| Here is an alternative way to look at the advice: Avoid the future tense – If you looked at 100 presentations, which would really stand out? The ones that stand out are from teams that have accomplished a lot and have a clear path to making money, not groups that are still figuring it out. You obviously want to talk about the future, but the future is fluff so more substance is better. Avoid overusing buzz words – Buzz words are commonly filler for teams that don’t know what they are doing. I’m sure that if you had a real product making money and a clear path to success you could still get funded using buzz words, but you wouldn’t want to use them because you would have more important things to talk about. Understand the mechanics of your business – You should be an expert on your business and have thought of all the options and can explain the pluses and minuses of each option. If you are starting a grocery store (obviously not a VC fundable business, but stay with me), you would need be able to explain why you choose the Trader Joes style over the Wholefoods style or over the Walmart style and be able to explain each of those businesses and why one can be more or less profitable than the others. Pitch me your team – There is a lot more written about this other places. Target the right business – He says in the first line, be better than everyone else in your market, and I think that is a requirement. No one wants to fund a product or business that has no edge whatsoever. |