INDUSTRY INSIGHTS YOUR PEERS ARE READING
In partnership with Ahli United Bank, 500 Startups is proud to announce the first of its kind pitch competition in Kuwait—Falcon’s Nest. Falcon’s Nest is an opportunity for local startups to secure a chance to pitch their company to Silicon Valley venture capital firm 500 Startups along with prominent Kuwaiti business executives who will give their candid feedback on the quality of their businesses and presentations. MORE
As a seed investor and accelerator, we often see major changes from the seed round pitch deck to what the business actually ends up doing. While design does matter, the content of the pitch and the business are by far the more important things. MORE
It’s quite simple: a pitch should have ten slides , last no more than twenty minutes , and contain no font smaller than thirty points. In a perfect world, you give your pitch in twenty minutes, and you have forty minutes left for discussion. MORE
For entrepreneurs, the operative phrase is, “I pitch, therefore I am.” Pitching isn’t only for raising money—it’s for reaching agreement, and agreement can yield many good outcomes including sales, partnerships, and new hires. Here are the key elements of a great pitch. When the meeting starts, you should set the stage for the rest of the pitch. Entrepreneurs believe that a pitch is a narrative whose opening chapter must always be autobiographical. MORE
Startup pitch meetings are pretty predictable. You walk into a venture fund’s conference room or Zoom room (if they’re progressive), pitch the partners, offer to answer their questions, maybe ask them a bland question or two, and then leave the meeting to await a response. MORE
Click to Share Via Twitter When pitching to VCs, one of the most frequent errors founders make is incorrectly presenting their total addressable market, or TAM for short. MORE
The post What Belongs in a Startup’s Pitch Deck? So you’ve developed a game-changing product, formed a business with a killer team, quit your job, and are rolling the product out to market. Your business is the next unicorn, and all is good in the world. Fantastic. Now only one thing is inhibiting your company’s growth: you have no money. For many founders of high-growth startups, bootstrapping has limits. Read more >. appeared first on The Gust Blog. MORE
I'm excited to be able to finally announce Brooklyn Bridge Ventures ' investment in Clubhouse , a company I agreed to back before I even knew what it was. In 2010, a bunch of techies got together to do the next year's NYC Triathlon. I had already done two and was looking forward to joining people from the tech community. MORE
The best business plans are stories, and the best pitches are stories. Pitch tip: don’t start with a boring introduction; start with a slide showing a great picture, nothing else, and use that picture to tell your story. MORE
Invested Interests Power Pitches business plan investors marketing pitching product startup Marketing strategy actually is quite important to most investors. The bottom line is that if no one shows up to buy or use your product, it doesn’t matter one whit how cool or great or innovative it is. And investors do not like top-down projections (“we’ll get a 10% market share…”). MORE
Power Pitches entrepreneurs pitching slide deck MORE
Give the “elevator pitch” for your startup. The CEO should give the pitch, and prepare by playing “presidential debates” – asking your team to be the opponents, and check you on timing. Invested Interests content entrepreneur investor pitch slides MORE
In my effort to rewrite the deck for my next fund, I've been spending a lot of time reflecting on what it is that I try to do. A lot of people can say they work hard, or work smart, but that doesn't leave me off where I think I'm setting my goals. I've been trying to figure out if there's any differentiation in how I do my job versus how other people might assume it gets done. MORE
I've rewritten a lot of pitch decks over time and a lot of them are really bad--mostly because founders have been told what should go in them without a lot of consideration as to why. Somewhere along the line, someone came up with things that are supposed to go in a pitch without ever asking investors how they take in a story. MORE
Personally, I find pitch events to be a little bit contrived. For the most part, while the companies may be interesting, the actual pitches are usually so-so. That being said, too many pitch presentations have the delivery of a Powerpoint as the main focus, verses the story. You should be able to get mugged, lose all your stuff, and walk into anyone with an internet connection being able to give a pitch. MORE
