What's your pitch practice routine?

Know before you go! The importance of understanding your audience cannot be overstated. A helpful tip would be to put yourself in the audience's shoes and think: What if I were the investor, customer, or partner? What questions or concerns would I have? This change of perspective can be very enlightening and lead you to address points in your pitch that you might otherwise have overlooked.

I’ve scaled many startups to 8-fig rev and advised startups raising $250M+. Here’s what to include in your pitch practice routine: 1. Show you’ve put in the work to win. One of the best predictors of startup success is determination. Show how you’ve done this despite the inevitable headwinds of starting up. 2. Show founder-market fit (FMF). Why are you uniquely qualified to do this & win? Why are you hard to copy? 3. Show product-market fit. Everyone knows to show “growth.” BUT just as importantly, you must show “retention.” If people aren’t sticking around, you need to keep iterating. 4. Nail the pitch checklist. Top pitches include FMF, problem, solution, UVP, social proof, market size, & the transformation.

1. Define Your Goals: Determine the purpose of your pitch. Are you looking to secure funding, gain clients, or persuade stakeholders? Clearly define your objectives to shape your pitch practice routine accordingly.

Know your room. Speaking to institutional investors is different to speaking to individual Angels. It will of course always help if you have worked with or the investor knows your prior experience and capability. Always do your research and figure out what their influences their portfolio. Whilst a strong plan for growth and exit will lead, often this is complimented by an aspect such as job creation (as is the case with our investors) and innovation. Showcase that you can meet these expectations in your pitch and obtaining funding for your startup becomes easier.

Tell a Story! Your script is the backbone of your pitch. An important practical tip is to structure the script in a storytelling format to create an emotional connection. People love stories - use that. Make sure your story is authentic and shows your passion for your startup. And don't forget to keep it short and sweet!

Hot take ??? Don't do the whole pitch. Do the elevator pitch and a quick product demo, send the deck ahead of time, and then do Q&A. I've been on both sides of the table. And when I'm on the investor side of the table, I find it really hard when a founder doesn't give me a chance to be a part of the conversation and then our time is up. Pitching should be setting the stage for the investor to ask questions and then spending your time answering them succinctly so the investor can ask as many of the questions they have as possible. And when you don't have an answer, don't wander, just state as much and move to the next question.

Craft a Compelling Story: Develop a narrative that grabs attention and resonates with your audience. Outline the key points you want to convey and arrange them in a logical and engaging structure. Emphasize the problem you're solving, the benefits of your solution, and how you differentiate yourself from competitors.

Practice your talk 3 times a day for several days. Take some time between the days to brainstorm. In the first few practices, you will be refining your script, as well as the slides. Half way through the practice, get some feedback from your peers. Incorporate that, even make major changes if needed. Once you are confident on every slide, and can deliver smoothly, then practice informally with a few trusted VC friends so that you can begin to field the questions you are likely to encounter.

Create a deck and segment it into 30/5 minutes. 30 min will show you what are you missing in business. In practical ways, it will help you answer tough questions or uncover tough questions that you will get after the pitch. Don't practice this one, you will do the 5-minute one. 5-minute pitch gives you enough time to show most of the business and intrigue investors or customers to ask for more. When you are satisfied with it, pitch it first in front of the mirror by taking a video. Review the video, then improve. Do it 10 times. You will rock it. Afterward, get a couple of people and pitch in front of them while taking a video. Improve it again. Remember, that this is a skill you need to practice.

It doesn't matter how many times you read your script or how many times you practice internally. You need to practice it out loud. I've pitched my company to more than 500 investors and even a slight change in a 2-year-old pitch with no previous practice can ruin a moment of engagement with the audience. You should practice out loud, time yourself and repeat until you feel extremely comfortable. Nerves in front of a big audience, or an audience that can change your startup journey forever, can play a big role. As I said before, I do this after years of pitching to investors.

Here is a practical tip: Record yourself practicing. Playing back your practice sessions can help you better understand and adjust your body language and voice modulation. Pay attention to small details such as speaking speed and pauses. This will help you get a feel for the rhythm and flow of your voice.

Pitching your product is perfected through experience. The more you pitch, the better it becomes. Don't be afraid of negative feedback - it's what you learn from. Don't fear hearing 'No'; you should actually strive for it. The more 'Nos' you receive, the closer you are to receiving a 'Yes'

Practice Your Delivery: Start by memorizing the key points and flow of your pitch. Then, work on your verbal delivery, paying attention to tone, pace, and clarity. Practice in front of a mirror or with a trusted friend, and take note of your body language and gestures to ensure they align with your message.

Film it! One of the best ways to see how you can improve your pitch is to film yourself and watch it back! You’ll be surprised at the opportunities you see to improve, your words, body language, facial expressions, intonation, etc. Do the hard work, reps and reviews. ????

Feedback is gold. My tip: Try to get feedback from different people with different backgrounds and experiences. Each perspective can help you improve different aspects of your pitch. Constructive criticism is a gift - it gives you the opportunity to grow and improve.

Stay Open to Feedback: Getting it is nice, but being open to it may be challenging. After all, it's your pitch, your startup, your risks. So, whenever you get feedback that you find hard to process or agree with: 1. Don't dismiss it immediately. Keep it in your head. 2. If it bothers you then there's something about it, try and find what it is. 3. Remember, the feedback is about your pitch, not you. 4. Let go of it and get back to the feedback after 1 hour. 5. If now you think it can contribute, use it. If not, you can safely dismiss it.

Ideally, the feedback should be from seasoned investors, founders who have seen success or the target audience instead of just your peers. Get the input from people who have both been there and invested. What grabbed attention? What was the ideal format and run through? How long was too long? Knowing what has worked will really help before pitching to investors. As Ben Franklin said: ‘Fair to prepare, prepare to fail!’

Seek Feedback: Solicit feedback from others who can provide valuable insights. Ask for constructive criticism on your content, delivery, and overall impact. Consider joining pitch practice groups, attending workshops, or seeking input from mentors who can give you expert guidance.

Ideally, get feedback from someone who knows nothing about your industry/area of expertise. These people will be able to tell you if you are explaining the idea clearly. Often, you have so much pre-existing knowledge that your audience does not understand points that seem "obvious" to you.

Flexibility is key in business! One helpful tip is to always have a Plan B (and maybe even a Plan C). Situations change quickly and unexpectedly. Be prepared to adapt your pitch on the fly, whether due to time constraints, audience dynamics, or technical issues. A good pitcher is an agile pitcher.

My number 1 rule is "be empathetic". When you are speaking to a young tech VC manager it is not the same as speaking to a senior, very classic, business owner with no context whatsoever about the space in which your startups is. Your pitch has to sound different. You need to be quick in finding analogies suited for the person listening to you. That's why pitching should always be conversational. Don't throw a boring 30 min. pitch at the other person's face. Break the ice with a small chat where you can get to know the other person, and use that information to adapt your pitch. That's what great pitchers do.

Record and Review: Use video or audio recording tools to capture your practice sessions. Review the recordings to assess your strengths and identify areas that need improvement. This process can help you gain a better understanding of how you're coming across to your audience

Moving beyond practice and feedback, adaptability is key. Tailor your pitch to the situation, considering the format, setting, audience, and goal. Adjust your script, delivery, or slides accordingly. For a demo day, condense the pitch, emphasizing the product with visuals. In a one-on-one meeting, elaborate on details, incorporate storytelling. Be flexible, adapting your pitch to diverse scenarios and opportunities. This dynamic approach ensures your message resonates effectively in varied contexts, maximizing its impact and relevance.

Improvisation skills are important in any profession. you have to able to sense the context and go off scipt if needed. Rigidity is the enemy of progress.

You should practice 2 things. Don't just practice the pitch itself. While practicing and being able to look confident and communicate well are important, that's just the beginning. If you want to impress investors, practice answering questions that are not completely covered in your presentation. Don't just practice with easy questions. Give the presentation to a friendly audience and have them ask you questions they think are important and were not fully addressed. You can add the answers in the deck, but you don't want to assume that all investors will ask the same questions and you don't want to make the presentation needlessly long. Instead, practice the answers to the big questions and have them ready when investors ask!

Repeat your pitch every time you can. If you are attending to startup pitch competitions and other events, practice your pitch as much as you can. There's bad pitchers and people that practice their pitch. Steve jobs, Elon Musk, and many famous CEOs have taken many coaching classes, practiced their pitch with employees, family, and close circles. Anyone that believes you're either born with it or not is wrong.

Refine and Iterate: Based on the feedback and self-reflection, make necessary adjustments to your pitch. Continuously refine and iterate on your delivery to enhance your confidence, clarity, and persuasiveness.

Nobody learns to ride a bicycle by reading a book, but by getting on and falling off. The process is the same: get up and present, listen, observe the reactions, the type of question, and work again on your pitch. Are you someone who doesn't know how to smile? Do you have a monotone voice that doesn't emphasize? Can you empathize with your audience?

Don’t practice in front of your mom / friends. Instead, go write out a list of investors by tier, then go embarrass yourself in front of the ones you ranked lowest. After pitching a few dozen, you’ll start to feel more comfortable + get a sense for what works, what questions get asked, and how to answer them.

I use the same pitch for investors as I do for finding a cofounder, employee, or customer. There must be a burgeoning problem that you’ve obsessed over and no one else has. Obsession should be your secret sauce - and that passion should seep through in your pitch. It needs to, if you really want to separate an investor from their money.

The best pitch practice routine is to actually pitching it to as many people as possible. It does not matter how much you do that in front of the mirror, if you feel anxious when pitching to others the only way to deal with that is just pitch it to everyone around. Random strangers in the coffee shop, people on networking events, investors, podcast hosts. The sooner you put yourself out there the better you’ll get at it.

Its not just the pitch presentation that is important it is how you handle questions either during or after the pitch. Speak to peers, show them what your pitch looks like, speak to angels if you know them or senior business contacts and ask them what questions come to mind. Be prepared for the questions that arise and have considered answers ready.

Build a story. The best pitches start with a personal story, explaining why founder have decided to solve this problem. Build a strong personal story. - Show how big the market can be - Show traction - anything that shows that product is about to reach PMF - number of users, early revenue, pilots - If you have any press coverage from reputable media add these info your pitch. It shows the validation and market interest. - Explain the “why now” moment - Make sure to highlight why this team will make it successful

A pitch is a social interaction. You need to treat is as such. Understand the social dynamics in the room. Make sure that when you enter the room/Zoom, you set the agenda for the meeting (this gives you control of the meeting and higher social status). Throughout the pitch, monitor the engagement and feedback from listeners and adapt accordingly. Especially if you are on Zoom, if engagement is lacking, use videos, demos or other interactive elements to recapture attention and keep the listeners engaged. Never finish by saying "Thank You". It implies that you see their time/money as more valuable than your time/company shares. Top companies use VCs as banks, not gods. Have that attitude when pitching, or else you'll come across as needy.