Building your business – how to get pitch perfect

There’s no denying it: pitching for funding or investment is daunting for any budding entrepreneur. It doesn’t matter how passionate you are about your business idea; you need to prepare when seeking financial support.

If you’re going to Venturefest Wales the week after next, it’s definitely worth checking out the ‘People’s Pitch’ platform. There, you’ll get a chance to pitch your innovative idea to a panel of representatives from the investment team at the Wales business angel network, Xénos.

By doing this, you’ll be able to get valuable feedback from the experts and find out if your idea really does have the potential to take off as a business. The best pitches and proposals will win a mentoring session from the business angels at Xénos – and free registration to go forward for angel investment with the network.

But how do you go about achieving the perfect pitch? David Maas from Xénos shares his top tips on the topic. 

Be concise.

Compiling a list of the key points that need to come across to investors will help you keep your pitch short, succinct and to the point.

Demonstrate demand

Great ideas solve problems. During any pitch. It’s important to demonstrate that there is a real need for the product or service your business will offer.

Do your research

Investors want to see a strong business model. Show that you’ve done your market research and you know exactly what customers will be prepared to pay for the product or service your business will offer.

Consider the competition

Make sure you know about your business’ potential competitors and how you’ll differentiate from them.

Self-invest

Investors will know you are serious about making your idea a success if you’ve invested your own finance into the project.

Give up the day job

It takes 100 per cent of your time to make launching a new business a success – so investors will want to see 100 per cent commitment from the outset.

Tell your story

Investors will want to hear about your ‘eureka moment.’ A personal story behind your idea will help investors engage with your proposal.

Make yourself investible

Investors invest in people first and ideas second. By being passionate, engaging and genuine, you’ll be showing investors why you make your business model work and how you will drive the business to success.

Be explicit

Be upfront about exactly what you want from the people you are pitching to. Are you just looking for funding, or would you also like to receive advice and mentoring support from your investor?

Say you don’t know

Do your research, know your figures and portray confidence, but if you don’t know the answer to something when questioned by an investor, an honest answer is always better to help establish trust.

Applications for the ‘People’s Pitch’ close on September 8^th.

Image credit: www.audio-luci-store.it