#entreprenueur

We’ve started to get out and pitch Gokrt to… well, really anyone that will listen.  We were lucky enough to get into a pitch coaching session at Orrick in Menlo Park with some awesome VC’s from Javelin Venture Partners and Norwest Venture Partners.  Sitting in a room with 11 other passionate entrepreneurs listening to people pack as much as they possibly can about their idea into 12 slides and a 10 min long speech for 4 hours really gives you some perspective about what a pitch is and what it represents for you.

We could tell that each company put a ton of thought and effort into highlighting what they thought was most important to world, particularly the world that the VC lives in i.e. investment, risk, and reward.  There were a couple things that stood out to me as important regardless of the relevance of the idea, the strength of the team or the ripeness of the market and I thought it might be nice to share them with you.

1. Your deck and your pitch really need to tell a story.

Most likely you are not going to knock the socks off of the people that are listening to your pitch.  They hear these things 7 days a week.  They probably heard a pitch that sounds almost exactly like yours 3 days ago.  So, don’t dive into the details and get caught in the weeds.  You have 30 seconds to get these guys attention, and after that 9 min and 30seconds to not make a total fool of your self and loose their attention. 

2. A picture speaks a thousand words.

People are listening to your words and looking at your deck, so put as many pictures and as few words on the slide as possible.  A catchy visual to enhance your story is really all the slides are for.

3. Everyone likes a good joke.

Relax.  Yes, this pitch is very important.  No, you don’t want to screw up.  People are going to feed off of your energy and you set the stage for how the conversation happens.  Be confident and not cocky (the VC is probably cocky enough for the both of you… I kid, I kid) and remember not to take your self too seriously.

4. Be Prepared.

You’re the expert.  If they know more about the industry that you’re entering then your probably not in the right industry and you’re definitely not ready to be pitching to a VC.

Cheers,

The Gokrt Team