#launchfest

I've seen a lot of pitches in the last couple months, and one consistent weakness I see is founder's focus on pitching rather than communicating.  Perhaps calling these pitches is doing them a disservice in terms of preparing entreprenuers for what investors really want to hear.  Pitching sounds like selling.  Maybe we should call it Persuading rather than Pitching.

Building a Persuasive Pitch

Pitching = future, unknown

Communicating = presently known

It's important to answer questions in an investors mind.  Let's break them down.

What problem is this solving?

Communicate a problem that exists and is understandable.

What's your solution?

If its built - communicate what it is. 

If its not - pitch what it will be.

How big is the market?

Communicate market size

Pitch addressable market segments you plan to go after

Communicate market segments where you have validated customer acquisition strategies

Who is your customer?

Pitch who you think your customer will be.

Communicate customers you have identified, targeted and onboarded.

What is your technology solution?

Pitch what you plan to build

Communicate what you have built and tested.

What traction do you have?

Can't pitch traction.

Communicate your users, revenue, & growth.

What is your revenue model?

Pitch your sales forecast for next 3-5 years.

Communicate the unit economics of your product.

Who are your competitors?

Pitch your competitors feature matrix and how you stack up favorably.

Communicate the market positioning & dynamics of the industry and how you are targeting the whitespace.

Why should your team give me confidence?

Pitch your advisors and loose connections to recognizable people.

Communicate the credentials of people on your team and committed to your success with skin in the game.

How will you acquire customers?

Pitch your marketing plan that includes PR, SEO and Business Development

Communicate the conversion metrics for the acquisition channels you've been testing.

What is your use of funds?

Pitch how you think you'll spend it, 30% marketing, 50% technology, 20% SGA

Communicate next year's hiring plan, technology milestones and segmented marketing spends based on validated channels.

The difference between pitching and communicating is confidence.  When you're confident in what your communicating you are more persuasive.  That is because you've tested and validated your assumptions.  You're communicating what you know to be true rather than what you hope happens.

Launch Fest is a conference with a dual mission:

1) Inspire and prepare the next generation of founders (morning)

2) Get early-stage NOLA startups in front of angels & VC's (afternoon)

Last year at Launch Fest, Barrett Conrad was sitting in the audience watching the speakers talk about lean startup strategies and listening to the pitches by the 2011 Launch Pad Ignition founders.  He had been the first tech lead on Jen Medberry's startup, Kickboard, so he knew what it took to build a successful product.  He thought to himself "I should be up there next year."

Inspired by Launch Fest he applied to Launch Pad Ignition last fall, and on May 3rd Barrett will be onstage pitching Red Ticket Games, his new social gaming startup with his first app, Expert Trivia in the app store.

What a difference a year makes.  

We had a very exciting 2010 Launch Fest with a lot of passionate entrepreneurs.  Take a look at the impact of the conference in our Impact Report below.

Launch Fest featured three days of half-day conference sessions between the two weekends of Jazz Fest. Topics included social entrepreneurship, straight-talk with local entrepreneurs, and a pitch session to get companies funded. Of course, in the spirit of Jazz Fest we had four nights of mixers, music, and fun topics. Free and open to the public, the sessions were be held at the IP building. With Launch Fest, we put a new twist on the annual right of spring in New Orleans.

Please see the Launch Fest Impact Report below.  In addition, we wanted to share all of the media from the event:

Preso Slides: http://hu.la/launchfest2010slides

Pics Tue: http://hu.la/ccKdQk

Pics Wed: http://hu.la/9DeYjv

Pics Thu: http://hu.la/aRscVN

Video Archive: http://bit.ly/lptv

Launch Fest by the numbers:

200+ attendees

16 sessions over 3 days with 3 evening mixers

10 companies pitched to 18 investors

70% of the companies were invited to be introduced to investors

2 guests ended up this close to Eddie Vedder: http://yfrog.com/89y1kj

We had a very exciting 2010 Launch Fest with a lot of passionate entrepreneurs.  Take a look at the impact of the conference in our Impact Report below.

Launch Fest featured three days of half-day conference sessions between the two weekends of Jazz Fest. Topics included social entrepreneurship, straight-talk with local entrepreneurs, and a pitch session to get companies funded. Of course, in the spirit of Jazz Fest we had four nights of mixers, music, and fun topics. Free and open to the public, the sessions were be held at the IP building. With Launch Fest, we put a new twist on the annual right of spring in New Orleans.

Please see the Launch Fest Impact Report below.  In addition, we wanted to share all of the media from the event:

Preso Slides: http://hu.la/launchfest2010slides

Pics Tue: http://hu.la/ccKdQk

Pics Wed: http://hu.la/9DeYjv

Pics Thu: http://hu.la/aRscVN

Video Archive: http://bit.ly/lptv

Launch Fest by the numbers:

200+ attendees

16 sessions over 3 days with 3 evening mixers

10 companies pitched to 18 investors

70% of the companies were invited to be introduced to investors

2 guests ended up this close to Eddie Vedder: http://yfrog.com/89y1kj