I went to a private pitching event.
What went right?
Being in the startup scene, I try to stick my nose into pitching as much as I can. Due to my years of sticking my nose here and there, I was invited to a private pitching session by a Venture Capital partner. Today’s post is about what I liked about the pitches and what I would do differently. The pitching event was held as a scheduled programme during innovative inventions convention that spans over three days. The location provided ample space while being a closed door event to potential investors.
Then it started. Many of the founders were experts in their respective field, pitching their innovation to be judge by TWO locally known ventures capitalists. The first noticeable common trait were these projects were cooked up by researchers from local universities. The event kicked off without a hitch, one after another, founders shared their ideas, how it worked and how much funding they required. Majority used the problem-solution theme where some innovation leveraged on the expansion of 5G in Malaysia, and some addressing problems that are faced by you and me.
What I Liked
The pitching session showcased five innovations, out of the five, one was particularly memorable. The innovation was repurposing GPS navigation for indoor use but that isn’t the highlight of the pitch. The founder started off his pitch by resonating with the audience, creating a connection by highlighting the problem faced when looking for a particular store in a large retail mall. Further enhanced with some rhetorical questions, he started off with a great attention grabber. Followed up with a problem statement then solutions of how the innovation worked and the ask.
Another drone oriented innovation was highlighting the possibilities of improving efficiencies in a labour intensive sector. They highlighted use cases with their innovation (not the drones, rather the attachments that could be retrofitted onto existing drones) which is something that I love to do in my own pitch decks. Instead of going into the technicalities, the founder showcased how it can be used and how easily this innovation can be implemented across many sectors.
What I Would Have Done Differently
The presentations that were shown on that day were cluttered with text resembling lecture notes or industry specific expos where a new product is being showcased by the expert of the field. As this was a pitching event attended by potential investors of various background, it is important to curate the presentation for them. Key takeaways of the problem or solution should be highlighted accompanied with visuals. Videos could be played at the background or a part of the slide while the presenter showcased the Minimal Viable Product (MVP).
As renowned psychologist Albert Mehrabian highlighted in his formula, perception is formed based on the three main aspects; body language, tone of voice and your words. The presenter should be someone who is lively and well rehearsed in these three aspects. It would have helped by using the stage to your advantage, incorporating more hand gestures, speaking in a livelier tone and avoid making the session information intensive.
The session was ultimately a success as investors started seeking out the founders to discuss further while the judges gave valuable feedback and asked investment relevant questions to prompt the founders those information were not conveyed clearly during their pitch. Remember, the pitch decks you and I prepare will never be perfect, so get out there and start pitching to always be improving on it.
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