How do you tailor your pitch deck to different types of investors?
You have a great idea, a solid team, and a compelling vision. Now you need to convince investors to fund your startup. But not all investors are the same. They have different goals, preferences, and expectations. How do you tailor your pitch deck to different types of investors? Here are some tips to help you craft a pitch that resonates with your target audience.
Before you design your pitch deck, you need to research your potential investors. What are their backgrounds, interests, and expertise? What are their investment criteria, focus, and stage? What are their pain points, questions, and objections? The more you know about your audience, the more you can customize your pitch to address their needs and concerns.
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Jamie Harford
Europe's Top Pre-Seed Fundraiser | £60M Raised | Partner - Max Ventures Mallorca (€10M VC FUND) | Scaled bootstrapped ventures to £1m revenue.
The easiest way to do this is imagine the reader on the other side. Friend/ Family? They need little to no context about you, but need a lot of support on the business model. Aim to make an exciting document showing growth. Angel investor? They look for a little less on the business model, and more about you. Why are you the person to lead this ? And finally VC. They need comfort on the ambitions of the business. Can you match their fund return. Focus on the future. The big picture.
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Stuart Mellody
Strategic Fundraising Expert | Fundraising Consultant to the top 1% | Expert in Value Proposition, Story Business Modelling & Investor Outreach | Founder of FundLabs
As a founder knowing your audience is fundamental, whether it's pitching to investors, giving a talk, or sharing your journey. Connecting, engaging, and leaving investors wanting more hinges on understanding your audience. However avoid distorting your value proposition solely for attention, as it leads to dead ends and failed conversations and the ultimate 'no'. My advice to you as a founder is Invest time in a comprehensive value proposition exercise first. This is fundamental to your success, It serves multiple purposes and lays the foundation for a successful raise. Your are then able to adapt and tailor your tone and emphasize specific elements based on the preferences of your audience, significantly improving your success of a raise.
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Natalia Protsenko
GTM as a Service | Thought Leadership | Content Strategy | ABM | RevOps
Angel Investors: Emphasize personal connection, your story, potential for high return, and the impact. Venture Capitalists (VCs): Focus on scalable business models, market size, and your team’s ability to execute. Strategic Investors: Show synergies with their existing businesses and potential for long-term partnerships. Banks: Demonstrate profitability, cash flow stability, and risk mitigation.
Your value proposition is the core of your pitch. It explains how your solution solves a problem, creates a benefit, or satisfies a desire for your customers. It also shows how you are different from your competitors and why you have an edge in the market. Depending on the type of investor, you may want to emphasize different aspects of your value proposition. For example, if you are pitching to an angel investor, you may want to focus on your personal story, passion, and traction. If you are pitching to a venture capitalist, you may want to highlight your market size, growth potential, and scalability.
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Annmarie Cristiani
Experienced and Dynamic Regional Marketing Director @ Highmark Residential
Study the company to understand the challenges they face. Be a prospect or a buyer to see how the process flows. Note any inefficiencies but also note the things going great. To confirm, ask them to describe a current challenge. Restate the flow and highlight the challenge area. Answer what’s in it for them. What do you supply that eliminates the challenge. What case studies can you share?
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Stuart Mellody
Strategic Fundraising Expert | Fundraising Consultant to the top 1% | Expert in Value Proposition, Story Business Modelling & Investor Outreach | Founder of FundLabs
In my experience, an extensive value proposition exercise is the secret to fundraising success. It guides you through critical questions about your product, market, team, investors, key drivers, roadmap, potential challenges, and more. By going through this exercise correctly, you create a blueprint that not only shapes your business but also prepares you for a successful fundraising journey. It provides you with the necessary questions and answers to confidently approach investors. With a well-crafted value proposition, you're equipped for any investor pitch. The result of this exercise is game-changing. You become well-prepared and confident, knowing that you have addressed potential pitfalls and challenges.
Your pitch deck should reflect your personality and brand, but also adapt to the tone and style of your audience. For example, if you are pitching to a corporate investor, you may want to use a more formal, professional, and data-driven language. If you are pitching to a social impact investor, you may want to use a more emotional, inspirational, and mission-driven language. You should also consider the format and length of your pitch. For example, if you are pitching in person, you may want to use more visuals, stories, and interactions. If you are pitching online, you may want to use more text, bullet points, and clear calls to action.
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Stuart Mellody
Strategic Fundraising Expert | Fundraising Consultant to the top 1% | Expert in Value Proposition, Story Business Modelling & Investor Outreach | Founder of FundLabs
Many find pitching uncomfortable, which negatively impacts their performance. However, by executing a thorough value proposition exercise, you gain confidence and become well-prepared for investor presentations. We are naturally more comfortable having conversations, especially about our business or product. So why do we switch into 'presenter mode' and lose the energy, confidence, and engagement that come with a casual conversation? For most people, pitching feels unnatural. Instead, ensure you know your business and market inside out through the value proposition exercise, and 'prepare to present'. When presenting, Rehearse multiple times and treat it like a conversation—talk and engage with your investors as you would with anyone else.
Your pitch deck should clearly state what you are asking for and what you are offering in return. Your ask should match the type and stage of your investor. For example, if you are pitching to a pre-seed investor, you may want to ask for a smaller amount of money, but offer a higher equity stake. If you are pitching to a later-stage investor, you may want to ask for a larger amount of money, but offer a lower equity stake. Your offer should also demonstrate how you will use the funds, how you will measure your progress, and how you will generate returns for your investors.
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Jamie Harford
Europe's Top Pre-Seed Fundraiser | £60M Raised | Partner - Max Ventures Mallorca (€10M VC FUND) | Scaled bootstrapped ventures to £1m revenue.
Your reader/investor needs context. Without an ask there is no context to your pitch deck. Clearly articulating how much money you need, how long this money lasts and how you are going to spend it, paints one part of a very important picture. Doing this well will help you alot.
Your pitch deck should not only inform, but also engage your audience. You should anticipate the feedback and questions that your investors may have and prepare your answers in advance. You should also welcome their input and suggestions and show that you are open to learning and improving. You should also follow up with your investors after your pitch and keep them updated on your milestones and achievements.
Tailoring your pitch deck to different types of investors can increase your chances of getting funded and building long-term relationships. By knowing your audience, highlighting your value proposition, adjusting your tone and style, aligning your ask and offer, and anticipating feedback and questions, you can craft a pitch that stands out and convinces your investors to join your journey.
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Stuart Mellody
Strategic Fundraising Expert | Fundraising Consultant to the top 1% | Expert in Value Proposition, Story Business Modelling & Investor Outreach | Founder of FundLabs
Feedback is a gift. Encourage questions and embrace feedback in your pitch. Preparedness is key. Welcome input from investors and leverage their insights to improve. Ask for valued feedback on what would make your proposition investable. Fine-tune your pitch with each interaction. Follow up, share milestones, and demonstrate progress. Engage investors for successful fundraising.
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Jamal K, ACA
On a Mission to Raise $200M in 12 Months for Founders Using the S.E.E.D System | Guaranteed 10 Investor Meetings | $400M Raised
An important concept in tailoring the pitch deck is also based on the stage in which you're presenting. E.g. Have a 10-12 slide teaser deck for presentation with a focus to complete the deck within 5-10 mins and allocate the remaining time to conversations and Q&A. This needs to be followed up with a complete 15-20 slide deck that is more detailed and a reinforcement of the story and conversation.
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