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pitch-deck

Don’t sell to investors, connect with them

Don’t sell to investors, connect with them
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#pitch-deck

Time to rewrite your pitch deck

  • Each founder took to the stage and introduced themselves like this: “Hi my name is … I am the founder of … and my company redefines … Or reimagines, or revolutionizes, or rethinks. The overuse and abuse of these words just made all the presentations sound the same.

  • At that point, the only thing you’re doing is recycling the message of the founder before you.

  • What if you were in the waiting room of a VC office knowing that the founder before you used the same words you are about to use? Will you go into the meeting using the exact same terms?

Cut the business buzzwords from your story

  • One of my biggest tips to founders who are trying to sell their vision and raise money is this: don’t talk to impress, just use everyday language.

  • By using lingo that everyone else is using, you position yourself below the attention threshold. You are not going above the noise.

  • Your story is one of a kind, you came up with it, no one thought of it before you. Say it your way, with your words.Don’t fall into the big word impression trap.

Need a few more examples?

Don’t sell to investors, connect with them

  • These are a bit different but also a big no-no. Investors can sniff them out a mile away and will immediately label you as an inauthentic founder or template speaker.

  • Few companies came up and stated the following:

  • “We are disrupting a 100-year-old industry”

  • “We are the world’s #1 …”

  • Are you really?

  • If you’re in the stages of early seed-to-A fundraising, my recommendation is to avoid wow statements. One, they’re generic and, two, they’ll probably raise red flags. Instead, focus on creating a connection.

  • My advice is to always remember that your goal in an investor meeting is to connect, not to sell.

  • It sounds counterintuitive to many, but it’s a formula that has proven to work time after time after time.

  • Speak your vision, your truth, your story, and the rest will follow.