Prana Partners founder Mark Lyttleton is an experienced business mentor and angel investor. This article will look at pitching, sharing tips and pointers to make presentations more compelling.
The key to presenting the perfect pitch lies in careful preparation. Not only does the pitcher need to know their own company, but they also need to know the industry inside out, enabling them to answer questions without appearing unprepared.
Practice helps the presenter to deliver their pitch in a confident way, ensuring that they have the ability to cope in different eventualities. Presenters need to back up statements with facts, demonstrating that they are aware of market opportunities and challenges. The attached PDF provides an outline of some of the biggest challenges faced by start-ups in 2023.
Every pitch has a purpose, and these objectives can vary considerably, from investor pitches to raise funding for the business, to sales pitches to potential buyers. The information disclosed in the pitch will depend to a large extent on its purpose. The attached infographic explores the different types of business pitch in more detail.
It is important that the presenting team research their audience to ascertain their background, enabling the team to use the right language to get their message across. For example, when pitching to an investor with a purely financial background, it would be sensible to focus on financials rather exploring the technology and product features in detail. Conversely, an investor from a tech background is likely to be more interested the technologies involved.
The pitch should incorporate sufficient information to provide a clear outline of the project without going into minute detail and boring the audience. A great pitch outlines the problem the founder aims to solve, as well as an outline of the solution they have developed.
It is important to cover aspects such as market size, business model, and market strategy. A solid pitch also provides a timeline including metrics related to revenue, team growth, important milestones and events like fundraising rounds, and numbers of acquired customers.
For many investors, the pitching team is the most persuasive element in deciding whether or not to invest in a company. They want to know more about the people behind the project and their relevant qualifications and experience. They will also want to know that the company has assessed the competition, and that it has a solid grasp of financials.
The key to the perfect pitch is great storytelling, communicating the company’s message in an engaging way. The embedded video takes a closer look at the role of storytelling in making a pitch more memorable and compelling.