As a new business owner, you’re inevitably going to meet people who can help you with your business — maybe it’s at an official investor meeting that took months to set up or a chance encounter at your local coffee house.
However, pitching your startup can be tricky business: You want to elicit interest and excitement, but without going over the top and turning people off with too much cockiness, desperation and long-winded descriptions.
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After launching several businesses myself and hearing countless informal pitches from friends and clients, here are seven tips to help you build interest when talking about your company for the first time.
New owners often talk about their companies in terms of what they do ("we make X, we offer Y"). The information may be true, but it’s not always interesting — particularly to people who aren’t waist-deep in the business.
Try to frame your startup’s story from the user’s perspective. For example, "Teachers are struggling to do X in the classroom, so we help them by..." Explain the pain point, then how you’re solving the problem. Whenever possible, tell stories to help bring concepts to life.
Image: Flickr, Gavin Llewellyn
It should go without saying, but you’re a human, so talk like one. If you throw out too many buzzwords and clichés (like “game changing” or “rockstar team”), you are going to sound naïve and fake.
Likewise, avoid any industry jargon that requires a dictionary or advanced degree. You want anyone (and not just those people who work in your same industry circle) to understand and connect with what you’re saying instantly.
You most likely have a well-honed elevator pitch that you’ve practiced in front of friends or the mirror. This pitch makes a compelling investment case in a minute or less — however, there’s a time and place to use it. If you have an official investor meeting set or a big Demo Day presentation, then by all means, you need a carefully crafted and practiced pitch.
But you need to be able to put the script aside when you're engaged in a casual conversation at a dinner party or airport gate. In these situations, people expect a conversation with give and take; they don’t want to hear you drone on for two minutes without pausing.
A good pitch focuses on what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and how it’s going to make a difference. This isn’t the time to cover the general work and educational background of everyone on the team. Don’t bother listing off all the companies where you worked or schools you attended.
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Naturally, potential investors will want to know what it is about you and your team that will be able to turn an idea into a successful reality. But even in this case, you want to avoid your general experience and stress things like why you entered this space, why you gel as a team, and what you’ve done or built before that’s particularly relevant to what you’re doing now.
Image: iStockphoto, quisp65
Maybe members of your family are impressed by the hockey-stick graph that shows how your business is going to grow from five to 5 million users in under two years. However, investors and experienced businesspeople don’t want their time wasted with unrealistic, impractical growth projections.
Instead of throwing out user or revenue numbers (which are basically just guesses), show your plan for how you’ll get there. Describe why the market is hot right now, and what the unique qualities of your product or strategy are that will enable you to scale.
There’s a tremendous amount of personal pride involved in any venture where you’ve invested your time, energy and money. However, you need to put pride aside when pitching your company. Potential investors, even casual acquaintances, may have tough questions. That’s okay. They’re not attacking you personally; rather, they’re thinking about your idea from their points of view.
Don’t get defensive or reactive. First, any good investor will immediately move on if you don’t appear open to feedback. Second, there could be valuable insights and perspectives in each of these questions. Take the time to consider each question or comment carefully, as they could open your eyes to a new opportunity or potential pitfall.
When you have been bootstrapping for months or years, you’re probably focused on getting seed funding or other sources of investment. However, keep in mind that pitching, just like networking in general, is about building relationships. And these relationships can yield more than just investments. For example, you may be talking to someone who can introduce you to a top sales contact in an important region. Or maybe they know a potential business development opportunity, or a good marketing person looking for a new project.
The bottom line is that you never know where any conversation will lead, so appreciate each person you meet and value each opportunity to talk about your business. If nothing else, it will be great practice to perfect your pitch and learn what resonates.
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Image: iStockphoto, studiovision
Nellie Akalp is the CEO of CorpNet.com, an online legal document filing service, where she helps entrepreneurs incorporate or form an LLC...More