Female founder companies raised only 2.2% of VC funding in 2017: Source Fortune.com and Pitch Book. These numbers suck.

1. Women Pitching:
Finesse to Success

2. Female founder companies raised only 2.2% of VC
funding in 2017: Source Fortune.com and Pitch Book.
These numbers suck.
We all want to see more strong female founders gaining
investment.
Unfortunately, the stats don’t support this.
A founder should be judged on their merits.
The question was posed to me by a female founder;
“should female founders pitch differently to men?”.
Following a presentation, I gave during female
entrepreneur week (and because the stats don’t lie) I
decided to go a little deeper on the topic.

3. I wrote this article for the women who have said to me,
‘we just want honest feedback’, ‘I get a lot of time
wasters’, ‘the investors changed the deal on me at the
last minute and I don’t know what’s right’. There are
too many bad experiences to list. Oh, and my favourite
(that I can mention) is ‘when do you plan on becoming
pregnant because, with women entrepreneurs, you
never know how much time you’ve got’ lol, shock
horror, the leading cause of female founders’ failures.
The topic has been a taboo for too long. I want to make
a few things clear:
My goal is to get people talking to help founders and
investors.

4. This is not a definitive ‘how to’ anything. Just some
observations coming from a place where I hope I can
encourage good female founders not to give up
because they’re having trouble raising.
You could be a female founder who says, ‘I’m an
exception to that rule’ and to you I say, ‘go you.’ I would
love to hear your experience or some feedback on the
blog.

5. You might be an investor feeling some remorse or even
saying that’s not your experience of female founders
which you have invested in. Or you could be a female
executive who has experienced the same sort of
feelings in a corporate environment and wish to be
better prepared. I’m writing this blog for every female
founder I haven’t met.
Of course, this is no panacea for female founders. It
could respectfully be a potential way to re-evaluate
your approach if it is not going well.

6. TLDR: No secret, it’s not how well you pitch, but how
well you shape a business that counts. Your go-to-
market strategy, selling skills, branding, positioning,
product development and managing the business
fundamentals are of course far more important. These
skills and your progress in these disciplines will
determine (mostly) how well you are likely to perform.
Did I mention resources and almighty cash? Again, the
truth is that pitching is so much easier if you can
finesse a few things before you pitch.

7. Understanding the problem is the first step. I’ve sat
through so many pitch sessions with men and women
(and just women) both in the audience and as a judge
in pitching competitions. I’ve distilled some lessons
from the thousands of pitches I’ve seen which are
clear…at least to me. However, I would love to hear
your thoughts on the list, other problems, and your
hacks to pitching and business shaping.
So here it is, awareness leads to enlightenment and for
those few who are prepared to change…success can be
yours.

8. The problem, women are awesome, but…and this list is
just based on the last 5 meetings I have had with
female founders:
They don’t want to be ‘that girl’ (you fill in the rest).
Hate pretending to be something they are not. This
grinds them and is not natural.
Being the smartest in the room didn’t go so well for
them at school.
They apologize for perceived shortcomings rather than
allowing their actual strengths to pervade during a
pitch.

9. Of course, there are countless exceptions. Born
superstars I have seen raise money in seemingly easy
fashion. However, for everyone else, the above ‘rules’
are meant to be broken in my world.
Is there really any difference between how women
should pitch?
Some of the best founders I have worked with are as
good, and often much better at pitching to investors
than their male contemporaries. There are definitely
some common strategies that can be codified. I have
watched this so many times so, I am putting it out
there, girls and guys should pitch (slightly) differently.

10. Like it or not, we have all sorts of preconceived notions
when we listen to anyone pitch. Things that go through
people’s minds are (regardless of gender) either:
I like this person, they are a winner
They are a ditherer and can’t sell to save themselves or
Same idea, no idea (‘I will just check my Facebook’)
game over …
And so many more impressions. It is not uncommon
that investors tend to label people early on in the pitch
and then use the remainder of the pitch to justify their
first impressions.

