Nail Your Pitch: Expert Advice from Adina Tecklu - Khosla

The Critical Skill of Pitching for Founders

For any founder, mastering the art of pitching is arguably the most crucial skill to develop. Consequently, our TechCrunch Early Stage 2021 event – focusing on Marketing & Fundraising – began with an in-depth exploration of effective pitching techniques and slide deck strategies.

Leading the discussion was Adina Tecklu, currently a principal at Khosla Ventures, and previously responsible for establishing Canaan Beta, the consumer seed practice at Canaan Partners.

Key Elements of a Successful Pitch

The conversation centered around several vital components. These included understanding your audience – in this case, potential investors – and the power of compelling storytelling.

We also examined the structure of a typical pitch deck, the purpose of appendix slides, and best practices for formatting.

Navigating Pitch Deck Formats

Furthermore, the discussion extended to alternative presentation formats, and importantly, which approaches should be avoided when constructing a pitch deck.

Understanding Your Investor

Knowing your customer – which translates to thoroughly researching your potential investor – is paramount. This understanding informs how you tailor your message and present your vision.

The Power of Narrative

A strong narrative is essential for capturing attention and conveying the value proposition of your venture. Focusing on the story behind your company can significantly enhance engagement.

Essential Pitch Deck Slides

Typical pitch decks often include specific slides addressing key areas. These commonly cover the problem, solution, market opportunity, and team.

Utilizing Appendix Slides Effectively

Appendix slides provide a space for supplementary information. They allow you to offer detailed data or supporting materials without cluttering the main presentation.

Formatting for Clarity and Impact

Effective formatting is crucial for ensuring your pitch deck is easily digestible. A clean and visually appealing design enhances comprehension and leaves a positive impression.

Understanding Your Investor: A Crucial First Step

Our conversation began with a fundamental piece of advice that, while seemingly self-evident, is often overlooked. Founders frequently enter pitch meetings unprepared, lacking essential knowledge about the investor’s specific preferences, investment focus, and stage of involvement. This is despite the extensive resources available for pre-meeting research.

Prioritizing thorough investor research is paramount to success.

Key Areas for Investor Research

Understanding an investor’s background allows you to tailor your pitch for maximum impact. Knowing their past investments and stated interests demonstrates respect and increases your chances of resonating with their priorities.

Resources for Investor Insight

Several resources can help you gain a deeper understanding of potential investors. Consider exploring these:

• Venture Capital Pitch Essentials: Discover the six key elements venture capitalists seek in a compelling pitch.
• Navigating European VC Pitches: Learn what to anticipate when presenting to venture capital firms in Europe.
• Pitch Deck Investment: Evaluate the potential value of investing in a professionally designed pitch deck.

By investing time in research, you position yourself as a prepared and thoughtful founder. This proactive approach significantly enhances your ability to connect with investors and secure funding.

The Power of Narrative Over Numbers

While data is often considered paramount in Silicon Valley, especially when making investment decisions, its value is limited, particularly when evaluating early-stage ventures. Data provides only a fragmented view of a startup and the founder’s vision. It’s crucial not to lose sight of the broader context – the overall potential – that investors are truly backing.

A compelling narrative often outweighs purely quantitative information.

Key Insights Regarding Investor Behavior

Observations regarding investor preferences reveal several important trends.

• Investors are demonstrably drawn to well-crafted narratives.
• An overly assertive sales pitch during fundraising can be detrimental.
• Analysis of successful pitch decks indicates that venture capitalists typically dedicate an average of 3 minutes and 44 seconds to their review.

This limited timeframe underscores the importance of concise and impactful storytelling.

Focusing on the bigger picture allows investors to assess the long-term viability and potential impact of a startup, something data alone cannot fully convey.

The ability to articulate a clear and inspiring vision is often more critical than presenting an exhaustive dataset.

Essential Slides for a Compelling Pitch Deck

Tecklu detailed the components commonly found within a successful pitch deck presentation.

• Title
• Problem
• Solution
• Why Now?
• Market Dynamics
• Competitive Landscape
• Business Model
• Bold Vision
• Team
• Financials
• Ask

While Tecklu provided a comprehensive overview of each slide, several key insights warrant specific attention.

