Whether this is your 1st time pitching to VCs or not, you are probably aware of the importance of how well you present and therefore the quality of your pitch deck.
Pitching can be a nerve-wracking experience even for experienced entrepreneurs. Without a doubt though, preparation is key, and your presentation needs to be well polished. VCs spend their days listening to pitches from entrepreneurs. To be successful your pitch needs to connect with and engage them more than any others.
In my experience, you can drastically improve your chances of funding by focusing on these 3 key elements.
Content
The most obvious element is the content. This is the key information of your presentation. This includes statements of fact, data, results, plans, and logic that support your proposed business venture.
You need to provide the VCs with historical information, the current state of the business, and future forecasts as well.
Story
The story of your pitch is how you emotionally connect with the VCs. Creating a start-up is often challenging and without question, you will have an interesting story to tell about how you got from a simple idea to where you are now.
Take the VCs on a journey from understanding the initial problem you encountered, your solution to the problem, and your vision for the future. Your story needs to connect, inspire, and motivate the investment you need.
Delivery
You don’t want your idea and your story to be let down by a robotic or lacklustre delivery. Most communication is nonverbal. So, how you communicate during the pitch, your tone, body language, and energy will have a huge impact.
Ensure your passion, drive and excitement come through in your delivery, while remaining professional. Your delivery will establish the credibility of your content and your vision.
Before your VC pitch make sure you have solid content, an interesting story, and engaging delivery to maximise your chance of receiving funding.