Make no mistake entrepreneurs- an angel presentation is a war. You as the entrepreneur will be challenged from the second your mouth opens. Not only because what you say throughout your presentation will be critiqued from every angle during the follow-up Q&A session (constructive criticism meant to expose bottlenecks, loopholes, etc), but also because it’s immensely difficult to present a short, concise and easy to understand business model articulating the macro (and also the important micro) parts of your venture within ten minutes. The time will fly by quite fast- trust me.
Anyone who honestly believes presenting in front of angels is easy has a screw or two loose because it’s an enormous challenge to clearly articulate, in only ten minutes, something you’re so steeped in and committed to mentally, emotionally, financially, etc. It is very hard to take a step back from being totally steeped in your venture from all angles (such as: mission, niche, scalability, competitive advantages, etc) and put yourself in the shoes of those watching you.
This is another part of the war- being humble, dedicated and confident enough in your venture (and what you’re going to say) to be able to literally have an outer body experience. As an entrepreneur who wants to be in the top 10% of all presentations, you must literally go through your full presentation in your head at least fifteen times. Imagine you are watching yourself present to you and other angels in a large mahogany board room. You need to step back, envision yourself presenting and critique yourself first. From there, begin presenting to other associates in your venture, friends, family, etc. You should run through your presentation at least twenty times, in addition to the fifteen in your head, before getting in front of an angel group. It may sound crazy, repetitive and pointless but this accomplishes many things:
- You begin to visualize how to present your venture in terms of tone, posture, slide deck setup, additional facts/visuals/stats to incorporate or take out, etc
- You learn what to say and what not to say through constructive feedback and criticism
- The more you present in preparation for your ten minutes of fame, the more honed your presentation becomes
- The more honed your presentation, the more confident you become
- The more confident you become, the more engaging your presentation. Conviction in a purpose, which in this case involves getting financing for your venture, is shown subconsciously through your mannerisms whether your realize it or not
Hopefully now you begin to see the “steamroll effect” which begins to occur.
Running through your presentation and preparing to deal with follow-up Q&A is not the end of the war- it continues. Remember, although there will be an angel or two who do have specific competencies in the market you are targeting, the other twenty or so members most likely will not. Thus, you must tirelessly prepare to go from 1 MPH (articulating the market opportunity and value proposition) to 50 MPH (features, benefits, IP, competitive advantage) to 100 MPH (a clearly articulated SWOT and exit strategy) within ten minutes. Learning how to do this not only takes insight and being completely steeped in your venture, but also an immense amount of time, patience, reflection, honesty with yourself and (most importantly) the collective acknowledgement/acceptance of the critiques and feedback given by family, friends and associates.
Each angel who hears your presentation, whether having competencies in your targeted industry beforehand or not, at the very minimum, should be able to leave the presentation saying “I can relay the basics (macro) of this venture to another person, as well as the features and benefits of their product/service.” However, your hope and goal should be to have each angel leave your presentation saying “Wow, not only can I relay the basics (macro) to my friend about this venture, but also the small extremely important points (micro) that differentiate this venture from others in the space.”
- Passion throughout your delivery is extremely important. Angels want to be engaged by the vision you have for your venture. The story and picture you paint is paramount first and foremost. Without passion your presentation is worthless, just like the other hundreds of deals the angels have passed on over the years.
- Focus on consumer benefits when using your product/service. What does it do? For instance- streamline difficult processes, create a new niche, build upon an existing technology, revolutionize an industry, etc.
- Differentiate from your competition and clearly articulate the competitive advantage/barrier to entry for your venture. For instance- features, benefits, ease of use, strategic partnerships, etc.
- It is perfectly fine to be nervous, you should be. This is an exciting time!! If you aren’t nervous then you’re not going to succeed in front of angels because you’re not emotionally involved enough in your venture. Angels know you’re nervous. They expect it, just relax and stay loose.
- Do not use slang, jargon or terms only experts in the space will know. Remember, not everyone in the room will be a seasoned veteran in your space. Imagine speaking to your 80 year old grandmother who’s completely clueless beforehand.
- The 10-10-30 Rule = Use 10 slides, talk for 10 minutes and use 30 pt font in your PowerPoint.
- Under no circumstance should you include ancillary information which does not add value to your presentation. You only have ten minutes to knock their socks off. Every single second counts. Four pieces of irrelevant information could easily cost you valuable minutes as you veer off onto an unplanned, irrelevant and ultimately destructive tangent. You must pack as much clearly articulated information into those ten minutes as concisely as possible. Thus, you cannot afford any unclear or irrelevant information.
