Crafting your investor presentation
Crafting your investor presentation
Does your pitch deck pass the smell test?
There are 15,855 VC firms in the US alone (2021 data), in which VC activity reached US$209.4B in 2022, not including private equity. If self-financing isn't an option, then it's time to evaluate your communication strategy that will get investors to commit to your startup.
The recent boom in Medtech investment is starting to cool off. These signals are felt firsthand among several of our clients as they're working hard to maintain longer gaps between funding rounds. Some have taken this opportunity to refine their messaging to investors and made appropriate adjustments that have helped them close more frequent but smaller deals.
Let's talk about your investor presentation: Pitch presentations are often limited to 5, 10, and 20-minute sessions, in which you have to make an audience understand your tech, lay out your business strategy, and highlight a roadmap to success. Does your pitch deck educate, inform, and excite your audience?
Accomplishing this requires thoughtful storytelling, disciplined editing, and appropriate visual graphics.
A poor presentation gets in the way of communicating a good idea. We've reviewed hundreds of startup pitch decks and can clearly see why—this is going to be tough to grasp for some, but it needs to be said—some of you are not communicating your idea as effectively as you think. Presenting your pitch clearly and effectively is half your business.
Here are some useful tips to remember as you refine your investor presentation.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
Simplifying the complex is what we're after. Your platform may have several real-world examples or applications, but you should only focus on one. Presentations are just a taste of what you're working on, not your encyclopedic knowledge of the industry, allowing a broader audience to grasp what you're doing. Reinforcing this idea by mentioning only a single example in your presentation allows your audience to more easily recall it throughout the presentation and beyond.
How do you know what is simple? Using pedestrian language often helps, especially when used with technical jargon. Good illustrations and artwork help, too. Remember, not every audience member is an expert in your tech, nor should they be.
HIGHLIGHT AUDIENCE OBJECTIONS EARLY
Set up your story by acknowledging any audience objections within the first couple minutes of your pitch. Here's why: if you spend 20 minutes avoiding this information, your audience will not listen to anything else you say until they have heard you address it or when they can ask their question. For example, an objection could be a manufacturing issue or a small patient population. These issues might be part of why you're asking for the investment—to help close these gaps.
THE FLOW OF THE STORY IS IMPORTANT
Some presentations start with the company organization structure and then move into the challenge/solution, with most pitches ending with the financials.
Other decks place the product/platform upfront. Either way, you have to consider your story flow. Pay attention to your audience's feedback and adjust for the next session. Eventually, your content order will start to align.
What kind of reactions are you looking for when you present? Good reactions from your audience include questions and a discussion that goes beyond what was presented, continuing the discussion of your work rather than defending objections.
VISUAL DESIGN STANDARDS
You would never go to a black tie event wearing flip-flops—and a top hat worn on a beach day doesn't seem right either. Aesthetic attention to the slide layout, typography, and imagery add up. It's a quick and easy way to show your audience that you take your business seriously and respect your prospects' attention and time.
Less is more. Allow one or two messages on a slide. Over-detailed bullet points are distracting and take the focus off the presenter. Use imagery wherever possible. A good illustration can go a long way. In addition to visually demonstrating your point, artwork can also be created to strengthen your brand style.
Communicate a focused story simply and clearly. Present frequently, not only for practice, but to identify gaps in your presentation and work by paying attention to audience objections. Use pedestrian language and a good dose of artwork to explain your product or platform.
Experts hire experts. You know your IP and have a vision of what it can do for the world. However, you may not be the best person to develop the presentation strategy to communicate your plans. Make sure to seek a design and messaging strategist to help determine what will resonate with your investor audience.
There are hundreds of books on the subject of presentation design. If you haven't read one yet, do it now. Even if you never have to design your presentation yourself, at least you'll have some understanding of some basic design principles.
Further Reading: