How To Create A Winning Pitch: Event Recap

Hey there, fellow entrepreneurs!

Boxplay Ventures is on a mission to ignite the spark of innovation and build a thriving ecosystem for all entrepreneurs out there. From the bustling streets of Ghana to the farthest corners of Africa, we are here to fuel dreams, empower entrepreneurs, and support transformational founders. As part of bringing this goal to life, we created a knowledge series called ‘In the Box’ designed to inspire and provide insights to entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs to make up for the lack of contextual knowledge in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

We recently had an incredible event on "How to Create a Winning Pitch" as the first episode of our knowledge series ‘In the Box’ via LinkedIn on April 24, 2024, and we are excited to share the highlights with you!. The event was moderated by Marilyn Gyan, Communications and Partnerships Lead at Boxplay Ventures. Our guest speakers for this episode were Ifeoma Nwobu (COO of Sendstack), Ernest Osei,FMVA (Managing Partner, Incluziv Studios), Leah Nduati (Accelerator Lead for ALX Ventures, Sand Technologies), and Andrew Aryee (Head of Venture Creation, Innov8 Hub).?

During the event, we dove deep into the art of crafting a compelling pitch that grabs attention, engages investors, and leaves a lasting impression. Our guest speakers, who are also industry experts in their own right, shared invaluable insights and practical tips to help you level up your pitching game.

One of the key takeaways from the event was from Ifeoma Nwobu on the essence of preparation, practice, and telling a story through your pitch. “I don't expect that you will just start preparing the night before. Like the moment you know that you have a pitch, that's the moment you start rehearsing, you start practicing with people, getting as much feedback, looking at yourself in the mirror, talking to yourself, acting like you're the crowd, you're the audience, and just rehearsing a lot. Don't wing it, like don't wing it. Anybody who looks like they are winging it is probably already just an expert or like a pro in speaking publicly. So remember to tell a story. It's always better to tell a story, because what this does is help you build a deeper connection with the person you're talking to. I know that there is excitement about wanting to talk about your product; you want to talk about how much you're already making or financial projections, but remember that you are speaking to human beings. I personally would always put people before anything. So you are talking to people; what is your story?. It may not be your story, but it may be a story. So always tell, always pitch from the angle of telling a story, no matter what that story is. So for example, when I pitched at Norrsken, I told the story of how I got to where I am with Sendstack as a result of failing a previous venture because of the problem of logistics. That's my story. So you always want to tell a story because, more than anything else, it helps you remember what exactly and why exactly you started out.”?

Another insightful submission by Leah Nduati was about the importance of researching and factoring in data in your pitches. “The impact is important, and so, for example, everyone wants to hear the numbers. As much as we want to have the story, you also need to have your data. So one way you can bring out the impact is when you're making your slides. You need to include some facts or data that shows you know your customers or target audience demographics. If you've done some focus groups with your customers, you'll have reports and some data to say, “We did a focus group, and 80 percent of the respondents said this, or 80 percent of our customers lean towards this feature.” You need to have that data to go along. You don't want to maybe put it too much as writing in the slides, but when you're doing your scripting, you know you have your notes where you have to bring in this data. You have to mention this data. And then it also comes back again on your traction slide. When you're talking about your traction, you should be able to have the numbers that show the impact. So some founders will talk about, “Oh, we've been able to help so many women do this”, but it doesn't help if they do not have the numbers to show for it.”?

Andrew Aryee also shared a very important insight about finding the perfect balance between visual appeal and substantive content in your pitch deck. It's not just about pretty slides; it's about delivering a powerful message that resonates with your audience. “Now, most of the startups are actually able to create very beautiful pitch decks and all that, but then again, they lose the content in the way of trying to beautify what the pitch deck is supposed to look like. And that's a big problem. The other thing, again, is that many people actually focus too much on trying to make the pitch deck look so good that they come in so unprepared to deliver the actual message that they need to deliver. Now, from this angle, you realize that most of them are struggling to even answer the questions that the investors are asking. I'm talking about questions like legal questions or financial modelling. No one comes in prepared for that. No one is really ready to answer that.”?

Ernest Osei, FMVA, spoke extensively about making an impact through pitching and navigating investor engagement in Africa with focus and flexibility. “You have to focus on what you can realistically achieve on an impact basis, right?. Founders also need to be open from a structure perspective, right? So what I mean by that is that some of these foreign investors might not want to invest in Africa. How are you flexible enough, or what kind of knowledge or background do you have in terms of setting up a structure—maybe an LLC or maybe a company in Europe—that can connect with what you have in Africa? How do you navigate investor engagement? You do this by identifying the impact, being open in terms of structure, and understanding their geography, so you need to do a lot of diligence. I am a big fan of quality investor roadmaps as opposed to quantity, so you have a lot of investors and a lot of founders that are spraying their pitch decks around and talking to maybe a hundred investors a day. For me, I think that it's much better if it's more “What is the diligence that you've done on the investor?” “How sure are you that this international investor is specifically focused on your region?” So we have international investors that are focused on Francophone Africa. We have investors that are focused on Anglophone Africa. So these three pieces, I think, are what founders should focus on when interacting with international investors.”

It was a very insightful session, and I am confident that attendees learned a lot. As we strive to provide you with more knowledge-filled events, we hope you will stay with us all along the way.

But wait, there's more! As a team passionate about helping startups succeed, we offer a pitch deck creation service tailored to your unique needs. Our team will work closely with you to craft a visually stunning and compelling pitch deck that effectively communicates your vision, value proposition, and growth potential. We believe that a well-crafted pitch aligned with a thought-through narrative can be a game-changer for startups seeking funding or partnerships. So, if you're ready to take your pitch to the next level, get in touch or leave us an email and we would be happy to connect back. We're here to support you on your entrepreneurial journey. Remember, your winning pitch is just around the corner!

We were excited about the turn out of budding entrepreneurs and we appreciate every attendee for your enthusiasm and dedication to honing your pitching skills!? We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to all guests and attendees who made the event a success. We are thrilled to be part of a vibrant community of aspiring entrepreneurs like you!

Stay tuned for the announcement of the topics for the year (May–Nov 2024) and the unveiling of the second episode of ‘In The Box’ this month.?

Keep shining!

By Jacklin Addobea Addo

Digital & Social Media Expert.

Boxplay Ventures.

Disclaimer: All opinions expressed by the author are his personal views and not the views of Boxplay Ventures Ltd.