Practical Business Tips | #03 | How to pitch your business

I recently did my first ever pitch to a panel of people, in the hopes of securing funding for my business. It didn't quite go the way I planned, so as always you can learn from some of the mistakes I made...

How to pitch your business

I had quite a few technical issues on the day, meaning my presentation was definitely not as smooth as I'd have liked it to be.

1. If possible, send the slide deck across ahead of time.

On the day, for some reason I wasn't able to share my screen and all the lovely slides I had created, and my laptop kept freezing so I couldn't email over the deck to the panel either. In hindsight I should have emailed it over before the meeting... so in the end I had to run my pitch without any slides!

2. Don't rely on information on the slides. 

There were a few key bits of information on the slides which I hadn't got in my notes, luckily because I had practiced so much I knew the numbers off by heart, but I would have been stuffed if I hadn't!

3. If you're given a time limit, give yourself some leeway.

I had a 5 minute time slot, and my presentation was timed to 4 mins 30. Because I didn't have any slides, I had to go off script and wing it - my presentation ended up being bang on 5 mins, so I am glad I had that 30 secs of breathing room!

4. Make sure you know the answers to key questions.

Think from the perspective of the investors, they want to be sure you know your business and have a plan. What are you going to do with the money if you secure it? What challenges are you facing in your business? How are you going to scale your business over the next 3-5 years?

5. And most importantly, live and breathe your passion.

If you love your business, this will come across. Let everyone feel that energy and believe in the dreams you have. 

Ultimately you want investors to come out of your pitch knowing that you have a good handle on the business strategy, numbers and plans... but you also want them to come away feeling excited about your and your brand.