Paul G. Silva

MARCH 26, 2020

This is the 2nd post in the “Startup Pitching” series. But… if you place some major credibility-enhancing facts into your second or third slide, the audience spends most of the presentation positively inclined to you and more likely to believe your claims. So simplify your pitch. Front load credibility.

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Dream It

JANUARY 8, 2020

In the episode, Steve asked Ron about his “five slide pitch deck.” But, the founder must be specific in presenting the problem. Instead, he recommends to put these in an appendix or include them in a separate, more in depth presentation. Read Ron’s article on his five slide pitch deck here.

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APRIL 14, 2014

The main driver of the skew towards men getting venture capital, statistically, is that far more men are pitching. That means you actually have a *better* shot, statistically, of getting VC investment at these firms, statistically, once you actually pitch. Once again, that''s all stats and doesn''t really explain anything.

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Dream It

OCTOBER 21, 2019

About Slidebean: Slidebean is a pitch deck and presentation tool with hundreds of templates available to use as a starting point. Thousands of companies have used our platform to pitch investors and raise capital. from DreamIt Ventures. ? Website: www.slidebean.com Youtube: [link] ? Caya: 2x startup founder.

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DECEMBER 24, 2018

If enterprise sales is the hard part of what you’re doing, figure out how you can de-risk that first—maybe by trying to pitch some vaporware to buyers or perhaps getting them to pay you to build it on a consulting basis. That being said, there is a lot of variability in terms of how an idea can be presented—whether it is well understood, etc.

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Dream It

MAY 19, 2021

In this Dreamit Dose, Managing Director Adam Dakin presents his view on the right way to answer it after hearing hundreds, if not thousands, of founder pitches. Make the specific amount you are raising and corresponding milestones clear at the beginning of the pitch, and do not give a range.

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DECEMBER 10, 2012

You pitch me on some product that. Ok, so it wouldn't be that bad, but the point is: Never let an investor do your pitch for you to stakeholders. We do a quick hacky check with people we know if it seems interesting, and because we don't know how to pitch it as well as you do, they don't get excited, so we don't. oh, I dunno.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

AUGUST 5, 2022

At DX22, we will present the same superior level of learning events, speakers, and keynotes that EO members enjoy at EO global events such as Universities or Regional Events—but in a smaller, more focused venue. Each person gets 90 seconds to share the details of the investment opportunity or the “deal need” they’re presenting or seeking.

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Startup Blogpost

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

20 Tips for Pitching New Business Ideas to Potential Investors To provide you with the best advice on pitching new business ideas to investors, we asked twenty CEOs, Founders, and other professionals for their top tips. You should highlight the potential future earnings while pitching your proposal.

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TechCrunch

JUNE 22, 2022

Over the past two years, I’ve designed dozens of presentations for a variety of companies at various stages of fundraising — from startup SAFE rounds, to VC rounds and IPOs. Don’t build one presentation, build three. This is your main presentation, and it should be able to stand on its own without a speaker. Intro presentation.

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JULY 8, 2013

Since there''s no way to both make yourself accessible and not get a fire hose of inbound, most of the pitches you''re going to have are from perfectly nice, smart people who have perfectly horrific, unworkable ideas. 2) People pitch you. Sometimes, you get contacted by certifiably crazy people who have perfectly legitimate ideas.

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MAY 11, 2015

I realized that I judge a lot of hackathons, pitch competitions and other various things on the weekends, and felt like I was losing at least 2 out of my 8 weekend days--so I gave myself back those days. It's ever present and always on. Out of those, I take about 150 new pitches a year--about 3 a week. It's more aspirational.

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Dream It

JULY 31, 2019

The press enhances this misconception around YCombinator demo days, where the 3-day pitch event is perceived like an auction, with investors fighting each other for the best deals. Many programs still put a lot of focus on demo day rehearsals, prep, and on getting the pitch deck just right. It did for me, at least.

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APRIL 11, 2016

I wasn't present at the event, but I heard about it and found this tweet that separately referenced the comment: To the brave black woman who asked what to do when ppl tell her to get a white man as the face of her org,Im so sorry for @Bethenny 's answer — Marah Lidey (@marahml) April 9, 2016. Not a single investor turned her down.

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TechCrunch

APRIL 6, 2022

It’s my pleasure to announce FabuLingua won today’s City Spotlight: Austin pitch-off! Mark Begert pitched his company to three Austin-based investors who found his messaging and pitch to be clear, concise and easy to follow. Two other companies presented in the Austin pitch-off.

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Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

I sit through a lot of presentations. These range from companies pitching me to portfolio companies presenting at board meetings. Each of these scenarios has a team presenting. Some CEO’s are masters at communicating when team members are present. Weave in their pitch to an overall pitch narrative.

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StartupNation

NOVEMBER 21, 2021

In the startup world, it’s pitch decks, not business plans that get companies funded. Making a pitch deck is an art, a science, but most importantly, a story. Angel investors and venture capitalists have also learned to expect a standard pitch deck as the first filter when evaluating a company to invest in.

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American Entrepreneurship

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

They also presented their brand story with tangible deliverables to an advisory board comprised of Maesa executives and guest executives who gave them insight and tools to move forward confidently in the Consumer Packaged Goods category. Called the “Future of Commerce and Work,” it was hosted by the Emerson Group at the Harvard Faculty Club.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2015

Many entrepreneurs pitching err on the side of too much information. You’ve all been to a presentation where you were overwhelmed with information and while you thought that lady was really smart you can’t remember anything about what she said the next day. How will you stand out from the masses of other people pitching.