Regarding the Problem slide, she emphasized its critical importance. A well-defined problem effectively frames the narrative for the subsequent slides.

Next, concerning the Competitive Landscape slide:

Furthermore, addressing the Team slide:

A significant portion of the session was dedicated to detailed discussion of these elements. For a complete understanding of the tactical advice offered for each slide, reviewing the transcript or video recording is highly recommended.

• The Justworks Series B pitch deck stands out as a remarkably straightforward example.
• Waseem Daher, CEO of Pilot, provides a detailed breakdown of his company’s $60M Series C pitch deck.
• Gaurav Gupta of Lightspeed and Raj Dutt of Grafana offer valuable perspectives on pitch decks, pricing strategies, and narrative construction.

Leveraging the Appendix for Data Presentation

Tecklu emphasizes a narrative-driven approach for primary pitch decks. However, this doesn't preclude the inclusion of crucial data within your presentation.

Instead, utilize the appendix slides to present detailed data pertaining to business areas that commonly attract scrutiny or raise investor concerns.

Strategic Data Placement

Key data points, while important, can disrupt the flow of a compelling story. The appendix provides a dedicated space for this information.

This allows investors to delve deeper into specific areas at their own pace, without detracting from the initial narrative impact of the pitch.

Addressing Potential Skepticism

Areas frequently subject to investor skepticism, such as market size or financial projections, benefit from thorough documentation.

The appendix serves as an ideal location to substantiate claims and alleviate potential doubts with supporting data and analysis.

Maintaining Pitch Deck Focus

By relegating detailed data to the appendix, the core pitch deck remains concise and focused on conveying the overall vision and opportunity.

This ensures that the primary message resonates effectively, while still providing investors with the information they need for due diligence.

The Significance of Presentation Formatting

A crucial aspect of delivering a successful presentation was highlighted, potentially even more impactful than the core narrative itself. Tecklu posited that seemingly minor formatting choices have the capacity to quickly undermine an otherwise strong pitch.

Key Insights from Industry Experts

Melissa Bradley, a founder and investor, has detailed strategies for excelling in virtual pitch meetings.

Furthermore, the pitch deck utilized by Retail Zipline in securing their Series A funding was analyzed, demonstrating how it successfully met all the criteria valued by Emergence Capital.

The Impact of Detail

While compelling storytelling and robust data are undeniably important for pitch success, attention to detail in formatting is paramount.

Even subtle inconsistencies or oversights in presentation design can negatively affect how the information is received.

Resources for Pitch Improvement

• Guidance on mastering virtual pitch meetings is available from Melissa Bradley.
• A successful Series A pitch deck example, from Retail Zipline, provides valuable insights.

Varied Pitch Deck Formats and Their Optimal Use Cases

During a recent Q&A session, a question arose concerning the increasing diversity of pitch deck formats and the appropriate context for utilizing each one. Tecklu addressed this point directly.

It's important to avoid creating excessively brief presentations that hinder an investor’s ability to evaluate a startup effectively.

However, a careful equilibrium must be struck between providing comprehensive details and offering a concise overview. Tecklu emphasized that a startup’s core intellectual property doesn’t necessarily require inclusion, especially in initial pitch decks.

The conversation eventually shifted to the topic of video presentations and demonstrations, discussing their place in the fundraising process.

Tecklu generally favors traditional pitch decks, with the exception of product demonstrations. These are best delivered live, after establishing a connection with a potential investor. This guidance, however, is modified during the concluding phases of fundraising:

Essentially, ensure a strong impression isn't lost when a deal is within reach!

• Refrain from submitting unsolicited pitch decks to VCs; prioritize video pitches instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYMOd3QU1Y4

The complete transcript of the discussion is available for review.

Key Takeaways from Tecklu

Tecklu’s insights highlight the importance of tailoring the pitch deck format to the stage of fundraising. Initial decks should focus on the core concept, while later stages may require more detailed information.

Choosing the Right Format

Selecting the appropriate pitch deck format is crucial for effectively communicating a startup’s value proposition. Consider the investor’s preferences and the stage of the fundraising process when making this decision.