Creating Your Pitch

When you're raising equity, your pitch is the voice and face of your business plan.

Every organization needs a business plan, which is a comprehensive strategy describing how an entrepreneur plans to make her vision a reality. It clearly outlines the company's purpose, products and services, market positioning, operations, management team, sources of revenue, cost structure, and growth potential. A business plan should contain the answers to any relevant questions that a potential investor would have.

When you pitch, you're distilling your business plan to its essence. Sometimes, you have as little as 30 seconds; other times, you have 20 minutes. Those are precious seconds and minutes to tell your story. What will you say?

Your goal is to get investors excited about the opportunity and excited about your ability to make the opportunity happen. To get them interested, they have to believe that your company will generate significant returns for them. As you move through each element of the pitch, you must instill that belief and focus on what is most appealing to an investor. Creating Your Pitch will guide you through what you need to do to hear the words, "Let's set up a meeting to hear more."

What you will find in this section:

• 9 key elements of a pitch to a venture capitalist
• Common sense explanations of each key element and tips
• Links to a glossary of frequently used terms
• Resources for more information and guidance
• Video examples of past Springboard presenters (video archive with commentary)
• Advice (on video) from experts who have spoken at Springboard programs (investors, successful entrepreneurs, attorneys, accountants, and other professionals).

Mid-Atlantic 2000 Susan DeFife Entrepreneur (2:00)

DeFife, a former Springboard presenter, gives advice on what every entrepreneur needs to know when raising equity capital.

Mid-Atlantic 2000 Gina Dubbé Steve Walker and Associates (3:48)

Dubbé discusses three critical elements in the presentation of a business plan: the market potential, competition, and competitive advantage.

Designing Your Presentation (1:54)

Keeping your audience's attention is crucial when giving your presentation. It is important to understand their personalities and target the presentation towards them. Always tell an interesting story.