The best pitches have a hook. They mostly talk about where you're going, because the what you've done up until now in a seed pitch usually isn't that much. The best pitches acknowledge the reason why we're here--for you to ask me for money and for me to make a bundle of it investing in you. The best pitches follow the word problem with. The best pitches are ambitious--they ask for enough and aim to do something big. MORE
A good list of just about everything you could possibly want to have in your arsenal is listed in the answer to What materials or software should I use to pitch a VC? So when reviewing 20, 50 or 100 submissions for funding during the screening process, I have found that it is incredibly helpful to be able to watch a quick (2-3 minute) video elevator pitch so that I can get an instant gut feel for the entrepreneur and the company. MORE
The man stopped talking, finally, summarized his pitch, and thanked us for listening. He’d treated us – a group of local investors – to a pitch punctuated with detailed stories of how previous partners, an investor , and an attorney had screwed him. Power Pitches angel investment fundraising pitching startups venture capitalWe sat in stunned silence. MORE
Apply to Pitch at the Event The top 10 finalists will be given the opportunity to get their ideas in front of distinguished investor panels, influential media, global partners, and over 300 esteemed guests. MORE
When pitching investors, founders typically get one to two minutes to catch their attention. Here’s how to incorporate it into your pitch: Your deck’s first slide should be a cover slide that says your company name, your name, your contact information. MORE
Funded entrepreneurs can pitch their company in terms that an investor can relate to. But they cannot pitch the business as a good investment in a way the investor can quickly grab onto. Augustin Rafael Reyes. MORE
Business Resources Personal Branding & Professional Development YLAI Pitch Perfect (pitching & marketing) recap video web chatEstablishing a brand identity is a critical element of your business success. MORE
It is Nikolas Tesla pitching a VC firm. Because the videos show exactly what life would be like if a young Elon Musk came to pitch VCs today and said I want to transform P2P finance, get people driving electric cars and send a man to mars in our lifetime. MORE
Personal Branding & Professional Development YLAI Pitch Perfect (pitching & marketing) Guest Author / ContributorHow many times a day do you check your phone? MORE
More so with investor pitches. The pitch had been intriguing, the product/market fit looked attractive, and the guy in charge seemed to know his stuff. The pitch went well. But one of the post-pitch questions set him off. Power Pitches whining MORE
It was just a few minutes into the pitch. Honestly, I was really liking the people, the market, the secret sauce, and just about all of that pitch until they got to the financials. As a point of fact, both of these companies got financed, although not both by the group that saw the pitch I saw; and neither of them is far enough along to say they have or haven’t made it. Power Pitches angel investment fundraising pitching venture capital MORE
I would therefore suggest that you not using “pitching to VCs” as a reason—one way or the other—to consider incorporating. Invested Interests Angels Incorporating law legality pitch VCsWhile you will definitely need to be a corporate entity before you can accept funding from any investor (or issue stock options to any employees), the specific corporate status of the venture at this stage is much less important to investors than its functional status. MORE
Creating and delivering a great pitch requires both using the right building blocks and putting them together properly. Keep it simple – this pitch is about you as much as anything. MORE
Personal Branding & Professional Development YLAI Pitch Perfect (pitching & marketing) Guest Author / ContributorSuccessful companies and emerging startups often find themselves in need of more resources and partners. MORE
On August 21, 2019, they will each make a graduation pitch to a panel of judges from the community. Time: Pitches begin at 5:00 pm – catered networking reception to follow. The post JOIN US AS SIX LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS PITCH FOR UP TO $10,000! MORE
I heard an EdTech startup pitching to GAN Ventures do this recently, too. You can’t expect just to show up and give a pitch that’s simple and coherent. But, coming up with that 30-second pitch doesn’t just happen. MORE
The event kicked off with our Female Founders & Engineers mixer, followed by our open Expo hall and pitches by 40 vetted & funded YC companies. If you weren’t able to make it, you can watch the keynote , hear the pitches and see which companies you might be interested in. Startup Pitches, A-O. Startup Pitches P-Z. Over 900 engineers joined us for YC’s annual Work at a Startup Expo. MORE
