With strong customer validation we’re ready to raise money to build our product. My current theory on pitching to investors is that you need to first tell a good story to get them engaged, and then you can get into the weeds of the business.
To prepare my pitch, I re-read Made to Stick, a classic and one of my all-time favorite business books. What I’m finding in early feedback is that storytelling is effective, but investors are also expecting a certain format, and you can’t stray too far from that.
Interestingly enough, this concept is covered in Made to Stick—a schema represents a framework of the expected. Applying this concept to startup pitches, an investor might have a schema of what they expect to see in a pitch.
The key to a successful pitch — I would deduce — is working within this schema, but then finding a compelling way to create a surprise, or something unexpected, that will capture the investor’s attention.
It’s more art than science — time to get creative and tactical — both sides of the brain!