Presenting a company concept as an investment opportunity

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Presenting a company concept as an investment
opportunity

• CONTENT
• Product
• Potential
• Positioning
• People
• Profit
• STYLE

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Length and Detail Tailor level of detail to time
available

• Elevator Pitch (10-60 seconds).
• Think of it like a magazine ad
• Focus on a crisp description of the business
  and value proposition for investor
• Written or Oral Executive Summary (3-10 minute
  pitch or 3-5 pages )
• Meeting with an investment committee in the
  office of a VC or bank (15-30 minute pitch)

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CONTENT Investors need clear, compelling,
credible information

• Cover only the most important points.
• (Leave the details for the full Business
  Plan)

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1. PRODUCT

• Position the company to create a
  framework for your presentation.
• Your name
• Company name
• What you do
• Carnage Company manufactures
  non-flammable seats for automobiles and
  aircraft

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Customer Pain and Your Solution

• Describe what creates the demand for your
  solution
• Pain and/or
• High cost of alternatives
• Explain the value-proposition

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Product Development Stage

• What work remains before you can start mass
  producing and selling product?
• Product development time-line
• Identify major development risks or challenges
• Provide estimated time and cost to bring product
  to market

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2. POTENTIALMarket Niche and Sales Potential

• Market Niche Define the characteristics of the
  companies or consumers that need your solution
  your
• Document the number of prospects that have the
  need. (Not based on world census numbers.)
• Growth If the market is growing explain why

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Marketing and Sales Strategy

• Briefly explain the selling cycle how you
  propose
• to reach your target audience.
• Marketing To raise customer awareness of your
  product and stimulate interest
• Sales To give decision makers a convenient way
  to learn details and place order
• Distribution How will product get into hands of
  customer? Who will collect payment?
• Support To help customers understand product
  during installation and use.

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• If you rely on indirect channels such as
  retailers or catalog companies, explain
• Your approach to reaching intermediaries
• Whose responsibility it is to raise awareness and
  generate demand among end-customers?
• Who provides pre- and post-sales support?

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3. POSITIONING Versus Alternatives

• Address Inertia
• How will you get customers to change what they
  are using now?
• Big Dogs How will well-known companies with
  established relationships with your target
  customers react to your company?

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Barriers to Competition

• Patents Received, pending. US and abroad.
• Black box technologies Is your technology
  difficult to reverse engineer?
• Lead time advantage Would it take a competitor
  years to reproduce your technology?
• Major Customers locked in with exclusive
  long-term agreements
• Critical suppliers locked in

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4. PEOPLEThe Management Team

• CEO Prior entrepreneurial experience in
  similar business
• CTO Demonstrated know-how of technology
• CMO Proven knowledge of the target markets
  strong relationships with buyers
• CFO Prior profitable experience for investors
• Who is full-time, part-time? On the
  sidelines awaiting funding?

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Board of Directors or Advisors

• Indicate if you have a BOD and/or BOA
• Highlight members that have particular strengths,
  renown, or connections in your industry

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5. PROFITProjected Financials

• Explain dramatic numbers, such as
• Hockey stick growth
• Unprecedented margins

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The Ask Requested Funding

• How much capital do you need?
• How will you use these funds to grow the company?
  

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Exit Strategy (Equity investors will want an
exit)

• If you anticipate being acquired
• Identify two or three likely buyers
• Explain why they would be interested
• Cite price of recent acquisitions of comparable
  companies
• Describe any relationships you already have with
  potential acquirers

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Answering Questions

• Prepare answers to likely questions
• Memorize statistics and numbers
• Be open to advice and criticism from investors

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STYLE
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Delivering the Presentation

• Grab attention
• Lead with strongest suit
• but do not make unsupportable claims
• Be
• Demonstrate control and leadership
• Let your passion and confidence show
• Stay within the allotted time

Memorable!
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Slides

• Slides should offer evidence to support or
  supplement oral argument
• Put a sales message in title

Your logo here
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Legibility

• Short words and phrases
• 7 lines, 7 words, no word wrap
• Light text on dark background
• Audience-friendly text
• Arial or Helvetica
• 24 pts. or greater (this is 32 point)

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14 point 18 point 20 point 24 point 28 point 32
point 36 point 44 point 48 point 52 point Arial
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Charts and Graphs

• One idea per slide
• Content should be grasped in two seconds
• Labels must be legible

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And Finally .

• Rehearse, Rehearse, RehearseIt does make a
  difference
• Videotape yourself
• Practice in front of anyone that will listen
  friends, family, your management team, the dog
• Practice until smooth and polished easy to
  listen to
• And remember ..

Enthusiasm!
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• April 7, 2009 Mike Roer
• Roer_at_EntrepreneurshipFoundation.org