Why You Should Consider Creating an Investor Pitch Video

From my own experience, I can tell you that investors are regularly bombarded with messages and invitations to pitch nights and demo days and decks about new start-ups and business ideas. I’m not complaining but it can be difficult to devote time to them all! That’s why I’ve urged founders to consider trying something a bit different when it comes to pitching their business – video.

We’re all pretty video-obsessed these days. From our messaging apps and social media feeds to blogs and news sites, we’ve grown accustomed to consuming content in video form. So, why not have a method of sharing your business with an investor when you’re not able to deliver it face-to-face? Wouldn’t it be great to be able to pitch your business in your sleep?

Investor video pitches can help businesses stand out from the crowd and are a great alternative for time-poor investors looking for an easier way to find and filter through deals. More investors are scouting internationally for deals and can’t attend pitch nights in person and it’s a bit easier to stop watching after 30 seconds and move on if it isn’t for you. Plus, a video pitch can tell investors a lot more about the potential of a deal than just by looking at a deck in isolation.

The key point to remember, however, about video pitches is that your goal is to compel investors to want to learn more. It is not going to convince them to actually invest in your company after watching it. A video pitch is purely a mechanism for catching investors’ interest so that they ask to proceed to the next stage of due diligence.

Here are my tips on how to do it well:

1.    Compel, not sell

Investors are people who invest in people, so it is important that you come across as someone who is passionate about your business. You should convey a professional demeanour as well as the values and culture of your team. Be sure to explain who you are and what you do in a succinct way. Introduce yourself and what your business does in plain language, including what problem you solve and communicate how you uniquely address a pain point and declare your big vision, with the objective of sparking the viewer’s curiosity. Your passionate connection to the problem you are solving should be evident, together with infectious excitement for your business.

2.    Get the timing right 

While a face-to-face elevator pitch should be wrapped up in 60 to 90 seconds, a video pitch can go as long as three minutes (provided you are continually delivering interesting information). Remember, however, to leave the investor hungry for more. You might sell them away from the business if you speak for too long or bore them. Asking others for external feedback can help gauge what information is important and what is self-indulgent fluff. You might consider making two videos: one short version (say 90 seconds) and one longer one (say 2.5 minutes). Then test which video a group of supporters or advisers recommend that you use.

3.    Relate and reassure

Make sure you are using your video to communicate your solution, your industry traction and/or customer proof. This will help reassure investors that you are aware of and addressing the challenges and risk factors specific to your business or objections they might have with your model. Remember not to oversell, however, and to leave them wanting to know more.

4.    Don’t get lost

You don’t want the video to drag on unnecessarily or for investors to be confused when they watch it. Use a story board to map out your ideas in advance and how they will be communicated both spoken and visually. It can be helpful to write out what you are going to say but beware that reading a script can make you sound inauthentic or as if you lack knowledge about your business. Ensure the words you write down sound like the sort of language you would naturally say out loud and memorise the point instead of the sentence.

You also want to be sure those who do watch and want to know more can find you. Always include very brief contact details at the end of your video, such as a website URL and email address. You can include additional contact details and information by email with your video link.

5.    Remember to include ‘the ask’

The aim of an elevator pitch is to be so compelling and raise so much curiosity that the investor asks for more information. This is the first step in proceeding with due diligence. To get there, however, you must include an ‘ask’ in your video pitch. The ‘ask’ clarifies what you’re looking for from that investor and is an important step in driving interest.

Examples of an ask include:

• “We are seeking investors that can add value to our business.”
• “We are aiming to raise $500,000 by Christmas”
• “We are raising a Series A round of $600,000 with more than half of this already committed.”  

6.    Can you hear me?

Sound is one of the most important things to get right in your video as poor sound quality will immediately turn off an investor. Just think about the many times you’ve exited a video because background noises were too loud or the voices too muffled. Try to use a recording microphone, or if you don’t have one available, make sure you have the camera microphone close to you and film in a quiet place. Also, edit in background music to maintain the pace of the video but ensure that it doesn’t distract from the script or the message.

7.    Perfect your ‘look’

If you are trying to land $250,000 or more in investment, spending a few thousand dollars on a professional team to film you seems like a pretty fair ROI. Both camera and editing quality is quite obvious to any audience. On the other hand, creating a video yourself can show investors that you are a resourceful start-up which won’t blow large amounts of their money unnecessarily.

Professionals who shoot an individual talking will usually film with two cameras, one close up and the other further away – both from different angles. This helps keep the video interesting by switching between the different perspectives. Additional visuals might include footage of the problem or your company in action, still photos of your product or founder team or slides of your business model or financials.

8.    Protect your privacy

Most startups would love to ‘go viral’ but the ‘share-ability’ of investor pitch video may not always be a good thing. Having your pitch, expected milestones or commitments too widely available could hurt you down the road. It is a good idea to host the video on a secure platform, with password protection, to restrict access to only those you want to see it. Then, you can delete once your business has raised capital.

A video investor pitch increases the number of investors who can be exposed to your business and (hopefully) opens the door to a longer conversation. The process of distilling your pitch down to 1.5 to 3 minutes is also a really worthwhile exercise for you as a founder.

Have you found a video pitch useful for your business? I’d be interested to know who’s found success through video and what additional tips you have for other founders and startups.