Sell, don’t educate

The purpose of a presentation to an investor is really not to educate the investor about your business, it is to sell your business/product/service to the investor.  At least, this is what Bill Reichert over at Garage Technology Ventures says.  The idea is to tell a good story about your business and this means that your presentation should generally have the following elements:

• Cover slide detailing the company’s name, location and tagline as well as your name and title;
• An introduction to your team;
• A company overview;
• The nature and extent of the problem or opportunity you are addressing;
• The solution you offer;
• How you are going to deliver that solution;
• The benefits or value of your solution (where appropriate talk about your secret ingredient);
• Your competitive advantage;
• Your strategy in getting to the market;
• Your business model and how you propose making money;
• Financial projections;
• Financial requirements and milestones;
• A summary of your presentation.

Reichert also has a few really good tips on how to handle your presentation effectively.  Often the things that come to mind really don’t work that well.  The keys to success include being practical, honest and knowledgeable.  It is worth reading the full post and even bookmarking it for future reference.  This advice is gold.

Tags: bill reichert, presentations, business plans, investors, tips