The stakes were high. And entrepreneur Preston McGee knew that he was in the hot seat.
Based in Washington, D.C., McGee had traveled to New York City to pitch Teleport, his globetrotting networking app, to the New York Jets. His was one of six startups at the Jets Pitch Night, vying for a collaboration deal with the team. It was a momentous occasion—one that had the potential to be the first big break for McGee’s company. And yet, despite being under so much pressure, McGee realized that he wasn’t nervous at all.
“I knew that if I could land this deal, it would be a real game-changer for my company,” recalls McGee, a WeWork Chinatown member. “I thought I would have butterflies a little, but I turned my nervousness into excitement, and had a lot of fun.”
At some point in their careers, all entrepreneurs have to face it: the sweaty palms, shaking knees, and “all-or-nothing” mentality that accompany that first big pitch to investors. In the startup world, it’s the equivalent of a litmus test. No matter how brilliant the product or innovative the business model, no venture can get off the ground without financial backing, meaning that founders have to be savvy salespeople from the get-go.
Catherine Flatley, CEO of the healthcare market-research platform Develop Link, understands how tricky first pitches can be. A WeWork Labs member in the company’s Chelsea space, Flatley says that you have to be prepared to explain every aspect of your company for investors.
“You’re not sure what questions you’re going to get,” she says. “You certainly get questions from customers, and you get questions from users, but they tend to be different from what investors are looking at, because investors are looking at the whole picture.”
Admittedly, very few companies have to market themselves to sports teams—more conventional audiences usually consist of angel investors, venture capitalists, or even friends and family members. But regardless of who you’re trying to win over, there are certain strategies that you can employ in any situation to land a major source of capital.
McGee should know: on Jets Pitch Night, sponsored by WeWork Labs, he won the audience vote. He is also currently in conversation with the team about how they could continue to work together. His advice to first-timers?
“Do your research, figure out what your potential backers have going on, and then try to make yourself as undeniable as possible,” McGee says. “Be airtight, be concise with your points, but make sure that you say what you know they want to hear. Address their problem immediately, without a whole lot of fluff.”
These are the fundamentals of effective presentation. Being clear, direct, and to the point constitute a crucial skill set. It can be surprising how seldom these qualities exhibit themselves. If you work to hone them before you ever get up to speak, you’ll be sure to stand out among your competitors.
Gilad Golan, CEO of the automated loan service LendingRobot, agrees.
“You have to be super knowledgeable about your market, your product, and the other players in that marketplace,” says Golan, a WeWork South Lake Union member. “The investors have to be convinced that you understand this market, that you know what you need to do to win it, and that you’re invested in that.”
The next step is organization. Even if you know your investors inside and out and have the eloquence of a champion debater, your pitch will need structure in order to stay on message and thoroughly address your audience’s concerns.
Donny White is chief revenue officer for the WeWork 42nd Street-based Satisfi, an online customer-service app. He was also at the Jets Pitch Night, and won big: a partnership deal with the Jets.
An experienced entrepreneur, White suggests to craft your presentations in five parts: what your business is, what problem you’re trying to solve, what solution you’re offering, how you’ll make money, and who you have working for you. He considers the last one especially important.
“A lot of what people buy is the team,” White says. “And so we spend more than other companies on that.”
What else do you need? Golan says that a working model of your product is crucial to attracting investors. He notes that even if your company isn’t ready to release your product, it’s worth putting together a mock-up to distributing to customers in advance of your first pitch.
“There’s a huge difference between trying to pitch with a presentation compared with pitching after you already have a prototype out in the open,” says Golan. “If you can talk about users, about adoption and feedback, and usage pattern, you’re in a far better position.”
At the end of the day, remember that no one knows your company better, or is more dedicated to its mission, than you. Your first pitch is an opportunity to articulate your motivations, your passions, and your plans for the future.
Flatley says that practice is important, and the more you pitch your product the more comfortable you’ll be in that role. But she adds that what makes a pitch most persuasive is that you know your product inside and out.
“You’re not discussing a subject you don’t know,” she says. “It’s what you live and breathe every day. Really, you’re just discussing and telling a story. You know that story, and you understand it.”