Speaker A
And now, if any of you have done the Perfect Your Pitch contest, the moment you've been waiting for is about to begin. Carl Kenia from CNBC is going to take it from here. Move a chair.
Startup investors share expert tips on pitching effectively, focusing on authenticity, specificity, and understanding competition.
Key Takeaways
- Avoid high-pressure sales tactics; investors prefer authentic and credible pitches.
- Be specific and concise to clearly communicate your business value and strategy.
- Acknowledge competition honestly to demonstrate market awareness and maturity.
- Focus on the overall investment opportunity, including market size and team strength.
- Transparency about challenges paired with solutions builds investor confidence.
What the video covers
- Investors emphasize the importance of not being overly salesy in pitches to avoid unnecessary pressure.
- Entrepreneurs should be specific and clear about their business, avoiding vague or wordy explanations.
- Honesty about competition is crucial; claiming no competition can appear naive.
- Investors look for a holistic understanding of the company, including market size, team, and fundraising plans.
- Building advisory boards and strategic planning were highlighted as key elements for business growth.
- Authenticity and credibility are vital to gaining investor trust.
- Pitching should focus on the investment opportunity, not just the product features.
- Addressing gaps or weaknesses transparently can be advantageous if paired with solutions.
- Timing of the pitch can influence investor attention, with mid-session slots often preferred.
- Successful pitches weave personal background, business strategy, and next steps into a cohesive story.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and Overview of Pitch Contest
- 00:53Lessons Learned: Strategy and Advisory Boards
- 02:08High Aspirations and Business Growth
- 04:01Importance of Clear Next Steps in Pitching
- 05:21Holistic View: Market Size and Company Overview
- 07:16Being Specific and Avoiding Word Salad
- 08:36Credibility and Truthfulness in Pitches
- 10:52Competition Awareness and Market Realities
- 11:51Addressing Gaps and Weaknesses Honestly
- 13:42Pitch Timing and Presentation Tips
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
everybody as you U may know Alicia and Alex have been listening to pitches all after all morning all afternoon all day morning afternoon afternoon and we're going to go through some of the Lessons Learned highlights uh tips before we bring out one person
Speaker A
Afternoon, guys. Good to see everybody. As you may know, Alicia and Alex have been listening to pitches all morning, all afternoon, all day, morning, afternoon, afternoon. And we're going to go through some of the lessons learned, highlights, tips before we bring out one person who had sort of a Eureka moment of sorts.
Speaker A
about strategy we talked about pitching we talked about building advisory boards it was really it was awesome for me because I felt like I was part of helping them Build a Better Business and it was it ran the gamut but everyone was
Speaker A
So, it's good to see you guys. Thanks for doing this. Just in general, characterize what you heard today.
Speaker A
you know what I mean and I think that's very very important you know it's one thing to say here's who I am and here's what I've been doing but I think in business and especially when pitching you know it's really important to also
Speaker A
Well, I think there were a lot of people with really high aspirations, and we talked about strategy, we talked about pitching, we talked about building advisory boards. It was really, it was awesome for me because I felt like I was part of helping them build a better business. And it ran the gamut, but everyone was really looking to take their business to the next level.
Speaker A
start with you the first thing you say is don't be too salesy yes yes what does that mean well there's a couple of things that that can mean first of all I see a lot of entrepreneurs pitch me for
Speaker A
Alex?
Speaker A
just doesn't doesn't really work because as an investor you see hundreds of opportunities and if you have any kind of unnecessary pressure it's just easier to pass so you're not going to be fooled by supplies or running out no no and I
Speaker A
Yeah, I think I would echo that. And I think, you know, a lot of people at this conference, I was really impressed with the clear articulation of where they want to go.
Speaker A
say there's no competition because that can come across as naive I think a lot of people know that and in fact I was just listening to the CEO of Netflix uh Reed Hastings talk about how even sleep is his competition right so even he says
Speaker A
You know what I mean? And I think that's very, very important. You know, it's one thing to say, here's who I am and here's what I've been doing, but I think in business, and especially when pitching, you know, it's really important to also weave that together into what's the next step.
Speaker A
a big player but there's always potential for competition so you just have to be honest about that without uh talking your way out of your own pitch right I mean you don't want to you throw cold water on your sales pitch yes yeah
Speaker A
I heard a lot of really, really inspiring examples of that today.
Speaker A
to get us to buy the product but as an investor I'm interested in the company holistically so not only do I want to know what you're selling but I want to know the size of the market I want to
Speaker A
That's great to hear. We've assembled some of your three top tips coming out of all of this. Alicia, we'll start with you. The first thing you say is don't be too salesy.
Speaker A
Alex you say be specific number one explain that absolutely I mean you know there are so much you can you can say so little with so many words it's amazing you know there you know word salad has become like a language almost do you
Speaker A
Yes. Yes. What does that mean?
Speaker A
like I I got to stop you there for a second what exactly are you doing that's different why are are you here today and it's like oh yeah right uh you know this is our this is our angle so it's it's a
Speaker A
Well, there's a couple of things that that can mean. First of all, I see a lot of entrepreneurs pitch me for fundraising, and a lot of times they'll put unnecessary pressure on you to make a decision where they're like, if you don't invest now, the opportunity won't be there tomorrow, or like, you know, or we promised you this amount of returns.
