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1/ A friend asked for advice on fundraising the other day. This was the advice I gave, which I'm hoping can be helpful to other startup founders raising their first rounds.
A thread:
A thread:
2/ Storytelling IS the game.
Don't start w/ neat 10-slide "Guy Kawasaki" deck with "problem", "market size", etc.
Start with narrative. Hero's journey. Pay attn to "why now" & "why you". How has the world changed? How will your journey lead you to win where others have failed?
Don't start w/ neat 10-slide "Guy Kawasaki" deck with "problem", "market size", etc.
Start with narrative. Hero's journey. Pay attn to "why now" & "why you". How has the world changed? How will your journey lead you to win where others have failed?
3/ "Coffee" IS the pitch.
1st meeting w/ investor is often a "get-to-know-you". Make no mistake... this IS the pitch.
Weave storytelling with Q&A in natural dialog. Pay attn to ears perking up, boredom, questions arising. Repeat and iterate with friendlies first.
1st meeting w/ investor is often a "get-to-know-you". Make no mistake... this IS the pitch.
Weave storytelling with Q&A in natural dialog. Pay attn to ears perking up, boredom, questions arising. Repeat and iterate with friendlies first.
4/ What does "great" look like?
Eventually: every narrative point will lead to a specific reaction or question arising naturally from your audience, which -- incidentally -- can be answered by your next narrative point. This resonant loop leaves investor really hyped by the end.
Eventually: every narrative point will lead to a specific reaction or question arising naturally from your audience, which -- incidentally -- can be answered by your next narrative point. This resonant loop leaves investor really hyped by the end.
5/ Then comes the deck.
If you've done this well, your 2nd-3rd meetings will be more formal, with more members of the investment team. Follow the same narrative arc here, but now w/ a "presentation" as a visual backdrop. This is your pitch deck. Keep it simple, visual, big font.
If you've done this well, your 2nd-3rd meetings will be more formal, with more members of the investment team. Follow the same narrative arc here, but now w/ a "presentation" as a visual backdrop. This is your pitch deck. Keep it simple, visual, big font.
6/ OK, that's all.
This sounds fluffy, but works really well, and was basically how I prepped for Series A & B, raising $26m+ in funding.
Didn't think like this for Seed. Mistake in hindsight. Too many "How to write a pitch deck" blog posts out there, and I missed the point.
This sounds fluffy, but works really well, and was basically how I prepped for Series A & B, raising $26m+ in funding.
Didn't think like this for Seed. Mistake in hindsight. Too many "How to write a pitch deck" blog posts out there, and I missed the point.
