TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Demo days at startup accelerators are a pretty big deal around here. These events aren’t just a chance to review the latest cohort of hopeful entrepreneurs — they also showcase the technology, products and services that will compete for VC and consumer attention over the next few years. That startup was DoorDash, by the way.

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TechCrunch

MARCH 26, 2021

Pre-seed round funding is under scrutiny: Is VC pandemic posturing here to stay? Amid the pandemic, investors became laser-focused on sections of the pitch deck that address monetization and business viability — signs that founders need to come to the table with better-defined businesses in order to succeed.

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TechCrunch

MAY 26, 2022

TechCrunch has been covering the demo days of the seed-stage venture firm Pear VC since 2015. Of course, some VCs still get an early look, in part by mentoring the startups. The pitch: Spathios says it’s a marketplace to book short-term venues and spaces. A few things have remained true since that time.

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TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

Today, TechCrunch is excited to announce the 20 startups pitching onstage in this year’s Startup Battlefield. Selected from the most competitive batch in TC history, selected founders from across the globe will pitch on the virtual stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2021. To watch the pitches, join us at TechCrunch Disrupt 2021 here.

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This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 26, 2012

I always get asked how to get into VC and so I think a lot about what it takes to do the job well. Practicing the word no as many times as a VC does means you have to fight not to have your mind close on you. I want your pitch to be the one I say yes to--and I want you to solve the inherent problems in your business model.

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This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 21, 2010

Personally, I find pitch events to be a little bit contrived. However, the innovation community seems to be in love with this format, so you can’t be a VC without watching a bunch of them. For the most part, while the companies may be interesting, the actual pitches are usually so-so. Those stand out. That's why I have a job.

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This is going to be BIG.

JULY 30, 2012

A number of VC firms have hired specialists in the area of recruiting. Given the proliferation of accelerators and incubators that pre-vet entrepreneurs, roll up their sleeves to help companies, and dress them up for demo days, the best and brightest are being showcased to look better than ever. Are you waiting for them to pitch you?

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TechCrunch

OCTOBER 27, 2020

For IndieBio, a science and biotech accelerator run by VC firm SOSV, this unprecedented year offered high stakes and new challenges. Today and tomorrow, the biotech accelerator is hosting its twice-annual demo day.

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TechCrunch

OCTOBER 25, 2022

I get a lot of pitch deck submissions for this TechCrunch Pitch Deck Teardown series from people who are raising friend and family rounds, and I mostly pass on them. It was against that backdrop that I received the pitch deck for the Palau Project. Its founder, Jerome Cloetens, is a professional kite surfer (!) Problem slide.

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This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 16, 2014

How long does it take from first meeting a VC to getting cash in the bank? If all my deals came as intros from trusted connections that I know for years versus at founder pitch events that''s interesting data. If you meet someone at a pitch event, they''ve already got a company and they''re looking to close as quickly as possible.

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TechCrunch

AUGUST 11, 2022

Today, we’re taking a closer look at the pitch deck it used to raise its pre-seed round. We’re looking for more unique pitch decks to tear down, so if you want to submit your own, here’s how you can do that. . Demo slide. Well, that’s the world Five Flute wants to live in. The company raised a $1.2

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TechCrunch

AUGUST 18, 2023

Full TechCrunch+ articles are only available to members Use discount code TCPLUSROUNDUP to save 20% off a one- or two-year subscription “Starting a tech company today costs 99% less than it did 18 years ago when Y Combinator was started,” says Brett Calhoun, managing director and general partner at Redbud VC.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2011

I recently filmed a show for This Week in Venture Capital in which I talked about how to prepare for a VC meeting: whom you’ll meet, who should attend from your side, what materials you should bring and how you should run the meeting. I’m comfortable with introductions and then getting into the demo.&#.

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This is going to be BIG.

MAY 11, 2015

I realized that I judge a lot of hackathons, pitch competitions and other various things on the weekends, and felt like I was losing at least 2 out of my 8 weekend days--so I gave myself back those days. Out of those, I take about 150 new pitches a year--about 3 a week. It's more aspirational. And yes, I take every other Monday off.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

The frantic pace of technology cycles, the amount of tech news, the blogs, the conferences, the demo days, the announcements, the fundings, the IPOs. It got me thinking about the advice that I often give to new VCs. They want you to attend demo days. I’ll go as long as it’s not on a demo day. Lines, Not Dots.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

On December 2nd, 2006 I wrote the blog post published later in this post when I was CEO of startup Koral about my experiences in pitching VCs. I had previously raised VC in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005. In case VC’s haven’t figured this out yet, shit rolls downhill. My blog was wiped out. And covered we did.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 4, 2013

As a VC you want to feel like you have “proprietary sources” of deal flow. I think the issue I have always had with investment bank pitches was best summed up in this article about Y Combinator in which Paul Graham apparently made the following quotes. It’s a Demo Day thing. They know how to build pitch decks.

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TechCrunch

APRIL 9, 2021

Scale’s story starts with a pivot, and with a bit of rule-breaking, too — Wang went off the typical YC book by speaking to investors prior to demo day when Levine cold-emailed him after seeing Scale on Product Hunt. The Product Hunt spot wasn’t planned, either — Wang was as surprised to see his company there as anyone else.

