Startups frequently prepare a “pitch deck” to present their company to prospective angel or venture capital investors. The pitch deck typically consists of 15-20 slides in a PowerPoint presentation and is intended to showcase the company’s products, technology, and team to the investors. We rarely see presentations with a memorable and interesting story that shows a company’s passion for its business.
Raising capital from investors is difficult and time consuming. Therefore, it’s crucial that a startup absolutely nails its investor pitch deck and presents a compelling and interesting story.
Investors see hundreds of business plans each year and even more executive summaries; but they fund a very small percentage of those per year. Most companies that submit a business plan never get a first meeting, and those that do still face incredibly long odds. At SAGE, we help startups tell compelling stories – ones that will rise above the rest and leave a lasting impression.
We understand that for entrepreneurs, the first meeting with investors is a make-it-or-break-it event. By building and delivering a high-quality investor presentation, we help our clients not only present a successful pitch, but also pave the way to an effective long-term relationship with investors.
Here are some common mistakes we see when companies build investor presentations:
- Decks that are too long – people have limited attention spans; if you feel you need to add more information, include it as an appendix.
- Wordy slides.
- Excessive financial details (you can always provide that in a follow-up interaction).
- Using a lot of jargon or acronyms.
- Underestimating or belittling the competition.
- No clear value propositions.
- Poor layout, bad graphics, or a low-quality “look & feel”.
Investor presentations are an important part of communicating the value of your company. Telling a story using clear, consistent messaging, building a deck with strong branding, and using effective visuals will all help to ensure that your message captures investors’ attention.