THE PERFECT PITCH. Blake Patton.!

Transcription

1 THE PERFECT PITCH Blake Patton!

2 VC

3 VC.05%.91%

4 @Blake Patton! Full INVESTOR ENTREPRENEUR UNIVERSITY / TECH TRANSFER

5 TECH TRANSFER PORTFOLIO EXAMPLES Pointivo is a 3D intelligence platform that uses computer vision and machine learning to automatically generate digital models for CAD, BIM, and VR systems. PreTel s fetal heart rate monitoring and area sensor solutions solve the inability of existing technology to accurately identify true versus false labor with fetal monitoring Real-time global warehousing network that connects independent, third-party warehouses via an enterprise software platform to drive inventory efficiency PhD Student Professor / Researcher Undergraduate Student

6 BUILDING A COMPANY is all about telling a great story over and over again - to customers, employees, investors, and partners

7 Don t make your story about YOU or YOUR PRODUCT Make it about YOUR CUSTOMER and the PROBLEM YOU SOLVE for them

8 If they understand THE PROBLEM YOU SOLVE and WHO YOU SOLVE IT FOR you are half way there

9 FOUR WAYS TO TELL YOUR STORY! Elevator Pitch " Executive Summary # Financials $ Presentation

10 ELEVATOR PITCH We solve problem by providing solution / advantage, to help target customer with goal or outcome Depending on stage of business add: We make money by charging target customer to get benefit

11 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Create the right first impression Use to get meetings and gauge interest Not a business plan 1 page ideal (2 page max) Clear and compelling Highlight the good stuff TEMPLATE: content/uploads/2017/04/va-executive- Summary-Template-.docx Layout and format matters

12 FINANCIALS in preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable. -Dwight D. Eisenhower Startup financials are a work of fiction Yes but it shows How you think about the business How fast you think it will grow Key assumptions, drivers, and levers Goals and milestones What you need to get there And Helps tell your story Guages interest Allows comparison of strategic alternatives Helps understand strengths and weaknesses of a venture

13 FINANCIALS Understand the key assumptions underlying your plan and be prepared to defend them P&L BALANCE SHEET CASH FLOW (BURN RATE) CAP TABLE Clear path to revenue growth and profitability Business model Marketing, sales, and distribution Pricing Average sale and LTV Costs How and when will you achieve profitability Key revenue and cost drivers # customers, user stats, conversion, churn, variable costs, etc. Sales pipeline

14 FINANCIALS Leverage the Business Model Canvas to build your model The Canvas shows flow of revenue and costs Start with revenue forecast Forecast expenses Income statement forecast Balance sheet and cash flow forecast Build / highlight a schedule of assumptions and make them easy to adjust

15 PRESENTATION

16 PRESENT YOUR STORY We have this value proposition and we have the right team to win. We discovered our target customer has this large problem, and we addressed it with our solution based on this defendable technology. We will acquire customers with this business model. We have these advantages over our competition. We will meet these milestones with this financing.

17 DON T USE TEMPLATES But if you do here are some good examples: net/canaanpartners/c anaan-pitch-workbook e.net/canaanpartner s/canaan-pitchworkbook

18 PITCH LIKE A PRO: TIPS FOR SUCCESS

19 Demonstrate The Market Size & Competitive Landscape

20 Show Evidence Your Story Can Become Reality

21 Show How You Will Make Money Start with how you will acquire customers Validate lifetime value of customers is greater than cost to acquire

22 Sources Of Funding Venture Capital Early Stage VC, Growth Stage VC, Venture Debt Traditional Private Equity, Bank, IPO, Bonds Seed Bootstrapping, Grants, Friends & Family, Angels, Seed VC R&D / Initial Product Product Market Fit GTM Scale Growth Maturity

23 When To Raise Investors don t typically fund research they fund companies. Stay bootstrapped / grant funded as long as you can Raise more to accelerate growth Lean while finding product market fit! MAGIC! R&D / Initial Product Product Market Fit GTM Scale Growth Maturity

24 How Much To Raise Raise enough capital to reach meaningful milestones Milestones represent reduced risk and more favorable valuation

25 Customer Discovery First Most startups fail from lack of customers, not from failure to develop the product This is NOT what I wanted Customer discovery first then build & raise money

26 What VC s I Look For Entrepreneur & team Market Right Timing Unfair advantage Strong team with domain expertise A large, defendable market opportunity Market dynamics favor timing Defendable unfair advantage / moat Fit Can I help? Potential for rapid, capital-efficient growth Evidence and/or traction Go-to-market strategy and distribution model

27 Finding The Right Investor JUST FUNDED

28 Getting the Meeting The best introduction is from another successful entrepreneur Cold calling rarely works get a warm intro Lawyers and service providers Startup community Events Short with bait get the meeting, don t over sell Ask for a 30 minute meeting Be prepared to send executive summary or deck if requested

29 If you can t explain it simply, you don t understand it well enough -Albert Einstein

30 Avoid Buzzwords & Empty Jargon

31 Your audience decides in the first 60 seconds if they will listen Start with a short story or anecdote Highlight the big problem, shift, or change you are addressing Tell them about the land of milk and honey

32 They can either read your slides or listen to you Slides are not a document Text heavy slides are boring Use large font and uncluttered layout Make use of pictures, graphs, and images Include more detail when meeting one-on-one, less when presenting to group

33 USE A DEMO A picture is worth 1000 words A demo is worth a second meeting

34 I m glad you asked Use an appendix for additional detail

35 Thank You Blake Patton!