How To Pitch Investors (via David Cohen of TechStars)

To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.”  Each week, we share a favorite video of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics.  This week, we present David Cohen, the founder and CEO of TechStars.

In this extraordinary 30-minute clip (starting at the 8:45 mark and courtesy of This Week in TechStars), David discusses how to pitch investors by dissecting the actual pitch done by Alex White of  Next Big Sound in 2009.  Indeed, David specifically highlights the importance of:

• focusing on the first minute (especially in a group setting);
• describing the big problem in the marketplace – the pain proposition;
• demonstrating the product and how it addresses that problem;
• telling a story;
• “painting [your] vision” and not just focusing on what you’ve done to date;
• going after something “big and audacious” (a “big, hairy goal”);
• making sure that every slide has a point (“it exists for a reason”);
• not talking about your competitors – instead, talking about your differentiation;
• convincing investors that you don’t need a lot of capital (“we are cheap to keep alive”);
• demonstrating traction and your ability to execute;
• strategizing about the amount of capital you are trying to raise (“ask for less”); and
• “beating [investors] over their head with a couple of things that matter.”

I hope you enjoy it.  Many thanks, Scott

Tags: Alex White, David Cohen, entrepreneurs, helping entrepreneurs, how to pitch, investors, Next Big Sound, TechStars
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