Updated on 26th November 2024
You need funding before realizing your startup business (and your dream). You can either raise the money yourself or get investors to finance you.
More often than not, your money is insufficient to cover all the expenses needed for your venture. You would need to sell your idea to venture capitalists and hope that they are intrigued enough to fund you.
Thus, there is a need to make your pitch perfect! Har!
While there are a lot of presentation hacks that you can do, a lot of entrepreneurs still fail to gain investors due to simple mistakes that could’ve been easily avoided. Here are some common startup pitch errors and what you can do to improve your presentation
1. Your team is there for a reason.
Most startup pitches focus on the business concept but fail to introduce each team member and demonstrate their credentials. Investors and venture capitalists would take a great team over a great idea any day.
Why? Because great teams can turn a shitty idea into something workable. And if you fail this startup, they know you can start on another startup again.
You need this one in your team. Photo credit: lovine
Ideally, your team should be composed of a hipster, a hustler, and a hacker. Hipsters from the creative team, hackers in the technological arm, and hustlers in the business end.
From the onset of your presentation, present your team after giving an overview of your concept. Show relevant skills and industry experience. Letting all your team members speak during the pitch would be much better.
2. Making investors sign NDAs
In a previous post, I wrote about startup entrepreneurs’ fear of having their ideas stolen. Their solution? Make potential investors sign a non-disclosure agreement before pitching. Bad move.
NDAs turn off most, if not all, investors. They also prevent you from communicating your business concept to them.
Turned off.
And it doesn’t have a real value anyway. The rationale of the NDA is for protection, a paper shield to keep the other party from revealing what you are trying to do and how you will do it.
In most cases, you have more to gain by telling them what you will do (Feedback is one). And you shouldn’t reveal how you will do it anyway (aka the secret sauce). So, it’s much better to do away with the NDA.
3. Hour-long presentations
Investors and venture capitalists receive hundreds, if not thousands, of pitch emails and can only listen to several presentations. They don’t have time for your 50-slide presentation.
The key here is to make an elevator pitch, that is, limit your presentation to the span of an elevator ride (or probably a bit longer than that, but you get the point).
Screenshots from 500 Days of Summer, aka How to Hook an Investor in One Elevator Ride
Give a quick overview of your team and what you do. If you get an investor interested, you can always give more detailed information later. First, you need to get them hooked.
4. Excessively detailed slides
Your pitch should focus on clarity and impact, with only the most critical information highlighted in your main presentation. For instance, while financial preparedness—like having a backup plan for startup funding—may be vital, it’s best reserved for the Q&A portion. Save details like your backup plans—such as exploring startup microloan programs—or secondary market research for the Q&A. Instead, use charts, graphs, and other visuals to help your audience quickly understand your information.
You don’t want to see this face. Ever. Photo credit: Thomas Leuthard
Aside from that, check the design of your slides. Again, you need to keep your audience interested. How you present your business concept is more important than you think. Fonts, images, and even the position of the text should be considered when creating your slides. Look for resources such as this one or this one.
Don’t overlook the design of your slides—it plays a crucial role in keeping your audience engaged. The way you present your business concept can make a stronger impression than you might realize. Every detail matters: the choice of fonts, the quality of images, and even the alignment of text on your slides can impact your pitch’s overall effectiveness.
Need help designing standout slides? Check out these helpful resources:
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- 7 tips for creating visual presentations
- 7 Tips to Beautiful PowerPoint by @itseugenec
5. Not doing a product demonstration
In my earlier video game Kickstarter post, I mentioned that concept art is good, but screenshots and gameplay videos are needed. The same holds with business in general. Having a working prototype is way better than an idea.
I can finally download a car! Photo credit: La Tarte au Citron
Why? Because a product demonstration is proof of concept and would solidify your capabilities as a team that can deliver. Create a scale model of your product or use 3D printing technology for mockups. Be proactive in giving your audience a clear idea of what you are discussing.
These mistakes may not be fatal enough to result in your pitch failure, but every detail contributes to your pitch’s success. Getting a balance of engagement, accessibility, and aesthetics can go a long way to getting the funding you aim for.
CHECK OUT: 9 Inventions Created By Kids
Do you know of any more startup pitch mistakes? Hit us in the comments!