Good luck solider, war is undoubtedly tough. But always remember- luck is an accumulation of hard work.
Anyone who honestly believes presenting in front of angels is easy has a screw or two loose because it’s an enormous challenge to clearly articulate, in only ten minutes, something you’re so steeped in and committed to mentally, emotionally, financially, etc. It is very hard to take a step back from being totally steeped in your venture from all angles (such as: mission, niche, scalability, competitive advantages, etc) and put yourself in the shoes of those watching you.
This is another part of the war- being humble, dedicated and confident enough in your venture (and what you’re going to say) to be able to literally have an outer body experience. As an entrepreneur who wants to be in the top 10% of all presentations, you must literally go through your full presentation in your head at least fifteen times. Imagine you are watching yourself present to you and other angels in a large mahogany board room. You need to step back, envision yourself presenting and critique yourself first. From there, begin presenting to other associates in your venture, friends, family, etc. You should run through your presentation at least twenty times, in addition to the fifteen in your head, before getting in front of an angel group. It may sound crazy, repetitive and pointless but this accomplishes many things:
- You begin to visualize how to present your venture in terms of tone, posture, slide deck setup, additional facts/visuals/stats to incorporate or take out, etc
- You learn what to say and what not to say through constructive feedback and criticism
- The more you present in preparation for your ten minutes of fame, the more honed your presentation becomes
- The more honed your presentation, the more confident you become
- The more confident you become, the more engaging your presentation. Conviction in a purpose, which in this case involves getting financing for your venture, is shown subconsciously through your mannerisms whether your realize it or not
Hopefully now you begin to see the “steamroll effect” which begins to occur.
Running through your presentation and preparing to deal with follow-up Q&A is not the end of the war- it continues. Remember, although there will be an angel or two who do have specific competencies in the market you are targeting, the other twenty or so members most likely will not. Thus, you must tirelessly prepare to go from 1 MPH (articulating the market opportunity and value proposition) to 50 MPH (features, benefits, IP, competitive advantage) to 100 MPH (a clearly articulated SWOT and exit strategy) within ten minutes. Learning how to do this not only takes insight and being completely steeped in your venture, but also an immense amount of time, patience, reflection, honesty with yourself and (most importantly) the collective acknowledgement/acceptance of the critiques and feedback given by family, friends and associates.
Each angel who hears your presentation, whether having competencies in your targeted industry beforehand or not, at the very minimum, should be able to leave the presentation saying “I can relay the basics (macro) of this venture to another person, as well as the features and benefits of their product/service.” However, your hope and goal should be to have each angel leave your presentation saying “Wow, not only can I relay the basics (macro) to my friend about this venture, but also the small extremely important points (micro) that differentiate this venture from others in the space.”
A Couple of Additional Recommendations:
- Passion throughout your delivery is extremely important. Angels want to be engaged by the vision you have for your venture. The story and picture you paint is paramount first and foremost. Without passion your presentation is worthless, just like the other hundreds of deals the angels have passed on over the years.
- Focus on consumer benefits when using your product/service. What does it do? For instance- streamline difficult processes, create a new niche, build upon an existing technology, revolutionize an industry, etc.
- Differentiate from your competition and clearly articulate the competitive advantage/barrier to entry for your venture. For instance- features, benefits, ease of use, strategic partnerships, etc.
- It is perfectly fine to be nervous, you should be. This is an exciting time!! If you aren’t nervous then you’re not going to succeed in front of angels because you’re not emotionally involved enough in your venture. Angels know you’re nervous. They expect it, just relax and stay loose.
- Do not use slang, jargon or terms only experts in the space will know. Remember, not everyone in the room will be a seasoned veteran in your space. Imagine speaking to your 80 year old grandmother who’s completely clueless beforehand.
- The 10-10-30 Rule = Use 10 slides, talk for 10 minutes and use 30 pt font in your PowerPoint.
- Under no circumstance should you include ancillary information which does not add value to your presentation. You only have ten minutes to knock their socks off. Every single second counts. Four pieces of irrelevant information could easily cost you valuable minutes as you veer off onto an unplanned, irrelevant and ultimately destructive tangent. You must pack as much clearly articulated information into those ten minutes as concisely as possible. Thus, you cannot afford any unclear or irrelevant information.
Good luck solider, war is undoubtedly tough. But always remember- luck is an accumulation of hard work.
Joey Lowe
Invite as author
Great read and even better advice