11. Female Pitch Routine
Why not consider this, if you haven’t closed your round
yet?
You might be quietly spoken, but you have poise
You demand attention by articulately nailing the
essence of the problem.
You slow down, for maximum lean-in effect, reveal your
solution.
You add, with enthusiasm and some humour ‘I will tell
you about my traction in a second’ but first you explain
why you will nail this.

12. You share a few diamonds on the rationale for the
market, why the timing is ideal, that you are already
working for free and a short but important list of things
done so far.
You briefly touch on the magical amount of traction …a
list of 5 points up on a screen for 3 seconds only and
then it’s gone!
Some killer numbers, (high level only) explained with
the assurance of a seasoned CEO. Explain how the
numbers will scale, what the economics are for
delivering the top line and a precise dollar amount
required to become to a company that will have the
following characteristics at Series A.

13. Flicking to the final screen. Your logo. Pause. ‘I’m
looking for investors who want to work with an A grade
team if they have experience in sector ‘x’’.
Come up with an expression. A mantra just before you
go up to the front of the room to pitch, this will get you
into the zone.
Practice lots, not the words, but the mindset.
Break down and dilute your lack of confidence by
looking at what you have achieved.

14. Of course, a lot of the above makes sense regardless of
gender. But some subtle nuances may help your style.
Extra subtle points I would add:
Remember, you are not reading the evening news. It’s
not about being perfect/professional. Your passion and
enthusiasm are infectious.
Its ok to show, once, a little chink of vulnerability for
effect
You must build inner excitement, slowly. Perhaps when
you hit your numbers slides with a cheeky grin say, ‘I’ve
been trying to find what I’ve missed, but here are the
numbers!’.

15. Let the investor chase and qualify themselves stepping
up to verify they have experience and track record. It
invites them (feels good too) and allows them as
people to feel relevant by adding value.
Practice your narrative. Get feedback and reshape.
Develop an ‘economy of words’ approach in the Q & A
part of your presentation. For that matter probably, this
applies across the board. Answering the question
succinctly is gold.
For further context (and impact) during the course of
the presentation if you can convey that you:

16. Think big but can back it up with numbers that make
sense and that you ‘get’ resource management
Demonstrate the rigour of your validation but you are
still having fun.
Have a sense of humour.
Can be serious, demonstrate tenacity and possess a
bold but believable vision.
You are generally going to get another meeting with
investors (regardless of your gender).
The goal is to tell a story, weave in a business idea and
a set of craving customers.

17. The pitch is step one in getting the cheque, so get your
cash flow right to survive until you are topped up.
I stress too, start-up success is anything but all about
pitching. In fact, ‘Pitching’ is a word I don’t really like
anyway. It presupposes the founder is trying to sell you
their crazy and often meritless business idea. However,
you provide an insight into your resourcefulness and
ability to sell, lead, your emotional intelligence and
your ‘likeability’. Watch what happens.
Refocus on building a great business, defer your capital
raising until you have derisked as much as possible.

18. Post pitch: the negotiation begins
A pitch is a very different mode to a chat with investors
in a one-on-one setting.
A coffee meeting with a VC is all about building rapport
and demonstrating integrity, passion, and capability
(without using any of those words).
Make sure you get more than one investor to the table
to keep the negotiation strength in your court.
Recognise they are chasing you now.
Do your homework on the investor(s).

19. Scaling your business starts with you. I doubt many
founders are afraid of constructive feedback and just
want to get better. This innate drive differentiates the
winners from the pack and is infectious. After all,
everyone wants to be on a good team and be a little
inspired.
Final best wishes
Don’t forget pitching is taking you away from you
working on sales, the product, and your team. For
survival, achieving long-term success and your sanity
these three factors are infinitely more important than
your slide deck. Bootstrapping a bit longer might be the
tipping point for your success too.

20. Control your cash (no matter how little that is) and
focus on getting better every day.
I would love to hear your stories.
dkenney@hallchadwick.com.au
Be formidable. This is the new you.
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