How to perfectly pitch your startup and raise more funds?

First and foremost, your pitch should allow you to tell a story to your audience.  

Study the pitches of startups that inspire you: we recommend that you take inspiration from other startups pitch and not hesitate to ask them for advice on how they have structured their pitch. 

It is not necessary to reinvent the wheel. 

Read a lot of blogs, join the forums and facebook groups for entrepreneurs, watch many videos on the topic and follow entrepreneur-related content on twitter. 

7 keys to create a winning investor pitch deck:

1. Use the least technical terms possible.
   
   
2.  Emphasize what makes the difference in your project.
   
   
3. Do not go into details.
   
   
4. Detail your motivation, your dynamism, your credibility to carry this project.
   
   
5. You must give confidence. Take care of your clothes, adjust the tone of your voice, look at your interlocutors in the face.
   
   
6. Train yourself
   
   
7. Train yourself, again and again before D-Day.
   
   

The quality of your narration is the key to any successful pitch. It is very important to be able to seduce your audience from the beginning and make them want to invest. 

Check out this video: How to pitch to Silicon Valley Investors?

What is the Elevator Pitch?

The elevator pitch was born in the United States. This perilous exercise of communication originally consisted of reporting in record time to a senior manager of a company, between the moment the elevator doors close on the ground floor and the moment it reaches the floor of the direction (typically in less than 30 seconds). 

During the 80’ in Silicon Valley, it was common that sales executives were fired for failing to answer correctly when they unfortunately had to take the same elevator as the CEO or Sales Manager.

Describe what has been done

It is imperative to structure your pitch. Describe that you made and what have you learned from them.

Why does your company have a real investment opportunity? How are you different?

Once you have your story and guideline set up, you can begin writing your pitch, keeping in mind that you must seduce your audience.

Do not forget to create excitement by revealing your strengths to convince your investors! And no buzzwords PLEASE.

The fundamental ingredients to pitch your startup

Explain WHY

The story of the creation of your project is a great pitch opener. You make investors understand your vision. An investor therefore needs to understand how you became an entrepreneur and why you decided to build your company.

STAY BRIEF - PLEASE

Your presentation should be ideally of 10 slides, maximum 15. This will force you to synthesize your ideas, go faster to the goal and keep the public attention.

Prefer clear slides to overcharged ones. In order to stand out from the crowd, the presentation must be aesthetic and attractive. You have to pitch the concept of your startup, to provide clarity on your vision and your plan.

It is imperative that your investors share the same vision and validate your theory. In addition, going back to the beginnings of your startup will allow you to play on affect and emotions and remind investors how the idea came to you to create your startup.

Use analogies: Your interlocutors will be able to translate the success of the startup you mention to your sector of activity. Example: we are the Uber of wine delivery.

It is also advisable to limit yourself to 20 minutes of presentation. This is what different studies have defined as the maximum duration of intense concentration. 

Send to your audience a concise, clear, understandable message. The most important thing, and it can seem frustrating, is to limit oneself to a few key ideas while trying to present concrete illustrations, a working prototype, a web application video …

Try to always answer why your project innovative and has a market-fit.

General recommendations for a successful pitch:

Presenting your company or project clearly in 6 minutes maximum, is an exercise that looks like nothing but ideally requires a big preparation. Are not we saying that success is 5% of idea and 95% of work?

Here is the roadmap for not missing out:

1. Start with the basics: the pitch should answer the simple questions your audience asks: who, what, how, why, with whom ...
2. Write it - a pitch can not be improvised and you need to write down first all you want to say.  Make it easy and understandable for all: short sentences, no acronym or too much complex words. In one minute, people must have understood the broad outlines of your business and the context (your customers, the sector). 
3. Adapt your pitch to your interlocutors: use "business plan" in front of investors; "Product" in front of potential customers
4. Forget the details, think about the "big picture": it does not matter if we do not know things in detail; we must above all understand what you bring, "your value proposition and general vision“.
5. Test your pitch in front of several people: teams, family, friends, other entrepreneurs,  ask them to give you an honest feedback.
6. Practice dozens of times to know your text by heart

Note: 5 minutes is always very short, and we always tend to want to say too much. Pitching is a formidable exercise of synthesis. 

1. Presentation of the team with the complementarity of profiles (technical, commercial, management). 
2. Present your product or service: in short, to which problem do you offer a solution for? What needs and expectations are you targeting? What makes it special? What is the magnitude severity of the problem? 
3. How is it different from the existing one? If it is an innovative project, have you filed a patent? Describe product potential.
4. What is the market? Who are your clients ? 
5. Who are Your competitors? 
6. Why are YOU the best team for this project?
7. Present a forecast: Detail your financial plan and revenue potential. 
8. Fundraising: What is the amount of the fundraising? For what percentage of capital ownership? To finance what? What do you expect from investors? What budget do you need and how will you manage it?
9. How much do you need, and what will you do with investors' money?
10. Who is the consumer? How will you sell the product? Describe your marketing strategy.

Believe in yourself!

Your attitude is also one of the keys to the success of your pitch. How do you want your investors to be convinced of your project if you are not yourself? You must be convinced of your project and show dynamism and enthusiasm. You must also avoid being too static, because a good presentation also passes through the body language. Speak with short sentences, stay calm and smile.