What Has Business Pitching Taught You About Startups?

Most founders prefer polish over substance. This is, of course, a serious mistake.

Over more than 24 years, since 1997, of practicing consulting and mentoring, I have met thousands of people with similar ideas, all of whom believe their ideas are extraordinary. Perhaps not unique, but extraordinary, that is what they believe.

Their pitches mostly rolled between one of two types:

• The standard deck, around 10 slides, in which they fill in the blanks.

• The whole ship, around 35 slides, because they simply have to tell you everything.

In general, I can tell whether the founder and the pitch are more oriented toward marketing, product, operations, or just getting money!

I point this out because what it means is that such founders urgently need to know the fine line between a successful pitch and a failed one.

Startups are misled into believing that the appeal of a pitch lies in customers and high sales numbers.

Many also believe that ideas are fundable. Perhaps, but it is very, very hard. Do not count on it, because ideas that are not grounded and tangible in reality are rarely funded.

Very few have a meaningful vision and roadmap, and almost all of them are just trying to get money to do what they are doing now.

And hardly anyone thinks about offering the funder a return on investment.

Good, strong pitches must balance business and emotional needs. Whether you are presenting to a company, an investor, a customer or a potential partner, you have to make them live the project at the business level and at the same time touch their heart at the emotional level. Without this, it is almost certain that your voice will drop and you will leave the room or the meeting dragging your disappointment behind you.

So when you prepare a pitch, think about the following six stars, especially if the pitch is for investment, because most founders give no attention to clarifying and defining the following:

• Who the (serious) competitors are, and who the dangerous ones are
• Who the potential partners are
• An organized and clear use of funds
• How the business or venture grows
• Who the right investors are
• What the investment return is

With this, your pitch will have a greater chance of success, and your side of the negotiating scale will be better and stronger. This is how a professional pitch should be

I hope everyone benefits, and I wish you success