Let's figure out what not to do to find and get your business angel. Let's list the most common mistakes made by speakers during pitch sessions.

Style & Craftsmanship: How to Look and Perform to Make You Remember

In order for your speech to be remembered and appreciated, not only the content and arguments are important, but also how you look and present the information. In this block, we will look at the key mistakes of public speaking, from appearance to uncertain behavior on stage, understanding which will help you succeed in any speech.

How to prepare and conduct a presentation

Do not perform in dirty, crumpled and inappropriate topics. They meet by their clothes. Business angels too. You don't have to be in a suit, but a neat appearance, clean shoes, ironed clothes, fresh hairstyle are the basis. Remember: you are not begging, but proving that you are worthy of the attention and financial investments of the investor. Only by your appearance you should give the impression of a confident and adequate founder who is able to manage not only his project, but also his own life.

Do not read from the slide, otherwise you will miss the attention. It's your product and it's weird if you don't understand it. No one is saying that you should stand like a tin soldier. For example, I looked at such cool speakers as Steve Jobs, Pavel Durov, Eddie Murphy and Vladimir Zhirinovsky. Keep a calm and moderate tone of voice and emphasize the points you would like to emphasize. If you can, gesture.

Rehearse. You will become related to your presentation if you run it at least 100 times – better, of course, 1000. Will you say a lot and for a long time? Let's do the math. On average, speech lasts 4 minutes, multiply by 100 (once), divide by 60 (minutes). About 7 hours will be spent on continuous rehearsals. The incredible skill of staying in timing was left out of the brackets. Only then will you be able to convey your idea and no one will interrupt you.

Here are the most striking examples of mistakes from my practice that founders made when pitching to investors.

Example 1. The CEO enters the scene. He is in a hood, his hair falls over his face, a backpack hangs on his arm. What impression does it make on investors who ask for 10 million rubles for product development?

Why does an investor refuse, even if he has money?

Example 2. At the pitch session before the speaker's speech, there was interference with the microphone. This broke his mood and knocked him out of time. Remember: equipment, like a person, can fail. There will be no time for repair or replacement, and time is limited. Don't let a broken microphone confuse you. Put it aside and speak louder if necessary.

Sometimes, when the presentation does not start, the speaker begins to get nervous, which negatively affects the speech. Cm. above – it is better to know what you are talking about. The presence of slides does not decide fate.

We pepper the presentation, do not oversalt it

When preparing a successful presentation for investors, it is important to avoid common mistakes and approach the process strategically. Let's consider the main pitfalls of creating a persuasive speech that will not only attract attention, but also inspire confidence in your project.

Do not display the entire text of the speech on the slide, use graphs and diagrams for clarity. Do not go into details, but describe your project using graphics. In this case, the rule "brevity is the sister of talent" works.

Don't ask for tens of millions, especially if you're a startup. They will not give it. It is important to remember that at the early stages of project development, the list of funding sources is limited: own funds, government support, business angels and FFF (friends, family & fools). Divide this amount into several parts. The ideal scheme is to ask for an amount equal to sales. Your project development plans, as well as the amount, should not go into space. Be ambitious, but realistic. Presentations often indicate a team that is not able to implement what they intended: the number of people and their experience must prove that the job will be done.

The most important thing for a startup is to show the investor profitability

Write only about current financial achievements if you want to qualitatively interest the investor. Yes, you may not have revenue in the early stages, but at the same time, there may be verbal or written agreements about the interest in your product. Display them on the speech, this is a guarantee of reliability.

Do not talk about space plans, they will not believe you. It is important to display not only money, but also indicators for key metrics - LTV, the number of new customers and retention rate. You can simplify the task with the help of frameworks — AARRR.

A few more harmful tips if you don't want money. Do not show the investor how much and for how long he will earn with you. Don't talk about competitors, claim that you don't have them and are ultra-unique. Do not show how much of the market you plan to capture. Don't describe the problem you want to solve.

How to Dance to the Rhythm of Q&A

The ability to behave correctly during the Q&A session after the speech is no less important than the speech itself. In this block, we will consider how to confidently and competently answer questions, not lose control over the situation and turn the dialogue with the audience into an additional chance to convince investors of your professionalism and readiness to implement the project.

Features of the format: what an investment presentation looks like

Do not stress if the audience is silent and does not ask questions after the speech. Sometimes the audience may not have any questions for you. Don't be alarmed. This does not mean that you are not understood or that you are not interesting. The main mistake in answering questions is incompetence. You can tell from a piece of paper, but if you are embarrassed to keep silent on questions related to business processes, they will consider that you are "out of the loop".

Don't argue with project feedback, no matter how truthful it is. In fact, of course, you should not enter into a conflict with experts. This will not add extra points, and then you may not be invited to the next or similar event at all.

We at DV Consulting often evaluate projects and regularly act as experts at pitch sessions. Here is a list of the most asked questions:

What is your revenue?
How will an investor make money with you?
Who is your target audience?
What are the plans for the development of the project for the next year/3/5?
What will happen to the project if you do not raise money in the next six months?
Explain in one sentence what you do: what is your product about and what problem are you solving?
What will you spend your money on? Go into detail.

So, avoiding the listed mistakes in your product presentation will increase your chances of success in front of investors. Following all aspects of form and content, being prepared for questions, and being prepared for the unexpected are the keys to an effective pitch. Remember that every detail is important when it comes to funding your idea. Approach the preparation of the presentation in such a way that it not only reflects the vision, but also shows competence and readiness for real work in a business environment.