Not long ago, I found myself pitching GAN. As I thought about other examples where this has happened, I realized that—as companies pitch me for investment dollars from GAN Ventures—I often don’t immediately understand what their companies do, even after their first 15 minutes of presenting to us. Unless you boil your points and supporting research down to their essence, every time, you might botch inevitable questions that come up during your pitch. MORE
And when guys start pitching to women for capital, that's when you really get behavior change. Don't you think guys would be a little more thoughtful about a slate of bros on their team page if they were pitching in front of a partner meeting of all women? The problem is that so few women pitch. I have this vision. MORE
Here are my seven favorite cures for post-pitch depression. . It’s one of the most frequent questions: What if I can’t get funded for my deal? What next? Do I keep trying forever, drowning in the myth of persistence? Who can I complain to? Where do I get my appeals hearing? . MORE
Take your choice (these are both real, honest-to-God pitches, and I’ve got the originals in my possession): Contestant A. Power Pitches bad David Rose pitch startup worst CluelessCo is an internet startup company seeking $2 million of equity financing to fund our company for at least one year. CluelessCo will become the main consumer outlet for the internet, digital cable and satellite TV, and cell phones and PDAs. MORE
Ben Franklin’s TechCelerator @State College is inviting you to join us on Tuesday, May 21, 2019 as each team pitches their business concept to a panel of independent judges to win a cash prize of up to $10,000! Come and join us as we applaud the efforts of these local tech-entrepreneurs but stay for the fun networking reception that follows the pitches. The post CHEER ON LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS AS THEY “PITCH” FOR UP TO $10,000! MORE
It''s a co-working space full of creatives and freelancers, most of whom who have never pitched an investor, and probably never seen a startup pitch either. The first question I always get, which I find endlessly hilarious, is "Don''t you get tired of people pitching you all the time?". That''s the key--when you think you can help just about anyone, and you really do like helping people, each new pitch is an opportunity. Other pitches! MORE
On March 14, 2019, they each made a graduation “pitch” to a team of judges from the surrounding area. The graduation pitch events are attended by not only the friends and families of the presenters – but also community partners, local dignitaries, economic development professionals, other startups, and potential investors. The post TWO SOMERSET ENTREPRENEURS WON $5,000 IN PITCH COMPETITION! MORE
STATE COLLEGE, PA – On December 6, 2018, six emerging tech entrepreneurs will compete for up to $10,000 at the BF TechCelerator’s graduation “pitch” event. The post The BF TechCelerator is Hosting a Pitch Event: Someone Will Walk Away With Up To $10,000! A panel of local judges will evaluate the presenters who have been honing their business concepts for the past ten weeks in an intensive business startup accelerator. You Won’t Want to Miss This! MORE
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. MORE
VentureWell Director of Venture Development, Eli Velasquez offers insights on how to develop pitch competitions that provide maximum support to startups. The post Rethinking Pitch Competitions: Create Value, Not a Spectacle appeared first on VentureWell. MORE
But it’s not the founders’ fault for pitching us this way, it’s on us as early stage investors to help them better frame the conversation. Armed with those learnings, we went out to pitch our investors and asked for $750k to see if enterprises and larger agencies would pay large amounts of money for our solution. Don’t pitch me your product MORE
I'm not a journalist by trade so I'm really not an appropriate person to pitch in such an automated way. To deal with these pitches, I just created a Gmail canned response: "Hi, this is a canned response in response to your canned pitch. If you really knew me, you'd know that I write a personal blog and don't write book reviews off of pitches, interview founders for my readers, or cover events as news. MORE
pitching Related Topics GAN
APRIL 23, 2019
I heard an EdTech startup pitching to GAN Ventures do this recently, too. You can’t expect just to show up and give a pitch that’s simple and coherent. But, coming up with that 30-second pitch doesn’t just happen.
Venture Well
JULY 29, 2019
VentureWell Director of Venture Development, Eli Velasquez offers insights on how to develop pitch competitions that provide maximum support to startups. The post Rethinking Pitch Competitions: Create Value, Not a Spectacle appeared first on VentureWell.
