Pitching is a key skill of every successful entrepreneur. How do you communicate your business clearly to employees, customers, and investors? How to put together a pitch deck? What are some common pitching mistakes that make you look inexperienced? What is the best way to pitch your business?

1. Startup Pitch Bootcamp:
Learn How to Pitch for Funding
Founder’s Institute | Sergey Sundukovskiy PH.D.

2. Introduction
& Background
Sergey Sundukovskiy
Co-Founder, CTO and Chief Product Officerat Raken, Inc.
Before Co-Founding Raken, Dr.Sergey Sundukovskiy served in capacities of Chief Technology Officer,
Chief Information Officer, andChief Product Officer. Sergey is a serial entrepreneur co-founding
multiple successful Startupsfocused on Small Business Marketing andeCommerce. The last Startup co-
founded by Sergey was acquired by CapitalOne in 2014.
Sergey specializes in implementation ofsubscription-based high volume SaaSplatforms,with astrong
emphasis on early stage product development, product marketing, andcustomer acquisition. Specific
areas of expertise include User Testing, A/B Testing, Marketing, Big Data, Video Management,
eCommerce, RTB platformsandCloudComputing.
Sergey has B.A. in Computer Science from the University of California,San Diego,M.S.in Information
Technology from the University of Liverpool, Ph.D.in Information Technology Management from the
School ofBusiness andTechnology, Capella University, pursuing M.S.in Computer Science from
HarvardUniversity

3. Agenda
1. Putting Together a Deck
2. Pitching

4. Putting
Together
a Deck
 10-20-30 Rule
 Show, Do Not Tell
 Taxicab and Elevator Pitches
 Target Customer
 Market Analysis
 Differentiation and JED
 Pressure Testing
 Competitive Advantages

5. Putting
Together
a Deck

6. Deck
Rules
10 slides
In reality it is 3 (others are used as reference)
20 min
In reality it is 5 (at most)
30 point font
Last guy from the end of the table
Too much information

7. Business
Plan vs.
Pitch Deck
Business Plan as we knew it in the Business School is dead

8. Deck
Rules
Picture is always better! It is worth 84.1 words

9. Deck
Structure
 Executive Summary
 Team
 Problem
 Solution
 Platform
 Market Opportunity
 Business Model
 Pricing
 Financial Projections
 Competitors
 Differentiation
 Competitive Advantages
 Milestones/Roadmap

10. Pitches

11. Pitches
Taxicab Pitch
“Facebook for teenagers”, “Flicker for Video”
Elevator Pitch
What do we do?
Who are we doing it for?
How are we different?
“Raken is a Field Management solution for
Construction Industry. I allows Job Foremens and
Superintendents to keep track of Labor Hours and
document construction activity on the daily bases.
Unlike other solutions Raken is a one-stop shop for all
Field Management needs”

12. Pressure
Testing
Have your idea and the pitch pressure tested
Do not insist on NDAs. Nobody cares

13. Market &
Customer

14. Differentiation
Distinction without difference

15. Differentiation Features
Business Model
Target Audience

16. Differentiation
& JED
What Investors Are Looking For?
JED – Just Enough Difference
Different Enough
Not Too Different
Valid Question
“Why existing competitors are not focused in
‘this’ area?”
Invalid Question
“Why wouldn’t existing competitors replicate
‘this’?”

17. Competitive
Strategies
Prices
We are just like that only cheaper
Differentiation
We are just like that with following differences
Niche
We are just like that only verticalized

18. Competitive
Advantages
Not Easy to Overcome
Original Content
Execution
Loyal Customer Base
Brand Awareness
Easy to Overcome
Patents
First Mover
Obscurity

19. Process
Initiation
• Are You Ready?
• Timeline Checklist
• Deck Online
• Investor List
• Intro Cal
Elaboration
• Final Deck
• Investor Schedule
• In Person
Meetings
• Pitching
• Investor Asks
Transition
• Valuation
• Partner Selection
• Final
Consideration

20. Make a
Plan

21. Plan
& Docs
Schedule – Set one
Materials – Have your materials ready
Partner – List who you want to talk to (Investor list/IRM)
Document – Investor Q & A, data requests
Outcome – What is your desired outcome?

