Securing the Deal: How to Ace Your Investor Pitch Call

The structure of any pitch with an investor goes as such:

I.) You do the niceties and introductions, the weather, where you’re from or whatever and thank them for making the time, then structure the cadence of the call.

After introductions you’ll say “what’s most helpful for you? Typically I’ll give a quick background on myself, why we started the company, what we’ve done so far and where we’re headed this year” usually they’ll say yes, or maybe want to give you theirs first - if they offer to go first, allow them to, it helps structure your pitch better. Sometimes, I’ll ask if they’ll do a little background on the firm or themselves.

II.) Your background and story

When you begin to pitch you’re telling a story and it’s easy to get ‘lost’

sometimes where you start rambling, remember CLARITY IS KING!

When telling your background - why are YOU (and your co-founders the

one to build this business) there is usually a story here - in my case me

and my brother previously built a meal delivery service in college starting

on campus and scaling across the country which lead us to Meepo a

nutrition tech startup delivering the world’s healthiest meals in condensed

form because we got so busy with the meal business we had no time to

eat the meals! (I have a background in food, and we were initially solving our own

problem) my brother is a great operations guy and I am a good sales &

marketing guy (perfect combo!)

2B.) Usually helpful to tell the founding story - the initial moment you

started etc some early memorable moments etc but don’t ramble too long

quick memorable things that’ll stick in their head.

III.) Talk about what you’ve done so far and why they should believe in this company (key customers of your product, great reviews, sales you’ve done, feedback you’ve gotten, key IP secured that no one else can do, relationships you’ve built etc.)

IV.) Finally, talk about where you’re going (BE VERY CLEAR here - investors hate when you’re all over the place!)

For example - this year we’re focused on this:

A. Fomenting our military contracts with X company by doing Y which

result in Z - this’ll happen at W time.

B. Securing humanitarian contracts with these partners doing Z revenue

this year happening Y time.

C. Building our DTC business to X subscribers over Y time by doing Z.

D. Launching X retail stores with our key team member Nancy who’s done

this XYZ times, we’re talking to XYZ people and looking to launch ZTZ and

have a clear launch strategy with our team.

You don’t want to be as robotic as this^ - but don’t ramble investors LOVE

clarity.

If you don’t have a specific answer to a question they ask try to give as

clear a possible answer and say we have X doc I’ll send you after the call

that goes in more detail (and go build it after the call if you don’t have it.)

They’ll keep asking questions on and on, answer them succinctly and feel

free to go ‘off topic’ slightly (without rambling) in service of telling a story

around:

1.) Why your product is so special in a pragmatic way, not emotional

where you seem delusional or that you just love the product even if it’s true

they won’t see it that way you need to be clear: “our product has 4x

protein density through our proprietary emulsion processes” or X peopleuse Y skincare products and it doesn’t work then they use ours and their

skin clears up in weeks. Very factual and specific/pragmatic.

2.) Why your team is the one to do this. Your backgrounds and why your

the perfect combo (ops and sales combo etc) with background in this and

a CFO who keeps you honest and thoughtful.

3.) The market you’re playing in and why its huge and growing - a

massive opportunity.

4.) The traction you’ve gotten so far and why this should make them

believe you can do this in a larger way. Traction can be as simple as

we’ve gotten Y orders from X retailers and they’ve already re-ordered 3x,

we’ve launched in X cities and have gotten 800+ 5 star reviews when

industry average in any city is 3 stars - we just need to add fuel to the fire.

TEAM, MARKET, TRACTION, PRODUCT!

V.) Questions for them and next steps

Show you’re not afraid to (respectfully) ask them questions.

A. What are the key things they look for in making an investment, what are the variables that push them over the edge to write a check?

B. Do they typically lead or co-invest?

C. What’s been their recent usual check size

D. At your stage of company, do they usually invest? Your type of traction

(customers, revenue, development etc), industry (CPG, services etc, and

round size/stage (Seed round, series A etc)

Then finally, end the call reaffirming next steps (in conjunction with their

request) you’re going to send them your investment thesis (10 pages but with a

clickable table of contents) to easily navigate everything about their

company in 5-10 minutes. (As well as your deck and anything else needed that you may have mentioned you’d send) If you have a physical goods product it may be good to send or if you have some video etc but the main thing is your deck and investment thesis.

Tell them after they have a chance to review you’d love to schedule another chat

with more of their team and yours - you say “it seems like you may be a

great fit.”

VI.) FAQ, MISC etc.

1.) What are you looking at for the round in terms of pricing

and structure?

"We're currently valuing our company at [insert valuation], which

is [pre/post]-money. We are open to either a SAFE note or a priced round,

depending on our discussions with the lead investor. While we're flexible,

we are leaning towards [preferred option] for [reasons], but we’re open to

discussions based on what aligns best with our mutual interests."

2.) What are you looking for in an investor?

"We aim to build a strong round with strategic investors who can

add value beyond capital. For example, in the [industry] space, we're

interested in individuals or firms with a track record of success, like those

who have sold companies or have specific industry expertise. We value

partners who support our vision and can contribute strategically, whether

through connections, experience in franchising, or other relevant skills. Our

goal is to align with investors who share our long-term vision and can help

us achieve our objectives."

3.) Do you have a lead investor yet?

"We are currently in discussions with four to five firms that have

shown interest in leading the round. While we don’t have a confirmed lead

yet, we're evaluating our options to ensure the best fit for both sides.

Whether a firm prefers to lead or co-invest, we're looking for partners who

can spearhead the due diligence process and support us through the

journey."

4.) When are you looking to close this round?

"The closing timeline is still flexible as we've just started engaging

with potential investors. We're experiencing significant interest and are in

the process of determining the best fit and structure for our round. We

anticipate solidifying our plans and closing the round in the near future as

discussions progress and alignments are made."

Practice this structure, ask these questions, and be able to answer their questions and you're on your way to closing the deal!