Speaker A
right and so as an investor I'm sitting there wondering is this person you is are they not being specific enough because there's just nothing there or is it just because well you know they just haven't really refined it and hopefully
Speaker A
That just doesn't really work because as an investor, you see hundreds of opportunities, and if you have any kind of unnecessary pressure, it's just easier to pass. So you're not going to be fooled by supplies or running out.
Speaker A
deploy Capital right you don't know if it's going to come back or what or on what terms right and so while I understand that in many cases when you're pitching you don't yet know what the investment would look like you know
Speaker A
No, no. And I think, in fact, if that's not true, it really hurts the credibility of an entrepreneur. So you have to be really careful about that. Just be authentic, be credible, be truthful. That goes a long way.
Speaker A
that you've at least imagined yourself as an investor because otherwise like like you know I don't I'm not going to get very comfortable warm and fuzzies if you know you haven't even turned your mind to that yeah it's hard because as
Speaker A
To that same point, you argue don't say there's no competition because that can come across as naive.
Speaker A
news is that information is out there and it's not nearly as intimidating as you might think I mean you know an afternoon on YouTube you could figure out the key pieces finally be authentic very much so sounds so basic it does and
Speaker A
I think a lot of people know that. And in fact, I was just listening to the CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings, talk about how even sleep is his competition.
Speaker A
business model there's no competition you're perfect you have no gaps like are you kidding like I I I'm I'm already gone at that point right like like give me something be honest with me like oh you know we made these mistakes here's
Speaker A
Right. So even he says, you know, without another kind of Netflix on the market, sleep is his competition. So it's basically anyone who's doing something similar to what you're doing, any other competition for the consumer's time.
Speaker A
walked through the door earlier who didn't do that and like you know it's very disarming when you actually CU look everyone's got some weakness right do you would you advise people to volunteer that in their initial presentation the
Speaker A
You know, anybody who could be moving into your market, that's a big player. But there's always potential for competition, so you just have to be honest about that without talking your way out of your own pitch.
Speaker A
missing a key technical person let's say you know if that's in fact true a very good answer would be you know what Alex you're right um here's what we're doing to address that but yeah that is a gap
Speaker A
Right. I mean, you don't want to throw cold water on your sales pitch.
Speaker A
take maybe like a little bit of a break in between but then throughout the day I could probably fit in 20 if I tried yeah right but it's to your advantage I imagine to be first I assume in a long
Speaker A
Yes. Yeah.
Speaker A
say the third or fourth because people often don't show up on time and by the time they kind of get settled and their full attention the third or fourth time slot I think is one of the best ones but
Speaker A
And then finally, give them an investment pitch, not a product pitch. What's the difference?
Speaker A
lunch right because you know well of all the pitches you heard today um we're about to hear from one gentleman who gave one Daniel Jennings um who's gonna join us on stage really quickly Daniel so just because we weren't in the pitch
Speaker A
So from an investor perspective, when people are pitching us for funding, oftentimes they spend way too much time talking about the product, the features, like as if they were trying to get us to buy the product. But as an investor, I'm interested in the company holistically.
Speaker A
stopped me just halfway through was like Daniel just relax go ahead and get the pitch out to me um though by the end he really helped me out with basically staying concise with the pitch I was like I said all over the P so what he
Speaker A
So not only do I want to know what you're selling, but I want to know the size of the market, I want to know your competitive advantage, I want to know the team behind it, I want to know your marketing plan, your fundraising ask, what it goes for.
Speaker A
business so we want to educate the consumer on why our coffee is the best coffee and the other aspect of our business is the freshness of the coffee um which basically freshness in coffee roast is extremely important because
Speaker A
So it's really that holistic view of the company and the investment opportunity into the company.
Speaker A
hear um it's a tragedy that people across this country are drinking coffee that is not fresh it's awful and Daniel is going to rescue Americans from this travesty one cup of coffee at a time in a subscription service and not only that but when you
Speaker A
Alex, you say be specific. Number one, explain that.
Speaker A
there easier to digest and understand very nice before we let you go you're in your you're in your junior year yeah junior year of college yep over at mosum University in new concour Ohio so thank you um Daniel thank you for
Speaker A
Absolutely. I mean, you know, there is so much you can say so little with so many words. It's amazing. You know, word salad has become like a language almost, do you know what I mean?
Speaker A
so you can read blog posts on Jennings Java and coffee in general.com Jennings java.com big round of applause for Daniel and Alex thank you guys hey there thanks for checking out CNBC on YouTube be sure to subscribe to
Speaker A
And, you know, it happened today several times. People said, you know, they talked about the industry they're in and the opportunity and how big and how they're going to disrupt. And I'm like, I got to stop you there for a second.
Topics:startup pitchinvestor tipspitching to investorsentrepreneurshipbusiness strategyfundraisinginvestor advicestartup competitionbuilding advisory boardsauthentic pitching
