with a meaningful answer. Investors appreciate honesty and respect the entrepreneur who is willing to admit that he/she does not know it all.
Three other suggestions. First, if you are presenting with a group, your best communicator should make the delivery. Perhaps you can include one other individual if it is important to do so — but no more. Second, it is typically best not to send the presentation to your audience ahead of time — they may reach a conclusion prior to hearing what you have to say. And finally, many entrepreneurs will not hand out hard copies of the slides until after making the pitch. You want your investors to look at you and concentrate on what you have to say — you don't want them to be skipping ahead or paging through the presentation before it has been delivered.
I have never seen a perfect game pitched in baseball, but I have seen some investor "pitches" that were perfectly on target. And almost always those great pitches have sent the investing game into extra innings — or at least, a second meeting.
Gary Williams is affiliated with the BYU Center for Entrepreneurship. He can be reached via e-mail at cfe@byu.edu.