Cheers to the goalies: how to sneak your startup pitch past the venture capital gatekeepers.

With the conclusion of the World Cup this week, we want to take the time to celebrate the goalies. The ultimate gatekeepers. After being “gatekeepers” ourselves over the last few weeks as summer analysts at Ground Up and reviewing dozens of pitch decks, we wanted to share 8 tips to make your pitch deck a World Cup winning goal.

Soccer, or fútbol, is a low scoring game for a reason. Croatia’s 14 shots on goal only monetized into two goals which got past the goalkeeper. 12 shots fell short or were swatted away. France, on the other hand, succeeded to score 4 goals out of their 7 shots. It’s not about the time of possession or how many shots one team has, rather it’s about the intention, control, and directness of those shots. Every shot can’t turn into a goal, (a goalie is there for a reason and the game just wouldn’t be fun), which is why few with perfect technique and power are able to squeeze their way through.

Every startup is always looking to score big when making a pitch to a VC. However, many companies fall short of even getting an initial meeting due to one big fault — their pitch deck sucks. Venture capitalists are sent tons of pitches every week and spend hours sorting through them, searching for the few standout companies that will provide high returns on investment. In order to manage the large cold inbound deal flow, VCs often delegate the task of sifting through the pitches to associates and other members of the team*. These gatekeepers, often with less in-depth knowledge of an industry, are looking to make sense of the pitch at hand amidst a sea of opportunities. If the pitch deck isn’t clear or doesn’t grab the reader’s attention, most likely it will never even make it to the general partners themselves. It is like shooting for the goal from midfield.

Remember, the pitch deck is the first opportunity a VC has to really look at your company. A good pitch deck could be the difference between getting a meeting and getting a template pass email. Don’t get looked over because of your failure to properly articulate your company!

1. Explain the market you are in.

• Why is this the opportune time to invest in this space?
• What market shift/demographic shift has occurred that makes this the right time for your product?
• Do not expect your reader to have a lot of experience or prior knowledge in your field. Give context, define terms, make it clear and understandable.

2. State the problem you are trying to solve

• Why is your product unique in solving the problem?
• What kind of unfair competitive advantage do you have over similar companies that will enable you to beat the competition?

3. Explain the product

• Include a mission statement and clearly articulate your company’s goals.
• Ditch the complex jargon — making your product seem more complicated and elaborate than it is by using fancy terminology only makes your product confusing to the investor. VCs want to understand your product after going through a pitch deck relatively quickly, which is difficult if the deck is presented in a convoluted way. Be deliberate — succinct, concise, and to the point.

4. Discuss your competitors and where you fit in the market

• Make sure to include what differentiates yourselves from your competitors.
• Many companies do this in the form of a table that compares the product with other companies. While the visual element is helpful, if the advantages of your company aren’t clear from the table, you haven’t shown how your product is superior.

5. Show your business plan/model

• It’s simple — what are you doing now, where do you see yourself going, and how are you planning on getting there?

6. Tell us about the team, let us really get to know them

• Give us your history. We are investing in the team just as much as we are investing in the product. So sell your team in the same way you are selling your company.
• Investors look for founder-market fit just as much as product-market fit, especially when investors are looking at your company at an early-stage. The question becomes: “Can the team make the product successful because they know the market well?” Highlight if your founders/team members have a background in your company’s sector — whether that be their education, market or technological experience — that exhibit their qualifications to contribute to growing your company. This will help the investor put their faith in you.

7. How much are you raising and what do you plan to do with the money

• Don’t keep VCs guessing. Investors want to understand what you are looking for and how you’re going to use the money they give you. There has to be a plan so that investors don’t think you’ll be spending their money carelessly.

8. Make sure the deck is aesthetically pleasing

• You don’t want to scare away your reader by overloading the page with too many words or by not organizing each slide appropriately. A poorly formatted deck gives off a bad impression: if you can’t put together a simple, nice and neat investor deck, VCs will question your ability to communicate effectively. Effective communication is necessary for sales, recruiting and managing — the key ingredients in building a successful company.
• Grammar! Grammatical errors convey a lack of attention to detail. Have someone with a fresh set of eyes review your presentation for grammar and spelling errors.

All in all, the success of your deck is about how clear you can articulate your business and your goals. Your pitch deck isn’t a single penalty shot with the game on the line — even if you “score” it is just the beginning of an evaluation process and even if you “miss” you don’t have to wait four years for an opportunity to redeem yourself because you can always reach back out once you’ve improved the pitch. But, your goal should be to entice the readers, and leave room for future discussions. Make it easily understandable for the gatekeepers, allow general partners to see the opportunity, and the in-person pitch meeting will come!

Hope you score a goal!

— Gracie, Josh and Allison (Ground Up Summer Analysts)

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*Pro tip: In order to bypass the gatekeepers, get a warm introduction to the general partners. This industry is all about relationship building, so most likely you will hear back from the firm if they get introduced to you by a friend, colleague or existing portfolio company. Also, your ability (or inability) to navigate your way to a warm introduction is a positive (or negative) signal for whether you will be able to navigate your way to customers and recruits in the future, which is a necessary skill for building a successful company.