No matter how great a business idea is, the way you present it determines whether you succeed or fail. This is especially true for startups seeking seed funding, where a compelling pitch can be the difference between securing crucial initial investment and missing out on the opportunity to launch your business.
What is a pitch?
A pitch is a brief, persuasive presentation of your business idea aimed at securing support or investment. The primary goal of a pitch is to convey the value, potential, and viability of the idea in a clear and compelling narrative.
A customer pitch focuses on highlighting the benefits of your product or service for your target audience. An investor pitch aims to secure funding by demonstrating the business's potential for growth and profitability.
You’ll need a pitch deck that sums up all the important information in a compelling design, without overloading on information. Actually you only need 10 slides for a great pitch!
Avoid these five common mistakes
- Lack of clarity
Most investors see dozens of pitch decks every day. So they need to understand in the first 2 slides what service or product you provide. Be concise as possible and leave unnecessary information. For example: How does your product/service solve a problem?
- Not asking for money
70% of people who are pitching don’t ask for money. Explain exactly how much you are raising and what milestone you will accomplish with this. if you don't have that goal you won’t excite people to get you their money
- Ignoring the audience
As explained above there are different kinds of pitches and different kinds of CTAs. Know that your investors have different interests than customers. Not you are convincing them - they are trying to convince themselves to give you their money!
- Weak market analysis
Provide a robust market analysis, including market size, growth potential, and competitive landscape. A strong market understanding boosts your credibility and appeals to investors.
- Unrealistic financial projections
Presenting overly optimistic or unrealistic financial projections can lead to skepticism. Base your financial projections on realistic assumptions and clearly explain your rationale.