Basics For Pitching Investors Online

Prepare Ahead Of Time, Limit Distractions, And Expect The Unexpected

Photo by Seth Schwiet on Unsplash

Public speaking has the highest ROI with the lowest amount of exertion. Pitching online is no different.

A pitch deck is a brief presentation providing your audience with a quick overview of your business. Concerning startups, founders are pitching for funding from angels, VCs, venture development firms, and other alternative sources of funding. Below are a few basics I’ve learned from experience to help you better prepare for pitching investors online:

How To Prepare

• Get different eyes on your deck. Share your deck with your team and mentors.
• Depending on how your presentation is arranged, you will most likely need to adjust your slide sequence, especially if others are presenting within a given time. See more here: How To Master Your Pitch Deck.
• Structure your deck based on your audience. Is the audience well -versed in what you’re pitching?
• Have your pitch deck ready in PDF format.
• Practice your pitch over Zoom or whatever platform the admin is using on your own. Usually, the organizer will schedule time in advance to practice.
• Have appendix slides set in anticipation of questions from judges.

What To Expect

• The organizer will share a Zoom link in a Google Calendar invite.
• Just like pitching in-person, something will go wrong, except the degree of difficulty is higher.
• Expect turbulence either on your end or the other side.
• Everyone is working remotely, so bandwidth issues are a reality. If your internet stalls, then sign out and sign back in. The moderator will either wait or move on to the next presenter, but they will come back to you. Stay calm.
• The organizer will stick to the time as best as she can.
• Your pitch could be open for a chat and Q & A, all in real-time.

Other Tips

• Sign in early on pitch day to ensure a smooth transition.
• It should just be one person pitching.
• Find a quiet place with little distractions.
• Lighting should be bright so people can see you.
• You might be sharing your screen to display your deck, but your face might also be visible in the pop-out, so position your webcam at eye-level.
• Feel free to express yourself, but maybe hold off on using the cool virtual background.
• Make sure a wall or blank screen is behind you.
• If you are inclined to fidget, then hold a pen with both hands. You’ll be less restless and prevents your shoulders from rocking side-to-side.
• Turn off all notifications on desktop and phone.
• Invest in proper equipment like headphones.

Like in-person, pitching online will only get better with practice. The same can be true for both the organizer and the founder — the more reps, the better. These are just a few basics that you may find helpful for delivering your next pitch to investors online. Feel free to share any lessons you have in the comments below.