A Successful Angel Investor Presentation (Part 1/4)
Angel investors are a unique breed when trying to obtain financing for your venture. They listen to your presentation, challenge every loophole and bottleneck in your strategy, are due diligence experts in their respective fields, negotiators of investment terms and mostly importantly (to you) the ones who sign on the dotted line to fund your company. Before presenting to these individuals, you must be honest with yourself and realize upfront that you’re mostly likely not ready.
Like most entrepreneurs, its probable you only have previous experience presenting to (and being in front of) your family and friends. Whether you want to believe it or not, they are somewhat biased toward your venture, whether good or bad, and they’re probably not even close to seasoned veterans in the space you’re looking to enter. On the other hand, angel investors are experts in the vertical you’re looking to penetrate. They encompass specific competencies which add value to the overall pool of angels you’re presenting in front of and they’re an unbiased third party. What you also must realize is although angels may be hard to crack (and rip you up one side and down the other), in the end it boils down to the fact that they enjoy helping promising entrepreneurs who possess a great vision for their industry. The angels you stand in front of were once just like you- ambitious, forward thinking, but lacking the resources. They’re successful men and women who’ve been there, who now enjoy giving back to those with unique and disruptive ideas by opening up their rolodex and resources (ideas, funding, etc).
My point in writing this is to let you, the early-stage (angel round) entrepreneur, know exactly what investors expect. I would estimate at least 80% of early-stage company management teams do not know what an angel investor seeks during this process to become an active participant and financier in their company. Within two minutes of an early-stage CEO first opening their mouth I can tell whether they’re ready to tell me what I need to know. If so, I listen. If they bore me and do not cater to what I am looking for, they’ve already lost me in those first two minutes and I am now thinking about the other ten deals I am juggling during my day job. Thus, the point in writing this book is to help you become a successful and confident presenter.
You will have roughly ten minutes to pitch your idea with a follow-on ten minute period to answer questions. Throughout this book I will provide specific suggestions on how to efficiently and effectively organize your presentation so that your delivery is within the top 10% of all presenters. In addition, I will detail and explain some of the more common mistakes early-stage management teams make. I intend for these suggestions to be enlightening but also encouraging so that you’ll soon have the tools necessary to not only be prepared, but overly prepared, and more importantly- confident. By following my suggestions, I can estimate that you’ll be within the top 10% of all presenters. Obviously I cannot guarantee investment by angels in your venture if you follow these guidelines (because that’s all they are- guidelines). However, at the very least you’ll have increased the likelihood that many of the angels listening to your presentation will be significantly more engaged and attentive.
This is the goal: peak the interest of the group first and foremost. Be a salesperson, a darn good one who can clearly articulate every aspect of your business. If you can do that, you’re half way home to getting funding already. What I detail going forward in this book will help you with the other half.
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