22. Schedule
1 ✔ Prepare Pitch Deck 22 Jan 2018
2 ✔ Complete Appendix Slides 29 Jan 2018
3
✔ Schedule Meetings for 2 Week (4-5 meetings a week),
Presentation & Finish Due Diligence Book
12 Feb 2018
4 ✔ Send Preliminary Data to Favorites 19 Feb 2018
5 ✔ Finish Due Diligence Book 19 Feb 2018
6 ✔ Finalize Slide Deck 26 Feb 2018
7 ✔ Meet with First Set of VCs 05 Mar 2018
8 ✔ Meet with Second Set of VCs 12 Mar 2018
9 ✔ Meet with Third Set of VCs 19 Mar 208
10 ✔ First Termsheet 23 May 2018
11 ✔ Select Term Sheet 26 May 2018
12 ✔ Close Series A Round 30 Apr 2018

23. Valuation

24. Valuation
Calculator
Cash, Every Movie Cost $2,184

25. He is
a Suitor

26. Partner
Selection
Synergistic Portfolio
Hands On Experience
Business Growth Strategy Congruence
Board Engagement Model
Full Boat Team

27. Partner
Evaluation
Interest level
Are they genuinely very excited about the opportunity to work with us and do they
understand our market & market strategy?
Partner fit
Do we think we'd like to work with this partner for the next 10 years and can they bring
strategic value going from $1M to $10M ARR?
Portfolio fit
Do they have very deep knowledge in the Startup area, are they or have they invested in
complimentary portfolio companies?
Strategically aligned
Fastest route to billon or bust, or responsible growth strategy that doesn't place
unnecessary risk on the business?

28. Are You
Ready?
Intro Call Talking Points
Elevator Pitch
Pitch Deck
Appendix Slides
Data Room

29. Intro
Call Plan
30m
Intros
High level metrics
Qualify based on ideal partner criteria
You’re not raising

30. Intro
Call
Are We Buying or Selling?
Discussion kickoff
 Plan on kicking off a raise
in Q1, Angel Investors
made intros to a few
investors that felt would
be a good fit
Asks Deliver
Would love to learn more
about you and “Firm Name”
 Do you have any thesis
around industry/are they
genuinely very excited
about the opportunity to
work with us and do they
understand our market &
market strategy?
 Partner we want to work
with next 8-10 years
 Do they have very deep
knowledge in the Startup
area, are they or have they
invested in complimentary
portfolio companies?
Quick history
 Focus on digitizing high frequency paper base
work flows in the field
Historical value prop and go to market to Further
value prop and go to market
 Single workflow one user persona to multi-
workflow, multi-persona, going both
upmarket and international
Capital Efficient
 Raised $XK- at $XK run rate with $Xk in the
bank
Traction
 XK customers in Y countries
 DAU = Mobile XK, Web = XK
 MAU = Mobile XK, Web = XK
 WAU = Mobile XK, Web = XK
Net Negative Churn/Land & Expand
 X% gross monthly churn, -Y% net negative
churn
Why I’m Having A Call

31. In Person
Meeting
Practice
Do Not Lie
Know You Data
Pitching Is a Team Sport
Know Your Role
Do Not Block
Check Your Ego
Home Advantage Matters
Two-Way Street

32. - Jim Collins
First Who,
Then What,
Then How.

33. Slide
Deck
Team – visionary leadership, deep understanding of competitive
landscape, can lead to +$1B
Product/Market – Strong customer references, compelling why now,
well defined market, increasing evidence company can get to $300M
ARR.
Sales/Marketing – Success with at least one marketing channel and
indications of scalability, getting to repeatable sales model (vs
founder-led sales model)
Moat – conviction that company can build defensibility by leveraging
data

34. Are You
Ready?
Team - Who Is On the Bus?
Traction - What Have You Done So Far?
Vision - What Is Your Vision for Your Business?
Roadmap - How Are You Going to Get There?
Promise - What Are You Going to Get When You Do?

35. Do Not Read the Deck, Tell a Story

36. How do I get to Carnegie Hall?
Practice. Practice. Practice.
Fail you will,
if practice you won’t.

37. Funnel
87
Introductory Calls
22
Presentations
13
In Person
Presentations
9
Term Sheets
1
Wining
Term Sheet

38. Lessons
Learned
Investor Shoes
 Why you?
 Why this much?
 Why now?
Correct Investor
Profile
 Industry
 Investment Strategy
 Check Size
 Existing Portfolio
 Board Style
FounderResponsibilities
 Do Not Run Out
of Money
 Do Not Run Out
of Money
 Do Not Run Out
of Money
ValuationContradictions
 Not All Offers Are
Created Equal
 Liquidation
Preference
 Look At the Fine
Print
Practice
 Practice
 Practice
 Practice