You've heard it said, "They're investing in the management team, not the idea." It is essential to project confidence and to speak with clarity throughout the entire presentation.
Management Team Tips
The management team must possess and also project strong domain expertise. Potential investors will not back a team that seems to be learning the ropes about an industry
What attracts the investor is the jockey—not the horse. Talk about yourself with confidence, and convince them that you are an A player with an A team
Always talk about your background and accomplishments. Often, people tend to skip it to avoid the discomfort of talking about themselves. You are the leader of the company. You must sell yourself.
Emphasize tangible accomplishments (e.g., grew sales x% from $X thousand to $X million, raised $X million in venture capital for previous start-up which was then sold to this company for $X million). Your team’s past accomplishments will sell better than job titles, responsibilities and cumulative years of experience
Determine which milestones are most critical for your business to successfully make it to the next phase of operations, and tailor the presentation of your management team to the task at hand by highlighting those accomplishments that illustrate that your team can reach those goals
Monica Doss, Council for Entrepreneurial Developmen (1:28)
Doss advises you to match the team and its strengths and abilities to the challenges facing the company.
Springboard Alumna Cheryl Mayberry emphasizes her main point with an image and a new example. What you can't see in this example is the photograph Mayberrry used for her slide—a Wrigley doublemint twins ad for the Williams sisters. She uses this example to emphasize the timing and market opportunity for reaching African Americans.
