The first 60 seconds in front of the investor

What happens in the first 60 seconds of your pitch to investors? ⏱ 👇

We have talked about structuring your pitch materials to ensure compelling communications and how to find and prepare for the smart money you need. But how do you actually deliver your pitch for maximum impact?

There are lots of resources and advice about the pitch itself, so do some research and learn from these about how to project yourself, how to be confident in answering questions and so on. Here, we will focus on the first 60 seconds of your delivery, which is arguably the most important – although a strong close is too – as this is where you need to connect with the people you are pitching to.

Why the first 60 seconds? You may have heard the fun fact that human attention spans have fallen to less than that of a goldfish – but don’t believe everything you read! (See the BBC’s “Busting the attention span myth” 📺 ).

Having said that, investors are generally time-poor and quick to assess opportunities presented, so the first seconds of your pitch are when you have most attention and goodwill. This is when you need to grab attention, engage emotions, and get permission to carry on with your pitch.

In the first 60 seconds you need to start engaging emotions with your story (as emotions are linked to decision-making) and get across your investment thesis. This term, coined by Reid Hoffmann, means telling the investors listening: What your business is, why it is valuable, and why is it different – all in as few words/slides as possible. As he puts it: “What prospective investors must believe in order to want to be shareholders of your company.”

We would also add that clarifying the “why now?” is important early on, e.g. a legislative or consumer behaviour change may give your idea a boost.

Sounds easy, right? We know it’s not and even founders who have been pitching for a while can improve, so here are a few tips.

Tips & tricks:

• Make your opening line count: There are many options, and it may vary depending on your market, but powerful ways to get your audience immediately engaged include:

  • Ask a question: e.g. How many of you have children that…?

  • Encourage imagination: e.g. Imagine if the world had enough food/water/diversity, so…

  • Meet the end user: e.g. This is Flora. She needs help with… – putting a human face to the need engages the listeners, particularly if you can tie this into your personal story

• Don’t be afraid to show your passion: Investors value passion in founders as it is part of what will help them overcome obstacles to success. Show what your business will achieve is meaningful to you personally.

• Rehearse: Even if you are passionate, articulate and well prepared, rehearsal always helps.

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