Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
audience the overall picture into which they can then fit each piece as you deliver it.
Sequence
The slide/topic sequence for a fundraising pitch is pretty straightforward, and should
only be deviated from after careful consideration. It should look like this:
Company Logo [during the opening]
Business Overview [the context setter]
Management Team
Market/Pain Points
Product [including photos or screen shots]
Business Model
Customers [current and projected]
Strategic Relationships, If Any
Competition
Barriers to Entry
Financial Overview
Capital, Valuation, and Use of Proceeds
Review (Logo/Image)
Validators
Throughout the presentation, subject material should be liberally surrounded by
“validators” that lend outside credence to the claims the presenter is making. These
can range from the rock solid (“IBM, a repeat customer, has already paid us $10
million for our widgets and says we're the best they've ever seen”) to the usual
(“Gartner projects a tenfold increase in the buggy whip market over the next five
years”), to something as simple as laying out a competitive landscape that includes
brand names the audience has heard of (“McDonald's sells standardized
hamburgers around the world; we sell custom burgers in Tokyo”).
Things to avoid at all costs
Things the audience knows are not true
Things the audience doesn't understand
Things that make the audience “think”
Internal inconsistencies
Typos, errors, general unpreparedness
Slide design
Less is more (and even less is even more). None of the greatest speakers
throughout history ever used PowerPoint. By definition any time the audience is
looking at the screen, they are not looking at you. (Remember,
you
are the most
important thing in the presentation.) Humans are completely incapable of reading
