How to Effectively Pitch Business Ideas to Investors

Sarath CP
The Startup
Published in
4 min readMar 28, 2018

Many new entrepreneurs have great ideas that will take the world by storm. But 99% of them do not get the proper business funding in the long run. This will end up leaving all these ideas to never develop into successful projects. This is because there is a huge gap between having a great business idea and fully implementing it. This gap can be filled by raising the proper funds.

Your pitch is the main thing that could either get your business off the ground or sink it. It all matters! Here are some of the amazing tips to get effective pitch ideas for your business.

Image Credits: Pexels

Turn your pitch into a story

Storytelling is the best way to attract the audience. It is a scientifically proven way to capture listener’s attention and hold them to remember what you say. Moreover, with storytelling, you can make your pitch unforgettable. Those difficult to understand valuations, spreadsheets and numbers do not attract investors anymore. When you are pitching your audience via your story, the investors get all the information that they want. What information you can offer them about your startup with your story, no sheet can convey the same. Everyone is attracted and loves a pitch that has a story involved; even the most data-driven investors. So, tell your story in a right way, gain the attention of the audience and the funding will follow.

Choose the Right Audience

Before sharing your idea with an investor, it is recommended to know about the interests of your investors. As an entrepreneur needing funding, what would be the use of pitching to investors who are not willing to invest in your product? Different investors can only finance your business when it is at a specific level. According to experts, it is good to start pitching your ideas to angel investors. Your business audience plays a vital role when it comes to getting an investor to help you financially. After recognizing your right audience, it is suitable to design your presentation in an appealing way. Set all your goals and objectives of your business and state the period as well.

Have a Simple yet Incisive Pitch

The presentation is an important aspect of pitching investors, and most entrepreneurs go wrong while presenting their pitches. Many entrepreneurs think that using a different language can benefit them, but this is a common misconception. The main purpose of the pitch is to exhibit the business objectives and check how funding would help to expand it. Also, keeping the pitch simple to understand helps. Hence, it is recommended to use a simple language while preparing your pitch. It should be in such way that even a kid can understand it. Craft your pitch so that it is neither too long nor anything important is left to tell. Keep it concise, simple and straight to the point.

Set Strict Timelines

Businesses are required to work on deadlines. So, it is necessary to add deadlines while pitching. Set some particular timelines that meet the specified period for your investors. It shows how serious you are about getting funds for your business. The more dedication you have for your business, the more satisfaction the potential investors will have in supporting you. Thus, it is suitable to set deadlines for yourself and make potential investors aware of them.

Speak Up About the Sales

If you are a new entrepreneur who has just started recording sales, make it a point to mention this while pitching to potential investors. State the sales graph and make sure that you explain them within a timeline. For instance, if you say that after only six months, you have already made $100,000, it shows the investors that you are getting sales and investing in your business can benefit them.

After you have mentioned about the sales in your pitch, the next challenge is to get ready for questions such as “how are you going to maintain the sales”, among many others. When an investor puts their money into your business, it means that your business will grow. Thus, your pitch should state how the company will accelerate the sales when the company expands.

Be Courageous

The main aim for entrepreneurs these days is to pitch to investors to get the best. But how many of them do it effectively? To effectively pitch your unique idea to investors, you need to tell them about the part of the business that hasn’t been discussed. Let them know that if the potential is unlocked, the business will flourish. You have to satisfy every investor that you meet about how the financing is going to shake up the industry and do things differently.

Pitching is all about convincing investors how the infusion of funds will help you in achieving the goals. You must take care of the capital deployment of the investor in your pitch as well. It is because every investor desires that the money they use to fund your business would earn those profits.

Conclusion

The purpose of a successful pitch is to have investors willing to invest in your company. So, when you successfully deliver what an investor wants, you will have a truly compelling pitch. Get started and create an appealing yet convincing pitch!

This story is published in The Startup, Medium’s largest entrepreneurship publication followed by 310,796+ people.

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Sarath CP
The Startup

Digital Strategist and Growth Hacking Specialist worked for both startups & big brands, helped them to build a strong brand presence and achieve growth.