Your pitch (campaign page) is the most powerful tool in your fundraise! It’s how you’ll convince potential investors to join your journey. Spend time making sure it’s clear, crisp, and convincing.
Why does a clear pitch matter? Your ability to describe what you do and why it’s valuable – without jargon, without the fluff, and without a whiteboard – is critical. It’s a specific skill to boil a big, hairy, complex problem down to the basics and it’s one you must hone. It shows investors that you’ll be able to sell customers on your product, sell business partners on your mission, sell talent on your company, etc.
How do I build out my pitch? You can upload slides directly from a pitch deck to flesh out most of your pitch! (Head to our blog post all about pitch decks here.)
You will need to create some elements from scratch, though. You can find a step-by-step guide here and a full video tutorial here.
Dos.
Be clear. Investors invest in startups they understand. So, simplify, simplify, simplify! You’re going to describe what your company does thousands of times — to users, to investors, to shareholders, to prospective employees. People who know nothing about your business should be able to grasp what you do, quickly and fully. Make things as simple and clear as humanly possible.
Be concise. Use as few words as possible. Concision conveys to investors that you've thought deeply about your idea and how your company will work and grow.
Be conversational. A great pitch is one you can give to your mom and she’ll get it. It's not technical, it's conversational. This will also encourage word of mouth spread of the investment opportunity – people talk in normal conversational speak!
Get feedback. Pick 10 people, set up a 30-minute call, and ask for their feedback on your campaign page. These can be previous investors, strategic advisors, or prospective investors in your network. Identify themes in the feedback. Then, double down on what they find especially compelling & get ahead of common questions or confusions by addressing them on the page.
Excite them about your raise, too!
Don’ts.
Ambiguity. Ask yourself, “Is this vague or unclear? Can it be interpreted in more than one way? Would someone need to ask clarifying questions?” Keep your pitch simple and focused.
Mystery. Eliminate all industry jargon. Minimize indefinite pronouns like “this” or “it”? Avoid marketing speak, MBA speak, and buzz words – prospective investors will tune out.
Examples.
B2B: GroGuru, Rad Intelligence, ThisWay Global.
B2C: Armbrust American, Firelight Camps, Leon & George.
Science: Atom Limbs, Leah Labs, Tesseract.
Tech: Caribu, Immersed, Everydae.
Retail / Food and Beverage: Copperworks Distillery, Modern Times, Vegan Fine Foods, Future Proof.
More resources.
Check out this video library for pitch tips & a ton more from our team, Y Combinator alums, and founders who’ve raised $1M+ on Wefunder!
Also see Y Combinator’s cheat sheet on “How to Pitch Your Company.”
**We pulled some tips for this post from Kevin Hale's presentation for YC! Watch the full vid here.