Saturday, April 28, 2012

6 things to include in an Investor Presentation

OK, you have listened to Wayne from 10X Sydney and you have had an investor saying "tell me more" - and you want him to invest in your business.... these are the 6 things you need to articulate in a simple, clear presentation.... A powerpoint slide show works well.
  1. The problem and your solution.  What pain are you going to solve? Have you got the "pain killer". This is your hooks, and needs to be covered in the first paragraph. You have articulated this in your 30 Second Pitch.... State your value proposition, and what specifically you are offering to whom. Skip the acronyms, history of the company, and the disruptive technology behind your solution.
  2. Market size and growth opportunity. Is your Opportunity SCALABLE? Investors are looking for a large and growing market. Spend a few sentences providing the basic market segmentation, size, growth and dynamics – how many people or companies, how many dollars, how fast the growth, and what is driving the segment. Skip the comment that you are conservatively estimating your penetration at 1%.
  3. Your competitive advantage. What is your X FACTOR ... how do you make it 10X? Identify your sustainable competitive advantage, like unique benefits, cost savings, or industry ties. Don’t kill your credibility by saying you have no competition. At minimum, you compete with the way things get done currently. Most likely, the investor has already seen multiple plans with similar solutions.
  4. Business model. Who is your customer, what is the price, and how much does it cost you to build one? Do you now have real customers, are just starting development. Outline your sales and marketing strategy (direct marketing, sales channel, viral marketing, and lead generation (what is mobiffiliate?). Identify key quantities, such as customers, licenses, units, and margin.
  5. Your team. Remember that investors back people, more than ideas. Why is your team uniquely qualified to win, and what have they done before? Have you got the attributes of a good leader? Explain why the background of each team member fits, by naming roles and names of relevant companies. Include outside advisors if they have relevant experience.
  6. Financial projections and funding. You need to show your summary revenue and expense projections for three to five years. Investors need to know the amount of funding you are asking for now, and what they get. The request should generally be the minimum amount of cash you need to reach the next major milestone in your plan.The plan needs to be realistic, and you ned to know these numbers like the back of your hand.
Your first page and first paragraph (maybe a picture of your brand) is key. Less is more here, so include the grabber, show your passion and commitment.

Have a feedback form asking them to fill it in.... you are after a follow up meeting, where they are interested in doing due diligence..... That’s your metric to see if you have their attention. It is unlikely that you will have an investor invest after this session.

1 comment:

Bill lang said...

Ivan - some very practical and powerful guidance here. Every business owner or operator needs fact based (not fantasy based0 answers to these questions..from here they can focus on the important few things to achieve whatever their realistically achievable goals are. keep posts coming Bill Lang www.bill-lang.com

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