pitch workbook for international entrepreneurs

PITCH WORKSHOP

PNP ACCELERATOR

4/11/2012Plug and Play Tech Center / Confidential and Proprietary

Your pitching arsenal


30 second elevator pitch

2 – 3 minute rapid fire pitch (EXPO)

5 min introduction pitch (EIR & Feedback sessions)

20-60 minute formal pitch (Funding, Biz Dev)

Business Plan???

Before we start…


Say your name and company name s-l-o-w-l-y

Objective of first meeting? Get the second meeting!

Let people know you’re considering Silicon Valley

for the long-run (even if you’re not!)

Before we start… part 2


Do your homework on who you’re pitching to:

Investors

Partners

Customers/Clients

Expect to be interrupted

The projector will fail at least once, come prepared!

There are some rules:

When describing your vision, keep it simple

When describing your product, keep it focused

Remember “Practice makes perfect”

Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 Rule of Powerpoint


10 slides

20 minutes

30 pt font

The man!

The logic flow


What does this company do?

(is it something I invest in?)

Not an area of interest

Credible story?

Not this team

Is this a problem?

Not a problem

Is it large enough?

Y

N

Y

N

Each question elicits a yes/no response, or buy-in/objection

Y

N

And so on…

The logic flow


Product/ Technology

Team

Progress/ Traction

Business Model

Market Size/ Dynamics

Your name here!

Magic sentence – the elevator pitch


What is your core value proposition? What is your vision? Can you tell me in less than 30 words???

The magic sentence:

(company name) provides (category) solutions for (target customer) to (purpose) which allows them to (benefit) by leveraging (uniqueness) technology.

Short, simple, memorable: What, How, Why?

Problem & Pains/ Value Proposition


Value Proposition to the Customer

Who has this problem? How many? How do you know?

Target Market Size

Bigger is better

2 approaches: Top Down vs. Bottom Up

Be credible and check your facts

Max 10% Rule

Product & Solution


How does your product/service solve this problem?

Is there deep tech behind this product?

Are you selling vitamins, aspirin or antibiotics?


Product description. How is it unique?

Screenshot? Let me see! Demo? Let me play!

Product & Solution

Market Landscape & Competition


Who is your competition and how are you positioned?

List all your top competitors

If you cant yet prove you’re better, how are you different

Is there a global demand for your product/service?

What is your unfair advantage and how are you

different?

Market share lead

Intellectual Property/ Patents

Exclusive Partnerships

Business Model


Show me the money!

What metrics do you use to evaluate growth?

Who is the *paying* customer? Conversion?

What are you selling? Are there opportunities to

expand future revenue sources?

Who are your key current/future distribution and

tech partners?

Current Stage & Traction


How much progress have you achieved so far?

Current stage of development? How fast are you

growing?

Are you working with big name brands and customers?

Have you received any prior investments? How

much? From whom?

“Third party validation” aka Testimonials

Numbers don’t lie

Management Team


When was the company founded? How long have

you been working on this project?

What is the size of your team and how do their

roles differ?

Are members experienced in the space and a good

fit? How many founders? Technical vs. Business?

Silicon Valley bias

The Ask – Why are you pitching me?


What are you looking for?

If $$$, how much and at what valuation

If advisors, be specific and do your homework on your

audience

If $$$, how will you spend the money and what

milestones do you expect to hit with the extra cash

Get to “yes”, or get to “no” faster

International Chicken or the Egg Dilemna

What happens next?


Summary


Problem & Pains/ Value Proposition

Product & Solution/ Technology

Market Landscape & Competition

Business Model

Current Stage and Traction

Management Team

The Ask

What about Financials? Projections?

So what’s the difference?


Elevator Pitch = Vision, Haymakers

2–3 min Teaser Pitch = Product/Technology, Market, Team

5 min Pitch = *All the above + Business Model + Traction

20 – 60 “VC” Pitch = *All the above + Financials

* Assuming they know why you are pitching to them in the first place (The Ask)

THANK YOU.

QUESTIONS?


Fernando Gouveia, [email protected]

+1 650 504 6100

@fegouveia8

Additional Resources


Dave McClure, 500 Startups

Startup Viagra: How to Pitch VCs

Guy Kawasaki, Garage Technology Ventures

The 10/20/30 Rule of Powerpoint

Techwadi

How to Write a Pitchbook for Your Startup

Canaan Partners

Canaan Entrepreneur Pitch Workbook