GAN
MARCH 26, 2019
Not long ago, I found myself pitching GAN. As I thought about other examples where this has happened, I realized that—as companies pitch me for investment dollars from GAN Ventures—I often don’t immediately understand what their companies do, even after their first 15 minutes of presenting to us. Unless you boil your points and supporting research down to their essence, every time, you might botch inevitable questions that come up during your pitch.
This is going to be BIG.
MARCH 2, 2015
It''s a co-working space full of creatives and freelancers, most of whom who have never pitched an investor, and probably never seen a startup pitch either. The first question I always get, which I find endlessly hilarious, is "Don''t you get tired of people pitching you all the time?". That''s the key--when you think you can help just about anyone, and you really do like helping people, each new pitch is an opportunity. Other pitches!
Guy Kawasaki
MARCH 9, 2015
For entrepreneurs, the operative phrase is, “I pitch, therefore I am.” Pitching isn’t only for raising money—it’s for reaching agreement, and agreement can yield many good outcomes including sales, partnerships, and new hires. Here are the key elements of a great pitch. When the meeting starts, you should set the stage for the rest of the pitch. Entrepreneurs believe that a pitch is a narrative whose opening chapter must always be autobiographical.
Guy Kawasaki
MARCH 5, 2015
It’s quite simple: a pitch should have ten slides , last no more than twenty minutes , and contain no font smaller than thirty points. In a perfect world, you give your pitch in twenty minutes, and you have forty minutes left for discussion.
Founders Coop
AUGUST 15, 2018
But it’s not the founders’ fault for pitching us this way, it’s on us as early stage investors to help them better frame the conversation. Armed with those learnings, we went out to pitch our investors and asked for $750k to see if enterprises and larger agencies would pay large amounts of money for our solution. Don’t pitch me your product
Dream It
JUNE 12, 2019
When pitching investors, founders typically get one to two minutes to catch their attention. Here’s how to incorporate it into your pitch: Your deck’s first slide should be a cover slide that says your company name, your name, your contact information.
Dream It
MAY 29, 2019
Startup pitch meetings are pretty predictable. You walk into a venture fund’s conference room or Zoom room (if they’re progressive), pitch the partners, offer to answer their questions, maybe ask them a bland question or two, and then leave the meeting to await a response.
Gust
DECEMBER 16, 2011
The best business plans are stories, and the best pitches are stories. Pitch tip: don’t start with a boring introduction; start with a slide showing a great picture, nothing else, and use that picture to tell your story.
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.
This is going to be BIG.
JANUARY 16, 2013
And when guys start pitching to women for capital, that's when you really get behavior change. Don't you think guys would be a little more thoughtful about a slate of bros on their team page if they were pitching in front of a partner meeting of all women? The problem is that so few women pitch. I have this vision.
This is going to be BIG.
JULY 18, 2016
The best pitches have a hook. They mostly talk about where you're going, because the what you've done up until now in a seed pitch usually isn't that much. The best pitches acknowledge the reason why we're here--for you to ask me for money and for me to make a bundle of it investing in you. The best pitches follow the word problem with. The best pitches are ambitious--they ask for enough and aim to do something big.
Dream It
MARCH 8, 2019
Apply to Pitch at the Event The top 10 finalists will be given the opportunity to get their ideas in front of distinguished investor panels, influential media, global partners, and over 300 esteemed guests.
Ben Franklin Technology Partners
AUGUST 12, 2019
On August 21, 2019, they will each make a graduation pitch to a panel of judges from the community. Time: Pitches begin at 5:00 pm – catered networking reception to follow. The post JOIN US AS SIX LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS PITCH FOR UP TO $10,000!
Gust
OCTOBER 11, 2012
I would therefore suggest that you not using “pitching to VCs” as a reason—one way or the other—to consider incorporating. Invested Interests Angels Incorporating law legality pitch VCsWhile you will definitely need to be a corporate entity before you can accept funding from any investor (or issue stock options to any employees), the specific corporate status of the venture at this stage is much less important to investors than its functional status.
