HOW TO MAKE A PITCHBOOK FOR YOUR STARTUP January 2011
About this Presentation Resource for entrepreneurs who are creating pitches for investors. Combines personal experience and online sources There is much more information out there Make sure to read, talk, practice and pitch as often as you can There are some rules: When describing your vision, keep it simple When describing your product, keep it focused
Your-Company Your-Company-Tagline Contact Info & E-Mail Date & Meeting Context
Elevator Pitch Vision & Mission What is your big vision? Keep it focused: What is your core value proposition? Your identity? Your target market? What do you do, in one sentence? SlideShare is the world s largest community for sharing presentations TeachStreet is a place to teach or learn anything Mint.com is the free, easy way to manage your money online What is your Mission Statement? A good mission statement is achievable, not yet achieved Include a clear idea of what the startup will do, including its product, customers, and key advantage.
What Pain are you Addressing? What is your value proposition to the customer? Always discuss the problem before the solution What pain are you eliminating? What kind of improvement can your customer expect? How big is your target market? Is it growing? No grandiose predictions: use reliable data from respected sources wherever possible. If not, make inferences from experiences in other countries or comparable industries Include international expansion potential if applicable Where do you see yourself in the broader market? Do you have an early-mover advantage? Reference growth of competitors and/or similar companies in other countries if applicable
Product / Solution Describe your product/service How does it solve your customer s problem? What is unique about your product/service? Don t pretend you don t have competition how does the customer handle this problem today? Why is now the right time for your approach? Are you selling vitamins, aspirin or antibiotics? Vitamins Luxury Aspirin Nice to have Antibiotics 6 Need to have
Competition Who is your competition? Who is your existing & likely competition? Who is adjacent to you (in the market) that could enter your market (and compete) or could be a co-opted partner? What are their strengths/weaknesses? Why are you different? How will you stay different? What partnerships do you have? Who are your key distribution and technology partners (current & future)? How dependent are you on these partners?
Revenue Model Who is your customer? Who are your existing customers? Who are your target customers? Why? Use specific customer examples where possible. What are you selling? What are your monetizers? (advertising, content, etc) Future opportunities to expand revenue sources? How are you selling? What is your sales, marketing and distribution strategy? What are your current sales? Future pipeline? What is your user/customer acquisition strategy and cost?
Financials / Projections Earnings Statement, historical and forecast. For each time period, add headcount and cash balance. It should be clear how you expect the company to perform top line and bottom line three years out, and how much capital will be required now and later Prepare lots of backup slides to illustrate the assumptions behind these financials Show that you think financially: Explain your pricing formula, costs, and strategy to attain profitability Show understanding of key metrics that drive revenues, expenses, and growth: customers, unit sales, new products, return customers, page views, global reach, registered users, virality, etc. and how to leverage them for success
Management Team Who is your management team? Qualifications, background, and experiences What pieces are missing and the plan for filling them? Highlight the backgrounds of key members, investors, and directors or advisors (not too many) who bring special value to the startup How was the team formed? How long have you worked together? What is the current ownership structure of the company?
The Ask What stage of development are you at? Technology/product? Team? Financial metrics/revenue? What has been the progress to date? What are you looking for? Amount looking to raise & valuation expectation Current and prior backers with relevant financials What will you do with it? Milestones targeted with new capital Expected burn rate time before capital runs out How much additional funding do you anticipate?
For More: Brad Feld, Mobius Venture Capital The Torturous World of Powerpoint David Cowan, Bessemer Venture Partners How Not to Write a Business Plan Guy Kawasaki, Garage Technology Ventures The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint Canaan Partners Entrepreneur Pitchbook Matt Cutler, Visible Measures VC Pitch Template Dave McClure, 500Startups How to Pitch a VC Wall Street Journal Why Business Plans Don t Deliver