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Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

I have sat through countless pitches with Ivy League grads spewing off intellectual descriptions of the details of their product or service and why it will win in the market. In a VC pitch this type of messaging will do just fine. These messages need to pass the cocktail party pitch. And I think this is a mistake.

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TechCrunch

JULY 4, 2022

A lot of pitch decks I review have a slide that really shouldn’t be there: the exit strategy slide. As an early-stage startup, it’s downright nonsensical, and it shouldn’t be part of your pitch deck at all. TechCrunch+ is having an Independence Day sale! Save 50% on an annual subscription here.

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TechCrunch

APRIL 4, 2023

No founder event would be complete without pitches! TechCrunch editorial is looking for 6-7 founders to take part in a Pitch Deck Teardown. Mastering the Pitch Deck Pitches are critical in the quest for funding and first customers. Without further ado, here are your judges for the TC Early Stage Pitch Deck Teardown.

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This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2018

Whether you’re going through an accelerator or you’re at some kind of speed dating event, short “office hours” meetings present both an opportunity and a problem for investors. However, it’s a terrible way to get your whole pitch in. It’s a great way to get out from behind the e-mail and actually meet people face to face.

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TechCrunch

JUNE 28, 2022

Over the course of the past 10 weeks, I’ve taken apart 10 pitch decks as part of our Pitch Deck Teardown series. And it presents this information in a way that is easy to digest and discuss, without getting too bogged down in the nitty-gritty of the numbers. We want your pitch decks for our Pitch Deck Teardowns!

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MAY 2, 2023

I got to see all of the top VCs pitching their funds. What was notable was how similar they all sounded—that is, until I got the pitch from Brad and Fred at Union Square Ventures. USV came in pitching digitally native businesses models that could not exist until the internet connected everyone.

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TechCrunch

JANUARY 8, 2024

Pitch, the company behind a collaborative presentation software for businesses, is scaling back and bootstrapping, with CEO and co-founder Christian Reber stepping down and two-thirds of its employees losing their jobs. This translates roughly to 80 personnel, based on the 120 headcount figure Pitch has published on its about page.

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Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 13, 2018

The short answer is that you should have multiple versions of your “pitch deck” (a short, visual presentation in Keynote, PPT or similar and shared as a PDF) and each occasion has a specific goal. During the Meeting One last pitch for why you should send the teaser deck in advance. A great meeting is a debate, not a pitch.

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Entrepreneur's Handbook

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

There are many activities we modern humans engage in so that we can be more present. One way I achieve mental clarity and live in the present is through skiing. Take a densely packed forest, add a steep pitch, and throw in a couple feet of fresh snow, and I’m in heaven. As long-time readers know, I am an avid skier.

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StartupNation

MAY 31, 2021

A business pitch is a presentation put together to entice an investor or group of investors. The goal of your pitch is to secure funding to proceed with your value proposition so you can take your idea to the market. I have reviewed many pitch decks in my day, and I have seen both the base and the STRONG method raise real money.

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This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 9, 2020

If you're in a more privileged position with lots of VC connections to pitch, you’ll either do one of the following things: You'll come right back at me, tell me why and how I'm wrong—because at this point you have nothing to lose.

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TechCrunch

APRIL 25, 2023

But dealmaking is idiosyncratic: a few investors might be content to make a deal over coffee, but early-stage teams still need a sturdy pitch deck or memo they can leave behind. I’m going to save you some time: many (if not most) of you are not yet ready to pitch an investor. Are pitch decks still necessary?

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

FEBRUARY 4, 2022

But I was uncertain about presenting it publicly. When I’m invited to participate in a round of pitching to potential investors, it’s more often than not part of a company’s marketing strategy around proving to the world that they care about equity for women. I knew I couldn’t hold this data for just my clients.

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Entrepreneur's Handbook

MAY 2, 2023

14 slides of entrepreneurship sweetness Continue reading on Entrepreneur's Handbook »

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TechCrunch

JANUARY 19, 2023

We’re looking for more unique pitch decks to tear down, so if you want to submit your own, here’s how you can do that. It’s remarkably rarely used in VC pitch decks, which I think is a tremendous shame. I reviewed 1,000+ pitch decks. Sadly, the Scrintal deck is a little lacking on that front.

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Entrepreneurs' Organization

JULY 16, 2021

Led by Jan Heybroek, the closed, coached conversations facilitate shared experiences around one presenter’s specific business challenge in a deep-dive presentation format. Use these resources to understand how your company will look when you pitch a VC or angel. Business challenge: Scaling a SaaS business.

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MAY 5, 2023

No more founder pitch meetings. I’ll also continue to work within the NYC tech community—now thriving at a level I could hardly have imagined when I first got the pitch deck for USV’s first fund as a Limited Partner at the GM pension fund. No new investments. No more responding to fundraising decks.

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Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2018

I know all of this because every VC knows this because we’ve all either funded companies that have marketing technology or we’ve seen a pitch with a company that does this. Your pitch deck should really be your best marketing tool Your pitch deck shouldn’t contain your deepest, darkest secrets and plans.

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