Crafting a Captivating Pitch for Your Company Presentation

Slide 1 Title slide Use to deliver a message Verbal - your elevator pitch what do you want them to remember Everyone in the room should know the basic idea and value proposition of the company before the next slide is shown. Writing Includes: Company name Your name Date Venue Pictures

Slide 2 The problem and who has it Want people to visualize and identify with the problem; Get them nodding their heads feeling the pain Describe Big, important problem (current or emerging) that you are going to solve or Opportunity you are going to exploit, Show that you understand the market dynamics surrounding the opportunity Keep it punchy One great technique is to use storytelling

Slide 3 The Solution and value proposition Help them understand why your product solves the problem far better than anything else. Focus on what you enable, and how you are able to do something no one else can do. (NOT technical description) How is your product going to improve the world by fixing this problem? How does the world look after your solution is implemented? Is everyone happy?

Slide 4 Product How will it address the problem What is your advantage? Why can t others do something similar? Value proposition customer focused not technology focused Key features of your product

Slide 5 Technology Describe the technology, secret sauce or magic behind your product or service. If you have IP highlight it. What differentiates the product? What science/technology is enabling? This isn t a science talk. The listener's is wondering: "what's special about this? Is this something I should license or invest in? Here's where you introduce some arguments and evidence to address this. OK to get a little technical, but keep it short and sweet. The point is to build credibility without glazing their eyes over.

Slide 6 Market Identify your customers Which market segment are you targeting first (your beachhead market)? Are there customers who have already expressed interest? Strategic partners Have any potential partners expressed interest? How big is the market especially your specific addressable market. If it s bottom up approach, then base the market size on your current traction multiplied by users/services over time. Don t get carried away with the numbers here, just show the market is interesting for investors.

Slide 7 Competition Everybody has competitors What do people use now? For products that have classical competitive landscape i.e. generally one that provides an alternative to existing technologies but adds value in some way (e.g. it is faster, uses a different approach, etc.) In such cases, a good way to illustrate the competitive landscape is with a 4 quadrant view where the two axes are key things people (customers/users) care about Explain why your customers will use your product instead of the competition; what are your advantages. For products that don t compete in the classical way The head to head comparison between products doesn t work well Still, you need to explain why customers will use your product instead of doing what they do now (even if what they do now is nothing). Don t knock the competition!

Slide 8 Business model If you want to license your technology to an existing venture: If you want to create a business: How will you make money Focus on one revenue stream Explain your customer Who is the economic buyer? Who is the decision maker? Who is the user? Who is the influencer (positive influencer, negative influencer)? Describe how you get paid: who will pay you how you will sell to them how the money gets to you and how much your gross margin is Explain your licensee Who is their business model? Why is your product/technology attractive to them? What would they need to do to derive economic value from your technology? Why can t or won t they do it themselves

9 Traction Outside validation of the product, idea, service Sales Grants Invitation to present at meetings Partnerships both research and business Articles mentioning idea Key opinion leaders (KOL)

Slide 10 Team Name, title, experience of: Core team Internal, external advisors, etc. Investors Note: Highlight what adds value to the company Focus on the past accomplishments of the team that are RELEVANT to this venture. One bullet that sums up why each person is outstanding in the context of this venture. If your team doesn t have much (or any) experience in the sector, then focus on the pertinent points and look for other strengths.

11 Update for IDEA2 (i.e. wouldn t be in a typical pitch deck) 1. Key accomplishments since kickoff workshop 2. Who have you spoken with and what did you learn? Faculty mentor Assigned expert mentors Other people/stakeholders

Penultimate slide: What are you looking for? What do you need? 1. What are your priorities for the next 1 month and 6 months? 2. What help can the IDEA2 team provide? 3. What milestone, that when reached, would be a significant value transition for your project? Do you have what you need to reach that milestone? If funds are required, define clearly how those funds would be used

Closing slide Last slide same as first with your contact information The value proposition rephrase - what do you want them to remember. Exciting market opportunity Unique technology/product that addresses the market Clear plan for building value The right team