On Tuesday March 29 the Entrepreneur Society welcomed Jeff Draa, VP Tech Coast Angels, to campus. He brought with him insights into what it takes to make a successful pitch to help CSUSM entrepreneurs prep for our upcoming Quick Pitch Competition. Here’s a brief recap of WATA’s (walk away, take aways) from his presentation.
The only goal of your pitch is to get another meeting
The purpose of your pitch?
- To get another meeting. Your pitch should peak interest and give you a chance to gain a second meeting where you can go over the details of your plan.
What areas should you cover in your pitch? (sequentially)
- What problem will you resolve? (make it a big problem)
- What is your solution?
- Why are you qualified to solve that problem? (skills, intellectual property, patent)
- What is the market size? (as big as you can define/justify)(include competition brief if you have time)
- Define company milestones and rollout plan (be sure to include break-even point)
- Company growth (P&L, year 1..2…3)
- Who drives the company? (board members, key personnel)
- Where will the money go? (terms, details of exit plan)
What do winners do?
- Start with BIG problems and get everyone interested early.
- Personalize their story.
- Practice, practice, and practice until they themselves are sick of their pitch. Practice helps breed confidence, and confidence shows in the final pitch.
- Have backup slides with details for questions that may come up post-pitch.
- Focus on what you know and love.
- Keep your slides simple.
What should you avoid?
- Talking too fast.
- Talking about something nobody cares about.
- Not being comfortable with the details.
- Don’t mislead, if you don’t know…be honest.
Start right NOW!
*Please share you own thoughts from Jeff’s presentation in the comments below. (we’ll be offering some prizes during our meeting with Rachel Vincent on April 26 for members who leave quality comments below!)
