The document outlines the essentials for preparing a persuasive business plan and pitch for investors, emphasizing the importance of storytelling in conveying a business's potential. It covers key aspects such as identifying the problem, market size, team qualifications, technology, customer revenue models, go-to-market strategies, and competition. The document also provides a structure for a successful presentation, highlighting the need for preparation and clarity in delivering the pitch.

2. Hall & Company
THANKYou to our SponsorsSPONSO
Thank YOU TO OUR

3. SELLING
YOUR
STORY
Tom Miller, Persuasive Business Plans
J.J. Richa, Trenchant Ventures, LLC

5. STORY is KEY

6. In preparing for
battle I have always
found that plans are
useless, but
planning is
indispensable

7. Think it Through!

9. CAN YOU
MAKE,
MARKET,
AND
SELL?
WILL
PEOPLE
BUY IT? CAN YOU
DEVELOP
IT?

11. YOUR SALES TOOLKIT
And Financial Model

13. BEGIN WITH THE PROBLEM
05
Can you ever have enough storage on your
digital media or can they ever be fast enough?

14. BETTER, CHEAPER, FASTER
10
Our patented blue laser diodes can dramatically
increase capacity and decrease transfer speeds.

15. MARKET SIZE & REVENUE MODEL
19
The market for these components in optical storage
and communication exceeds $4.0 billion per year.
We’ll tap into this market through licensing,
distributors, and direct sales.

16. THE TEAM IS CRITICAL
24
Our team has profitably produced red diodes
for the past 5 years.

17. WHAT DO YOU NEED?
34
To date, we’ve raised $6 million at a $24 million
valuation. Blue Light is seeking $5 million to finish
our R & D and ramp up sales and marketing efforts.

21. PowerPoint is the Illustrations

23. 12 slides is all you need
1. Cover Page 7. Customers/Revenue
Introduction Model
2. Overview 8. Go to Market
3. Problem 9. Competition
4. Market 10. Financials
5. Team 11. Milestones
6. Technology 12. Summary
Solution

24. Company Name
Brief Business Description / Tag Line
Presenter Name and Contact Info
Good Example:
“Autonomy Dominates Enterprise Search”

25. Overview
• Who are you?
• What is your role at the company?
• Why are you here? (i.e. how much you are
raising?)
• How long have you been in business?
• How much have you raised and from whom?
• What are some major milestone reached so
far?
An investor wants to know why he/she should be
listening to you. This is a good place to summarize the
status of your company

26. The Problem
• What is the problem you are solving?
• Describe the pain points you are addressing
• Quantify the pain and how deep it is
• Why does the problem exist?
• Why has no one solved this before?
• What barriers exist?
• Why are you addressing them?
• What advantages do you have in solving this
problem?
You want an investor to understand that your company is
solving a problem that really exists and that you have the
qualifications to solve it

27. Market Size
• How big is the problem you are solving?
• Can you quantify it?
• Use a ‘Bottoms up’ approach
• Are there any references?
Investors want to know that this is a good opportunity
that they can build a big business around. You need to
show that the market is significant enough.

28. Team
• List key team members and brief history
• Highlight former work together and the length of the
professional relationships
• Highlight former startups or corporate experience
• Emphasize successes and/or relationships obtained that
can be leveraged as potential customers, advisors, or
future acquirers.
• Especially highlight experience in venture backed
companies with successful sale/IPO
• Are there any gaps in your team that this funding will
help to fill?
• Indicate total amount of FTEs
In this slide, you want to show why you are relevant.
Link the team’s skills/experience to the problem you are
solving. No need to go too deep except to answer above
points plus any name-brand affiliations that add
credibility. Add Board Members and existing investors to
add credibility and references.

