Deliver the perfect investor pitch

30/11/10

If you are going to pitch for funding, it’s important to get it right and to sell your business in the best possible way. We asked our partner and investment expert Irene Bejenke Walsh from MessageLab to give her tips on how to deliver the perfect pitch to investors.

Irene runs a regular workshop in the Centre called ‘How to give the perfect investor pitch’ and the next session is on 6 December.

Find out more and book

Irene’s tips

Individual credibility and trustworthiness of the management team is a key factor for investors when they make their investment decision. The pitch is often the first encounter between a company and investors and first impressions need to be strong to achieve further interest. So, how do you manage to come across in a credible and confident way?

Here are a few key recommendations:

Make your story human and describe the mission and the problem you are solving.
Management is key: showcase your own and your team’s experience.
Less product, more money: Don’t go on and on about your product (or technology). Investors also want to hear about financial returns.
Create trust: state your achievements so far e.g. your relevant professional background and business milestones.
Address your competition.
Be clear about the business model and how you’re making money.
Segment your target market carefully, especially with a consumer product. Less is more.
If you are pre-revenue, you need to prove there is commercial interest in your product or service.

If the content of the pitch is perfected, you can work on the delivery of the pitch.

As a fundraising entrepreneur, there is a very fine line between appearing confident as opposed to arrogant. You have to be passionate and visionary, yet humble, and be able to take advice on board and listen to investors.

The objective of a pitch is to raise enough interest to engage in further talks, for investors to want to read your business plan. You could compare it to a trailer for a film - you want people to come and watch the movie, so you show a few highlights, but not the whole story. The actual investment tends to be a little further down the line.