What NOT to do in your pitch

What NOT to do in your pitch

*Founders: If you want to improve your deck & fundraising - book a free pitch check here*

So, you're writing...or you've written...your deck. If you were like me, when I was writing

Developing a pitch is easy. Crafting a great pitch is hard. Crafting and delivering a pitch that gets you over subscribed at a bumper valuation is nigh on impossible (as it should be - it’s all about the fundamentals).?

But…avoiding some common mistakes is easier than you might think. It’s certainly easier than explaining the wizardry of unicorn making.? So…here’s a little list of what NOT to do:

1. DON’T - Have a long deck:? The one thing worse than writing a long deck is reading one. It’s like test driving a car…taking it for a spin is great but if your test drive involves getting stuck in a motorway traffic jam it becomes less enjoyable. Make it easy for investors to say yes to the next meeting - partly because you haven’t board them to death! Remember my fish catching analogy… your initial deck is just the bait. You don’t need to catch, cook and season the fish all in one ‘pitch’. You just need to establish interest and pass a few cursory screening metrics There’s no magic number to the exact length, but keep an intro deck as short as possible (10 - 14 say?), whilst a longer deck, with appendices, and deep dives into traction, go-to-market, regulation etc might be say 20-30?? For more information on pitch decks and templates check out this blog here.
2. DON’T - Use no images: A picture paints a thousand words - they’re more emotive, aspirational and evocative - all key pitch ingredients. Just don’t over do it and keep pictures relevant.?
3. DON’T - Use no graphs: Graphs convey data over time, and in a mutli-faceted way that text, or a table of figures can’t.??Leverage their power
4. DON’T - Use small font: It’s hard to read, which means hard to read fast, hard to flick through. So, if you can’t read it - why is it there. If it needs to be there - why aren’t you making it readable.?
5. DON’T - Write a lot:? This pitch is inspiring people to sign up to a vision. People want an idea, not an essay. They won’t read it - it will put them off and it will bore people. Investors don’t want to invest in boring companies.? So bullet point, use graphs, pictures and photos.
6. DON’T - Have an ugly deck:? First impressions count…and every touch leaves a trace. If someone sees a slick power deck - they’ll have no reason to think you’re not a slick, powerful CEO.? Get the messages there and then get a designer to make it sing.
7. DON’T - Waste pitch page real estate: Don’t use empty sign posts headers. Don’t make obvious statements (the world needs to reduce it’s CO2 emissions). Don’t make statements you can’t back up. Don’t make statements that aren’t relevant to your offering or raise.
8. DON’T - Think your pitching to robots - humans are story tellers: We’re storytelling beings…not data processors. Data supports your story, not the other way round. So write a narrative pitch deck that flows and supports your vision of the future. Remember that investors back a team…not a series of data points…and so you need to tell the story around your merry fellowship and where you’re going. Data can’t tell that story..
9. DON’T - Ignore the cover slide: Your first slide is your grand entrance - it’s your first and only chance at a first impression so make it dazzle and amaze. Add a tagline that makes sense and explain what you do in a few words (with no buzz words). That provides the context for everything in the pitch that comes afterwards.
10. DON’T - Forget to explain what you do: This always happens when people go through a tick box exercise / template. You forgot to just explain what you do, for who, and why. I see this more often than I should (NEVER!)?
11. DON’T - Pretend you have no competition: Everyone has competition - whether it’s incumbents, other start ups or the status quo. We all have substitute and complementary offerings that our customers could use instead of buying us. So explain that.?
12. DON’T - Leave the best (team) until last: 70% of an investors decision is the team. Regardless of whether you’re early or late stage…there is uncertainty to deal with, there are battles to overcome and strategies to execute.? It’s your team that will make you winners - regardless of how big your market is, and how big you have been. Your team will guarantee your future. So sell the magicians behind the magic. List more than names; explain where they have come from, where you met, what you’re responsible for.?
13. DON’T - Sell the solution not the problem: A start up wins when it has the clearest understanding of the problem. Customers pay to solve problems and will pay you more if you understand it better. The bigger the problem, then more money involved in solving it. So…whether its customers or investors…spend as much time as possible making sure they understand why you are the best people to solve the problem for them.
14. DON’T - Give unrealistic or vague market sizes: Obviously your market needs to be big. But don’t just throw numbers around. Quote numbers deliberately, that cover the nuance of market sub-sectors and customer preferences and, crucially, that relate to your product. Use it to demonstrate your knowledge of the market and your vector to penetrating it.?
15. DON’T - Use buzz words: Don’t. It’s so annoying. No one really believes you are doing ‘AI,’ or that you need a blockchain to swap packed lunch sandwiches at summer camp. The people who really know, don’t need buzz words - and those who don’t know will be even more confused.?

If you want to improve your deck and your fundraising - don’t hesitate to book a pitch consultation with me here

How I help founders?

I am a prolific and impact-focused venture capital investor and serial founder as well as a start-up sustainability and fundraising coach. I work with dozens of sustainability and cleantech founders and investors.

VC Investor: I am a professional impact investor at Vala Capital, where I lead their UK-orientated sustainability fund. I sit on a number of boards and advise countless more.

Coach: I’m a Venture and Leadership Coach to sustainability CEOs around the world and coaches clients from the Far East, Europe and North America in sectors as diverse as Hydrogen, Circularity, BatteryTech, Retail, Hospitality and Energy Storage, WaterTech and Media.

VC Adviser: I’m also an adviser and mentor to Third Derivative in the US, and Bethnal Green Ventures in the UK, as well as being on the steering committee at VentureESG.?

Serial-Founder: I am a serial founder and have raised multiple investment rounds from notable VC investors including Anthemis and Axa Venture Partners for my start ups Attis Ventures and Goji Investments

Corporate Finance: Prior to founding Goji, I worked for one of the UK's most prolific corporate finance firms, where I advised on several $bn of transactions across public and private markets for some of the world's leading investment groups.

Find out more about how my 1:1 Venture Coaching and Start-Up fundraising programmes for Sustainability-orientated CEOs at www.Jakewombwellpovey.com or www.planetfirst.ventures