Tuesday, February 5, 2008

The Pitch

Linkspank will be pitching to investors this month and it seems like a perfect thing to blog about here (protecting the identities of the investors, of course).

This won't be the first time I've pitched Linkspank to investor types but it's pretty close. On the other hand, Linkspank's business planning goes back almost two years.

Here micro-observations so far:
1. Even though your pitch will be a PowerPoint, it's better to introduce your business to people (before you have a meeting) with a 1-2 page Word document. PowerPoint isn't meant to stand on its own, but prose is.

2. Getting a meeting with investors is much easier than winning them over. So I think it's worth it to focus on your message, not the meeting. I think connections are useful only when no one is giving you the time of day, and if your connections will vouch for you so strongly that it will help investors believe in your management ability.

3. I view investment as a partnership and courtship, and I think most investors do too. You don't just want a match, you want a good match with all kinds of signs of mutual fit. If you're feeling too hungry, you're probably missing something. And it takes time, and it's impossible and undesirable to seal this kind of deal instantly.... so there's no need to try. At first, focus on the basics of your business and the caliber of person that you are.
Do you agree? Maybe it's obvious stuff. Anyway, more to come.