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Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 11, 2011

If you want a very quick primer on all the stuff nobody ever tells you about raising venture capital check out this video where Mark Jeffrey & I break it down on This Week in VC. All of this is covered in more detail on the TWiVC video above (and much of it is covered in text on this blog on the “ Raising VC &# tab).

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 9, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series, “ Pitching a VC.&#. I recently wrote a blog post here in which I argued that the best VC meetings are discussions and not sales pitches. Many people agreed and added that even the best sales meetings are also discussions and not pitches. A Tale of Two Pitches.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series “ Pitching a VC.&#. The “Triple Play&# of VC Presentations. A large part of my series has been outlining what the typical VC PowerPoint presentation should look like. You want to build a dialogue where you get to know the VC with whom you’re meeting.

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Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 8, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series “Pitching a VC&# – the outline is here. You’ve pitched several angels and VC’s. Your friends and advisers tell you that this means you need revenue because in this economy VC’s will only fund businesses with revenue. They make progress.

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Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 25, 2009

This is part of my blog series “ Pitching a VC.&#. I’ve sat through a lot of VC pitches and having been CEO of an enterprise software firm for many years I’ve also sat through many customer meetings with sales teams. The following are some tips for the debate style VC meeting.

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David Teten VC

JULY 27, 2021

We have collected a wide range of freebies, contests, accelerators, online communities, and VCs designed for student tech founders. I have been researching this both to support Versatile VC ’s portfolio companies and also as part of research for my new book, To University and Beyond: Launch Your Career in High Gear. 1) Your school.

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TechCrunch

MAY 10, 2021

Startup Battlefield , the world’s preeminent pitch competition, has launched hundreds of startups over the years — 922 if you want to be a stickler about it. training with the TC Battlefield team to make sure they’re primed and ready to face a panel of expert VC judges. 11 words and phrases to cut from your VC pitch deck.

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TechCrunch

MAY 14, 2021

Your pitch, presentation skills and business model will reach new heights of excellence. You’ll also be ready to deftly handle all the questions you’ll receive from our expert VC judges. Each time you make the cut, you’ll repeat your pitch-and-answer session to a new set of judges.

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

In my previous post, The VC Ice Age is Thawing (for now) I wrote about the reasons why the VC market came to a screeching halt in September 2008 and remained largely shut until at least April 2009. There are now signs the VC market has gathered pace meaning it’s a great time to be fund raising.

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TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 17, 2022

But over the years, it has forced Floodgate’s small team to sort through many thousands of pitches and identify those it thinks have the most potential. Somewhat relatedly, Y Combinator just wrapped up its latest Demo Day. VC Ann Miura-Ko is looking to help more students answer the question: Is this idea big enough?

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TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

Visit their virtual booths, get a product demo and start a conversation. You can also catch Startup Alley founders pitching to TechCrunch staff. Look for the Startup Pitch Feedback Sessions scheduled over all three days. Soak up the pitch deck teardowns and the VC presentations. Who’s ready for Startup Battlefield?

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Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2014

Throughout all of these years I was a full-time VC so Launchpad really came out of evenings and weekends for me. Adam had a full time startup and then was doing consulting (he later raised a VC fund). Demo’d to death. We’ve all been demo-day’d to death. Yeah, he was LA, baby! Quality endures.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

Your product demo crushed. This is a very common scenario when entrepreneurs pitch VCs and frankly is a very common scenario when VCs try to raise money from LPs. When you pitched me I really did love you. And you get to demonstrate your skill sets without even pitching. The dialog was great.

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TechCrunch

APRIL 7, 2022

Line up live or online meetings with founders, pitch investors, connect with hiring managers or meet up with other students. You can visit the huge exhibition and demo areas, meet the founders and engineers behind buzzy early-stage startups and get an up-close or even a hands-on encounter with their tech. 5: Tickets are just $75.

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TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

Startups and VC. Denver-based VC firm SpringTime Ventures is pivoting away from its original focus on its home state of Colorado, despite being the only local fund in two of the state’s 10 unicorn companies, Becca reports. ” New crypto startups forged ahead during Alliance DAO’s demo day on Wednesday amid the FTX implosion.

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Tomasz Tunguz

AUGUST 19, 2015

I’ve been to many YC Demo Days and I always look forward to them. In addition to the pitches themselves, the types of companies presenting forbear trends in the startup world more broadly. This trend opposes the broader VC market’s investment patterns. This year was no exception.

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TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 11, 2022

This week saw two big events running in parallel: an Apple hardware announcement and Y Combinator’s Demo Day. From faux fish to teams that want to reinvent flying, the Demo Day team rounded up some of the wildest pitches. Here are their favorite pitches from Day 1 and Day 2. Want it in your inbox every Saturday AM?

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TechCrunch

MARCH 25, 2023

In the rest of this newsletter we’re talking AI, icons and demo days. No pitches, please. More to come on specific learnings, but below I thought I’d bullet point some of the tidbits I overheard while at the accelerator’s pitch session. “I But umbrellas exist. You can also send me tips at natasha.m@techcrunch.com

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TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 13, 2021

In the rest of this newsletter, we’ll talk about the new career path to CEO, our favorite startups from Techstars Demo Day and the latest SPAC you should probably know about. A triple-hitter Demo Day. TechCrunch covered favorites from Techstars’ three Demo Days, which were focused on Chicago, Boston and workforce development.

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