Gust
AUGUST 19, 2012
Give the “elevator pitch” for your startup. The CEO should give the pitch, and prepare by playing “presidential debates” – asking your team to be the opponents, and check you on timing. Invested Interests content entrepreneur investor pitch slides
Gust
JUNE 26, 2012
More so with investor pitches. The pitch had been intriguing, the product/market fit looked attractive, and the guy in charge seemed to know his stuff. The pitch went well. But one of the post-pitch questions set him off. Power Pitches whining
Gust
NOVEMBER 23, 2013
Invested Interests Power Pitches business plan investors marketing pitching product startup Marketing strategy actually is quite important to most investors. The bottom line is that if no one shows up to buy or use your product, it doesn’t matter one whit how cool or great or innovative it is. And investors do not like top-down projections (“we’ll get a 10% market share…”).
Gust
JULY 10, 2012
Here are my seven favorite cures for post-pitch depression. . It’s one of the most frequent questions: What if I can’t get funded for my deal? What next? Do I keep trying forever, drowning in the myth of persistence? Who can I complain to? Where do I get my appeals hearing? .
Gust
OCTOBER 11, 2011
It was just a few minutes into the pitch. Honestly, I was really liking the people, the market, the secret sauce, and just about all of that pitch until they got to the financials. As a point of fact, both of these companies got financed, although not both by the group that saw the pitch I saw; and neither of them is far enough along to say they have or haven’t made it. Power Pitches angel investment fundraising pitching venture capital
This is going to be BIG.
DECEMBER 21, 2010
Personally, I find pitch events to be a little bit contrived. For the most part, while the companies may be interesting, the actual pitches are usually so-so. That being said, too many pitch presentations have the delivery of a Powerpoint as the main focus, verses the story. You should be able to get mugged, lose all your stuff, and walk into anyone with an internet connection being able to give a pitch.
Gust
OCTOBER 18, 2011
The man stopped talking, finally, summarized his pitch, and thanked us for listening. He’d treated us – a group of local investors – to a pitch punctuated with detailed stories of how previous partners, an investor , and an attorney had screwed him. Power Pitches angel investment fundraising pitching startups venture capitalWe sat in stunned silence.
Scratch Paper
MARCH 20, 2014
Creating and delivering a great pitch requires both using the right building blocks and putting them together properly. Keep it simple – this pitch is about you as much as anything.
TechStars
JUNE 12, 2019
As a seed investor and accelerator, we often see major changes from the seed round pitch deck to what the business actually ends up doing. While design does matter, the content of the pitch and the business are by far the more important things.
Ben Franklin Technology Partners
NOVEMBER 13, 2018
STATE COLLEGE, PA – On December 6, 2018, six emerging tech entrepreneurs will compete for up to $10,000 at the BF TechCelerator’s graduation “pitch” event. The post The BF TechCelerator is Hosting a Pitch Event: Someone Will Walk Away With Up To $10,000! A panel of local judges will evaluate the presenters who have been honing their business concepts for the past ten weeks in an intensive business startup accelerator. You Won’t Want to Miss This!
Ben Franklin Technology Partners
MAY 2, 2019
Ben Franklin’s TechCelerator @State College is inviting you to join us on Tuesday, May 21, 2019 as each team pitches their business concept to a panel of independent judges to win a cash prize of up to $10,000! Come and join us as we applaud the efforts of these local tech-entrepreneurs but stay for the fun networking reception that follows the pitches. The post CHEER ON LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS AS THEY “PITCH” FOR UP TO $10,000!
This is going to be BIG.
SEPTEMBER 12, 2012
I'm not a journalist by trade so I'm really not an appropriate person to pitch in such an automated way. To deal with these pitches, I just created a Gmail canned response: "Hi, this is a canned response in response to your canned pitch. If you really knew me, you'd know that I write a personal blog and don't write book reviews off of pitches, interview founders for my readers, or cover events as news.
Gust
JANUARY 4, 2014
Power Pitches entrepreneurs pitching slide deck
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 30, 2013
It is Nikolas Tesla pitching a VC firm. Because the videos show exactly what life would be like if a young Elon Musk came to pitch VCs today and said I want to transform P2P finance, get people driving electric cars and send a man to mars in our lifetime.