29. Technology/Solution
• What stage are you at?
• Pictures of your product / technology in action
• Screen shots of your software (if applicable)
• Infrastructure before/after your technology is
implemented
• Visual/chart on how your technology works
• Say what your primary product does (e.g. ‘XYZ will enable
virtual environments to be used for project sharing across
different countries.’)
• Say how this is an improvement (e.g. ‘This will allow for
an average time savings of 30 minutes/day for every FTE.’)
• You willtechnology defensible? what your solution does
Is your want to focus more on
vs. how it does it. Talk about the benefits - not just
features, and don’t go too deep on technical details unless
the investor shows a real interest or asks.

30. Customers/Revenue Model
• Who are your customers?
• Define verticals
• Identify existing clients
• What is your pricing model?
• What is the LTV of your customers?
• How profitable are these customers?
Investors want to know who is buying your product and
why. They also want to understand the economics of the
customer and how much they are worth. Investors are
interested in companies who have momentum.

31. Go to Market
• How will you reach your customers in an
economical way?
• What is your distribution strategy?
• What channels will you use?
• Are there key partnerships you have locked up?
• How are you planning to build momentum?
No investor likes to spend money going to market the old-
fashioned way (paying for awareness and a large direct
sales force) – What resources/partnerships can you use
to get there faster/cheaper??

32. Competition
• Who are your main competitors?
• How are they currently addressing the problem
you are solving?
• In which key ways is your product superior?
• Where are your competitors in the
development stage? (behind you in
development or major established market
players?)
• What direction are they moving with their
technology?
• What IP protection do you have?
An investor wants to know that you know the space very well,
they are depending on you to be the expert. You need to be up
and to the far right (referring to X/Y graph)!

33. Financials
• Provide financial information for current year
and previous year
• Provide 5 year forward looking projections
• Provide top line revenues, costs, and margin
figures
• Summarize again how you plan to execute on
this plan
An investor wants to know that you understand how
much cash is required to break-even and that this is a
good business that they will be able to make money
through their investment.

34. Milestones
• What stage are you at?
• How much have you raised to date?
• Who have you raised from?
• What have you accomplished with the funding
raised so far?
• How much are you looking for now?
• What milestones will you achieve with the
funding you are looking for?
• How long will those funds last (24 months, to
profitability, etc.)
An investor wants to know you are scrappy and that you
have skin in the game. They also wants to know whether
or not there will be additional rounds of financing.

35. Summary
• This is the highlight of the story you are
telling...
• What you are doing
• What problem you are solving
• Why it is such a big problem
• Why your solution is the best solution
• Why your team will be the one to succeed
• Why this investor is the right one for you
Recap the key elements of your presentation that would
lead the investor to believe this is a great opportunity to
invest in and to bring you back for a second meeting.
Don’t be afraid to ask for the next meeting.

36. Appendix
• Detailed Financials
• Detailed competitive landscape
• Detailed value/customer, cost/customer
• Technology/IP
In case investors have more in depth questions,
you should have extra information available
in the appendix section

37. Presentation Delivery
• Know your deck – own your deck
• Be flexible – know where your slides are
• Don’t read the bullet points – have a
conversation
• Use visuals / logos /graphics
• Preparation: Do your homework and know
your audience
• Ask questions (e.g. any competing deals they
are looking at?)
• Take notes
• No more than two of you should present
Practice, practice, practice and let your
enthusiasm and passion show!

38. Sample Presentations by VCs
• Baris Karadogan-
http://baris.typepad.com/venture_capitalist/200
6/11/pitching_to_vcs.html
• Marc Friend –
http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=dxhqvmk
_18dh32shgz&skipauth=true
• Dave McClure -
http://500hats.typepad.com/500blogs/2009/03/
how-to-pitch-a-vc-aka-startup-viagra-how-to-
give-a-vc-a-hardon.html

39. In preparing for
battle I have always
found that plans are
useless, but
planning is
indispensable

40. And Financial Model

41. External Factors
Product / Service
Implementation
Resources
Offer

42. And Financial Model
Income Statement
Balance Sheet
Statement of Cash Flows