5 Things To Do Before Pitching Your Business To Investors

Tim Cooley
TIM COOLEY , MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT , AUTHOR: THE PITCHDECK BOOK
21 Mar 2023

It is 2023, and the environment for funding has changed drastically in the last few years. What you do before you pitch is even more important than it has been in the past.

I have met with 1000s of entrepreneurs since writing The Pitch Deck Book and helping them tell their stories. While there is a lot to telling a compelling story, there are a few things you can do prior to pitching that will drastically increase your chances of getting funded.

Learn the definitions

Like with most things, investing has its own vocabulary as well. Cap table, cap, prefer stock, SAFE, convertible debt, pre-money or post-money, and many more. If you aren’t familiar with these terms I recommend getting the book, Venture Deals.

Investing is about knowing your numbers and how the investment will work. Gust Equity Management and other tools out there make it really easy to understand how the investment will work for you investors, but you have to know what the words the investment community uses are and what they mean.

A slight change in terminology can have a drastic effect on what you are presenting as an investment.

Gust Launch can set your startup right so its investment ready.

Get to Sales

Get your company to sales. Everyone has an idea. A business is not a business without sales. This is otherwise known as an idea. Ideas are great, but investors don’t typically invest in ideas. There is a rare case they might, but it is best to assume they won’t.

Once you do get sales, like the vocabulary, it is a great idea to truly understand your numbers and build a forecast with them. Using tools like Forecastr can not only save time but also help you learn what KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are critical for the success of the business.

Develop A Pitch Deck

There are hundreds of resources when it comes to developing a pitch deck, but the reality is just following a basic pitch deck template can only get you so far. Learn from others. PitchUs is a vlog-type show where founders pitch to investors. They give them open and honest feedback. Many founders go on to raise the capital they are looking for based on the feedback provided.

If you want to be on the show or see episodes consider applying at PitchUs.

One quick tip, don’t have an ask slide!!!!! Here is why.

Practice Your Pitch

It may seem simple, but there are way too many people who never actually practice their presentation prior to presenting to investors. Don’t be that person.

You want to make sure your pitch feels like a conversation. The more you practice, the more you will sound confident during the presentation.

Do not use note cards or memorize your pitch. These are bad and make you look less confident about your business. There are more tips on pitching in The Pitch Deck Book

Find a Champion

If you have sales and a good story, it becomes much easier to find a Champion in any angel group or VC (Venture Capital) fund. Building a relationship with that person is critical to get the buy-in from others in the group. It makes it much easier to be funded when one of the people on the inside is fighting for you as well.

“But I don’t know any investors” Fix that! They are actually quite easy to find. You can always reach out to the deal flow person at a target fund and ask them if anyone one of their investors has expertise in your industry. Most of the investors I work with want to give back, so they love meeting with people just to help. Usually, the investor has retired, so you are giving them something to do.

There are many ways to fund your business. I hope these five ideas give you an idea of things you can do before you go and present your business to investors. If I can be a resource for you please contact me through PitchUs, pitchus.io.

Gust Launch can set your startup right so its investment ready.


This article is intended for informational purposes only, and doesn't constitute tax, accounting, or legal advice. Everyone's situation is different! For advice in light of your unique circumstances, consult a tax advisor, accountant, or lawyer.