Ben Franklin Technology Partners
MARCH 20, 2019
On March 14, 2019, they each made a graduation “pitch” to a team of judges from the surrounding area. The graduation pitch events are attended by not only the friends and families of the presenters – but also community partners, local dignitaries, economic development professionals, other startups, and potential investors. The post TWO SOMERSET ENTREPRENEURS WON $5,000 IN PITCH COMPETITION!
This is going to be BIG.
MAY 5, 2015
In my effort to rewrite the deck for my next fund, I've been spending a lot of time reflecting on what it is that I try to do. A lot of people can say they work hard, or work smart, but that doesn't leave me off where I think I'm setting my goals. I've been trying to figure out if there's any differentiation in how I do my job versus how other people might assume it gets done.
Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative
MAY 20, 2019
Personal Branding & Professional Development YLAI Pitch Perfect (pitching & marketing) Guest Author / ContributorHow many times a day do you check your phone?
Scratch Paper
JANUARY 10, 2015
Funded entrepreneurs can pitch their company in terms that an investor can relate to. But they cannot pitch the business as a good investment in a way the investor can quickly grab onto. Augustin Rafael Reyes.
Dream It
MAY 16, 2019
Click to Share Via Twitter When pitching to VCs, one of the most frequent errors founders make is incorrectly presenting their total addressable market, or TAM for short.
This is going to be BIG.
JULY 22, 2015
I'm excited to be able to finally announce Brooklyn Bridge Ventures ' investment in Clubhouse , a company I agreed to back before I even knew what it was. In 2010, a bunch of techies got together to do the next year's NYC Triathlon. I had already done two and was looking forward to joining people from the tech community.
Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative
MAY 26, 2019
Business Resources Personal Branding & Professional Development YLAI Pitch Perfect (pitching & marketing) recap video web chatEstablishing a brand identity is a critical element of your business success.
This is going to be BIG.
JANUARY 8, 2018
I've rewritten a lot of pitch decks over time and a lot of them are really bad--mostly because founders have been told what should go in them without a lot of consideration as to why. Somewhere along the line, someone came up with things that are supposed to go in a pitch without ever asking investors how they take in a story.
500
APRIL 18, 2019
In partnership with Ahli United Bank, 500 Startups is proud to announce the first of its kind pitch competition in Kuwait—Falcon’s Nest. Falcon’s Nest is an opportunity for local startups to secure a chance to pitch their company to Silicon Valley venture capital firm 500 Startups along with prominent Kuwaiti business executives who will give their candid feedback on the quality of their businesses and presentations.
Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative
MAY 20, 2019
Personal Branding & Professional Development YLAI Pitch Perfect (pitching & marketing) Guest Author / ContributorSuccessful companies and emerging startups often find themselves in need of more resources and partners.
Gust
AUGUST 15, 2017
The post What Belongs in a Startup’s Pitch Deck? So you’ve developed a game-changing product, formed a business with a killer team, quit your job, and are rolling the product out to market. Your business is the next unicorn, and all is good in the world. Fantastic. Now only one thing is inhibiting your company’s growth: you have no money. For many founders of high-growth startups, bootstrapping has limits. Read more >. appeared first on The Gust Blog.
Y Combinator
JULY 2, 2019
The event kicked off with our Female Founders & Engineers mixer, followed by our open Expo hall and pitches by 40 vetted & funded YC companies. If you weren’t able to make it, you can watch the keynote , hear the pitches and see which companies you might be interested in. Startup Pitches, A-O. Startup Pitches P-Z. Over 900 engineers joined us for YC’s annual Work at a Startup Expo.
Gust
DECEMBER 13, 2012
A good list of just about everything you could possibly want to have in your arsenal is listed in the answer to What materials or software should I use to pitch a VC? So when reviewing 20, 50 or 100 submissions for funding during the screening process, I have found that it is incredibly helpful to be able to watch a quick (2-3 minute) video elevator pitch so that I can get an instant gut feel for the entrepreneur and the company.
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