Quick VC pitch tip #1

by Healy Jones

I've decided to post some really basic tips on presenting your startup business plan to venture capitalists. The intent of these tips is to help the entrepreneur with little things that can be done to make the actually meeting with a venture capitalist go a bit smoother. None of these tips will directly cause you to raise capital, but may make the actual pitch go more smoothly.

Pitching a VC your company is quite stressful. I hope that these silly little tips can help you relax and decrease distractions, so you can focus explaining your business and selling your team.

VC Pitch Tip #1 - Turn off your screen saver.

Many times during a presentation by a startup CEO we get into a lengthy discussion. During these discussions the startup executive's computer (the computer that they are using to project their slide deck for us) can kick on. I've seen CEOs horribly distracted by their screen savers turning on, even when we were not looking at the slide/screen at all. I don't mind when the screen saver flicks on, and I'd imagine that most VCs don't care either, but if this sort of a thing distracts you then turn off the screen saver before your pitch.