Knowing the right information to present to your potential investors and preparing clear and compelling pitch documents is crucial when raising money. It can be a daunting and anxiety-filled task, but Friday Consulting makes the process easier by working with you to put together and provide feedback on these documents to successfully pitch investors.
To get you started, we’ve outlined the three most important materials to prepare for your pitch.
1. Executive Summary
The Executive Summary is a one to two page high-level summary of key points about your organization. This is the first thing you will send to your potential investors after meeting or being introduced to them and initial information is solicited. Your goal here is to whet their appetites–get them interested in your business and open to receiving more information. Include your high-level goals and key drivers.
2. Pitch Deck
Next, you should follow up with a conversation where you walk your potential investors through a pitch deck, either in person or by phone. This deck should not be too text-heavy, since you’ll have the opportunity to provide verbal comments. Instead, focus on graphics and visuals that expand on information in your executive summary.
Remember to tell a story about who you are and where you’re going. Exactly which headings you include and in what order will depend on the story you’re trying to tell. Don’t forget to make the text scannable and focus on the visuals. Anything that can be represented graphically, instead of being spelled out in works, probably should be.
3. Business Plan Deck
Finally, you’ll want an expanded version of your pitch deck that stands alone and doesn’t need you to walk someone through it. This Business Plan Deck follows a similar outline to the Pitch Deck, but may include several slides with more information on each topic, including written text and data. You should include more financial information–think about including multiple slides under the same heading that cover your balance sheet, cash flows, etc–as well as operational information. You should also address the question of how you are going to reach your goals, including go-to market strategy and customer acquisition. As with the Pitch Deck, the Business Plan Deck should be scannable and use bullet points, tables, and infographics to provide information as much as possible.
For detailed outlines on the key elements of the Executive Summary, Pitch Deck, and Business Plan Deck, see our related resource kit.
Need help crafting your pitch and investor materials? We’d love to help! Send us a message.
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