How do you pitch your social venture to potential funders and investors?

When pitching a social venture to potential funders and investors, founders should emphasize their commitment to balancing profit and social impact by showcasing how their business model generates sustainable financial returns while addressing critical social issues. Founders should highlight the measurable outcomes of their impact, along with a clear growth strategy that demonstrates scalability and profitability. This approach appeals to investors who are looking for ventures that align financial success with meaningful contributions to society.

The audience to serve can influence your business idea. For example local food market vs fast food market businesses can consider the trends in the community or customer segment they plan to serve. If the older generation exists in a community, it will prefer the traditional local foods( considered more healthier) but if the the population is youthful, more outgoing- (usually not bothered about eating health habits) fast food can best business to start in the area.

Do. your. research. Knowing the personality of your audience, their previous investments, what they look for, and how you'll match these qualities in your pitch is essential for success.

When pitching your social business, focus on the 'why' more than the 'how'. Tell your audience about the time they'll save, the ease they'll experience, or the satisfaction they'll feel. This way, you connect with their needs and desires, making your pitch not just heard, but felt. This approach connects on a human level. It’s like telling a parent that an educational tool isn’t just a plaything; it’s a key to unlock a child’s potential, to ignite curiosity and joy in learning. You're not just offering beneficiaries a tool or a service; you're offering a pathway to a better, easier, or more fulfilling life. This emotional connection is what resonates with people and stays with them long after the pitch.

Many entrepreneurs fail in this area because they focus a lot on the solution and not on the problem. My specific advice, is to define the problem from the most general, to the most specific: - Use universal frameworks like the SDGs so that everyone understands the problem. - Use numeric data: numbers, %s, are very useful in here. - Complement the data with stories: tell us about specific people, communities or places, and tell us how the problem is affecting real people. - Tell us about your relationship with the problem: Why are you passionate about this specifically. A great tool to define your problem is the "Problem tree analysis", it will help you understand the roots and the effect of the problem you are working on.

It's important that you convey how the central problem is relevant *specifically* to your audience. Without that connection and appeal, they won't feel attached to your product or the solution it is trying to solve.

You also need to make sure that you're clear on how your solution directly links to being able to generate trading revenue that will not only sustain the enterprise into the future, but also assure the investors there's a chance they'll be able to get their money back...

For example, Goli Nutrition is known for its apple cider vinegar gummies that promote health and well-being. If Goli Nutrition wanted to align its impact with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), they might focus on: SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being. Goli could highlight how their products contribute to better health, emphasizing the natural ingredients and the benefits of apple cider vinegar.

Very important point here. For example if you are a social enterprise for profit, you should show how the community can also benefit from your business in terms of well being. SDG goals good guide.

A financially viable and sustainable business model is critical, yet many social entrepreneurs struggle to fully understand their cost structures, leading to problems in scaling. But it is also important to think about social impact along your entire value chain, beyond your primary impact. For example, an organic skin care company can demonstrate social responsibility by partnering with sustainable local farmers, prioritizing fair labor practices, and employing marginalized groups. Presenting social responsibility as an integral part of your business model not only underscores your potential impact, but also appeals to impact-driven investors, especially given the likelihood that the business model will need to be adjusted in the future.

Key area. You should show your revenues if any or forecast revenue to show potential investors that indeed you are going to make the money. If it is a convertible note or equity form of investment the Financer should see ( in figures) a potential Return on Investment. Others to back up your revenue forecast is customer/market statistics that will be served to make money.

There's a really powerful, but simple, visual template that you can use for this - the social lean canvas cover off all the key aspects of your business model at both start-up and in the future. You should also be clear what type of social enterprise business model yours is based on: research by CAF a few years back identified that there are only ever 3 (and everything else is a variant on them): - step (renewable energy) - trade-off (intermediate labour market) - unrelated (bottled water)

The team itself is perhaps the most important aspect that investors consider when evaluating your business. A great idea is useless without the right team to support it. Establish why your team is right for this project and how they each contribute with an experienced array of skills and expertise.

Practice is KEY!!! A cliché: yes. 120% truth: also yes. When I was preparing for my TED talk "The worst entrepreneur in the world", I practiced my talk for weeks, and it made all the difference when I took the stage. I recommend you practice: - In front of yourself: record your pitch with your phone, and watch the video a few times. - In front of peers and friends that work in your industry: this is a good way to start with people that you trust, but can also give you good feedback. - In front of mentors, teachers, or someone that will not hesitate to give you tough feedback: once you feel good, pitch to someone critical and demanding, this will help to improve wonders. Be open to feedback, to change, and accepting you need to improve.