10 Pitchfalls

The 10 big mistakes that I have observed people make when pitching:

1 Forget to introduce yourself: Most investors are “people people”. Introduce yourself, and frankly Aristotle’s “Rhetoric” is as true now as it was 2,400 years ago. See the 3musketeers of introducing yourself!

2 Don’t listen: Most investors have seen a lot of pitches, so if they say something, make sure that you are listening, even if it only makes sense many months later on!

3 Pack too much information in: Practice for 4 minutes if you are allowed 5 minutes, investors can ask questions in the area that they are interested in. If you put too much in, then you risk talking too fast, appearing unprofessional, and possibly getting cut off!

4 Be an introspective mono-culture: All too often I have seen a bunch of creative people, who have convinced each other that their idea is great, who have very little idea of the customer, the customer’s perspective, or the needs of the investor, or even how to run a business. See VitalTrinity to avoid this.

5 Don’t tell people the progress that you have made: You do not need to be ashamed that you are not a zillion dollar company already.

6 Think that the product will sell itself, especially if you price it cheaply:

7 Lack a team & advisors: You should have a well rounded team, who can show confidence that they can do the essential jobs of the venture.

8 Speaking too fast/slow/rambling/over your time limit:

9 Tell people that you/your business is wonderful: Give then them the facts that will allow them to draw their own conclusion.

10 Showing a business that looks complicated: In general investors see a lot of presentations, do not make life hard for them, you might be the 6th presentation at the end of a long day!