THE PERFECT PITCH - nsfiipconf.com · 20180519 NSF II Conference - The Perfect Pitch v1 Created...

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THE PERFECT PITCH Blake Patton ! [email protected] " @blakepatton

Transcript of THE PERFECT PITCH - nsfiipconf.com · 20180519 NSF II Conference - The Perfect Pitch v1 Created...

Page 1: THE PERFECT PITCH - nsfiipconf.com · 20180519 NSF II Conference - The Perfect Pitch v1 Created Date: 20180520212750Z ...

THE PERFECT PITCH

Blake Patton! [email protected]" @blakepatton

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VC

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.91%

VC.05%

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@Blake Patton

Full Bio @: www.techsquareventures.com

! [email protected]" @blakepatton

INVESTOR

ENTREPRENEUR

UNIVERSITY / TECH TRANSFER

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TECH TRANSFER PORTFOLIO EXAMPLES

www.pointivo.com

Pointivo is a 3D intelligence platform that uses computer

vision and machine learning to automatically generate digital models for CAD, BIM, and VR

systems.

www.pretelhealth.com

PreTel’s fetal heart rate monitoring and area sensor

solutions solve the inability of existing technology to

accurately identify true versus false labor with fetal monitoring

www.stord.co

Real-time global warehousing network that connects

independent, third-party warehouses via an enterprise

software platform to drive inventory efficiency

PhD Student Professor / Researcher Undergraduate Student

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BUILDING A COMPANY

is all about telling a great story over and over again - to customers, employees, investors, and partners

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Don’t make your story about YOU or YOUR PRODUCT

Make it about YOUR CUSTOMER and the PROBLEM YOU SOLVE for them

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If they understand THE PROBLEM YOU SOLVE and WHO YOU SOLVE

IT FOR – you are half way there

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! Elevator Pitch

" Executive Summary

# Financials

$ Presentation

FOUR WAYSTO TELL YOUR STORY

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ELEVATOR PITCHWe solve problemby providing solution / advantage, to help target customerwith goal or outcome

Depending on stage of business add:We make money by charging target customer to get benefit

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYCreate the right first impression

Use to get meetings and gauge interest

Not a business plan

1 page ideal (2 page max)

Clear and compelling

Highlight the good stuff

Layout and format mattersTEMPLATE:

https://www.ventureatlanta.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/VA-Executive-

Summary-Template-.docx

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FINANCIALS

“in preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”

-Dwight D. Eisenhower

“Startup financials are a work of fiction”Yes… but it shows

§ How you think about the business§ How fast you think it will grow§ Key assumptions, drivers, and levers§ Goals and milestones§ What you need to get there

And§ Helps tell your story§ Guages interest§ Allows comparison of strategic

alternatives§ Helps understand strengths and

weaknesses of a venture

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FINANCIALS

Understand the key assumptions underlying your plan and be prepared to defend them

§ Business model§ Marketing, sales, and distribution§ Pricing§ Average sale and LTV§ Costs§ How and when will you achieve profitability§ Key revenue and cost drivers

# customers, user stats, conversion, churn, variable costs, etc.

§ Sales pipeline

P&LBALANCE SHEET

CASH FLOW (BURN RATE)CAP TABLE

Clear path to revenue growth and profitability

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FINANCIALS

§ Start with revenue forecast§ Forecast expenses§ Income statement forecast§ Balance sheet and cash flow

forecast§ Build / highlight a schedule of

assumptions and make them easy to adjust

Leverage the Business Model Canvas to build your modelThe Canvas shows flow of revenue and costs

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PRESENTATION

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PRESENT YOUR STORY

We have this value proposition and we have the right team to win.

We discovered our targetcustomer has this large problem,

and we addressed it with our solution based on this defendable

technology.

We will acquire customers with this business model.

We have these advantages over our competition. We will meet

these milestones with this financing.

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https://www.slideshare.net/canaanpartners/canaan-pitch-workbook

https://www.slideshare.net/canaanpartners/canaan-pitch-workbook

DON’T USE TEMPLATESBut if you do… here are some good examples:

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PITCH LIKE A PRO: TIPS FOR SUCCESS

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Demonstrate The Market Size & Competitive Landscape

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Show Evidence Your Story Can Become Reality

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Show How You Will Make Money

Start with how you will acquire customers

Validate lifetime value of customers is greater than cost to acquire

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R&D / Initial Product

Product Market Fit

GTM Scale

Growth Maturity

SeedBootstrapping, Grants,

Friends & Family, Angels, Seed VC

Venture CapitalEarly Stage VC,

Growth Stage VC, Venture Debt

TraditionalPrivate Equity, Bank,

IPO, Bonds

Sources Of Funding

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R&D / Initial Product

Product Market Fit

GTM Scale

Growth Maturity

When To Raise

!

MAGIC!

Lean while finding product market fit

Raise more to accelerate growth

Investors don’t typically fund research – they fund companies. Stay bootstrapped / grant funded as long as you can

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How Much To Raise

Raise enough capital to reach meaningful milestones

Milestones represent reduced risk and more favorable valuation

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Customer Discovery FirstMost startups fail from lack of customers, not from failure to develop the product

This is NOT what I wanted

Customer discovery first… then build & raise money

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What VC’sI Look For

Entrepreneur & team

Market

Right Timing

Unfair advantage

Strong team with domain expertise

A large, defendable market opportunity

Market dynamics favor timing

Defendable unfair advantage / moat

Fit

Can I help?

Potential for rapid, capital-efficient growth

Evidence and/or traction

Go-to-market strategy and distribution model

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Finding The Right Investor

JUST FUNDED

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Getting the MeetingThe best introduction is from another successful entrepreneur

Cold calling rarely works – get a warm intro

Lawyers and service providers

Startup community Events

Short email with ‘bait’ – get the meeting, don’t over sell

Ask for a 30 minute meeting

Be prepared to send executive summary or deck if requested

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“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough”

-Albert Einstein

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Avoid Buzzwords & Empty Jargon

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Your audience decides in the first 60 seconds if they will listenStart with a short story or anecdote

Highlight the big problem, shift, or change you are addressing

Tell them about the ‘land of milk and honey’

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They can eitherread your slides or listen to youSlides are not a document

Text heavy slides are boring

Use large font and uncluttered layout

Make use of pictures, graphs, and images

Include more detail when meeting one-on-one, less when presenting to group

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USE A DEMO

A picture is worth 1000 words A demo is worth a second meeting

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“I’m glad you asked…”

Use an appendix for additional detail

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ThankYou

Blake Patton! [email protected]" @blakepatton