Everyone reading this either has pitched or will pitch soon.  Can you feel your heart beating faster already?  Public speaking is everyone’s top fear.  A Google search reveals almost 2,000,000 entries for helping you out.

I can help you with one word – PREPARATION.

Pitching investors can be easier (it’s typically only 1-3 people you are talking to) and more difficult (the outcome can be stressful) if you do not know the game.

Over the years, I have become a complete snob when evaluating pitches.  Sorry, you listen to enough and you get frustrated.

There are 3 areas I think you need to bring me:

  1. A solid personal introduction,
  2. A simple explanation of what you are doing, and
  3. Some evidence that you are onto something.

Your job is to put yourself in front of the 20 other pitches I heard this month.  Sometimes you have 3-5 minutes to convince me. It’s too easy to embarrass yourself by not being prepared.

If interested, I went into a lot more detail in this article over at INC as well as in my book, Build The Fort.