1. 10 Questions Investor Pitch Template
Linda S Plano, PhD

2. © 2012 Plano & Simple | www.PlanoAndSimple.com
General Tips
Slides
Keep them SIMPLE!!!
Logo, tag line, name and title on title slide & nothing else
3 to 7 words per bullet, 3 to 5 bullets per page of text
One image or graph with legible labels per page of images
You
Introduce yourself
Practice, practice, practice
Use the slides as reminders, not as reading material
Look at the audience, never at the slide (no pointers!)
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

3. © 2012 Plano & Simple | www.PlanoAndSimple.com
PowerPoint Tips
Pick your theme
Pick your color scheme
Set up your slide masters with logos, etc.
Add content
Add animations, shape effects, etc.
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

4. © 2012 Plano & Simple | www.PlanoAndSimple.com
“Perfect Pitch”
What do you want?
Get the next meeting
Engage your audience, don’t teach
Who is your audience?
Investors, customers, partners… other?
What do they want?
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

5. 10 (Plano &) Simple Questions Every Pitch Should Answer
Why Should I Care?
What Do You Do (in language I can understand)?
Why Are You Better?
How Are You Going to Stay That Way?
Is It Real or Is It Vaporware?
How Are You Going to Make Money?
How Much Money Are You Going to Make?
Why Are You the Right Guys for This?
How Much Time and…
How Much Money Will It Take to Get to My ROI?
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

6. 1. Why Should I* Care? Market Pain Market Size & Market Pain
What is the problem you are solving?
Who cares (customer) and how much (price)?
Market Size & Market Pain
Use a bottoms-up approach, not market studies
Provide both big vision and early focus market segments
When pitching to customers or partners
Describe how your products and services will address or expand their current markets
* I = audience members (investors, partners, customers – whoever)
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

7. © 2012 Plano & Simple | www.PlanoAndSimple.com
Market Template 1
Revenue ($M or $000,000)
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

8. © 2012 Plano & Simple | www.PlanoAndSimple.com
Market Template 2
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

9. 2. What Do You Do*? Innovation & Secret Sauce
Describe what your tech or service does, not how it works
Use very simple graphics whenever possible
Be sure all text is easily legible
No jargon!
*In language I can understand!
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

10. © 2012 Plano & Simple | www.PlanoAndSimple.com
3. Why Are You Better?
Competitive Advantage
Focus on customer benefits, not technology features
Show the competitive landscape without clutter
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

11. P&S Competition Template 1
Benefit 1
Benefit 2
Benefit 3
Benefit 4
Your Company 
Competitor 1 
Competitor 2
Competitor 3
Competitor 4
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

12. P&S Competition Template 2
better Us
Them
Them
Them
Them
worse
worse
(e.g., less affordable)
better
(e.g., more affordable)
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

13. 4. How Will You Stay Better?
How are you protecting your intellectual property?
Patents
Copyrights
Trademarks
Trade secrets
Marketing advantage (e.g., first mover or fast follower)
When pitching to customers or partners
May omit this slide until you get to negotiations – but have it in backup for when they ask!
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

14. 5. Is It Real or Is It Vaporware?
Innovation Development Stage
Explain how “real” your idea is and what you need to accomplish to launch your first product or service
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

15. © 2012 Plano & Simple | www.PlanoAndSimple.com
6. How Will You Make Money?
Business Model
Describe your value chain
Suppliers
Partners
Distributors
Customers
End Users
Describe business as it will be in five years, not how you’re going to get from here to there
When pitching to customers or partners
Describe how your products and services will fit in their business model
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

16. P&S Business Model Template
Partner
Distributor
Customer
End User
Your Company
Customer/ End User
Direct Sales
Customer/ End User
Supplier
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

17. 7. How Much Money Will You Make?
Financial Projections
Build revenue projections from the bottom up
Show Revenue, EBITDA, break even – SIMPLE!
Be aggressive but not ridiculous in your assumptions
When pitching to customers or partners
Describe how your products and services will enhance their financial projections
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

18. P&S Financial Projections Template 1
EBITDA
$7.8
$5.2
Revenue ($000)
$3.1
$2.8
$1.7
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

19. 8. Why Are You the Right Guys?
Team
Focus on experience, not degrees
Include management, advisors and partners with whom you have real commitments
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

20. © 2012 Plano & Simple | www.PlanoAndSimple.com
P&S Team Template 1
Team
Jane Doe CEO
Experience
Education
George Oscar
COO
Advisors
John Doe
CEO, Bigshot Corp
Jill St. John, PhD
Professor, Fancy University
Partner Logo
Partner Logo
Partner Logo
Grant Provider Logo
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

21. © 2012 Plano & Simple | www.PlanoAndSimple.com
P&S Team Template 2
Jane Doe CEO
Experience
Education
George Oscar
CTO
John Doe
VP, New Business Development
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

22. © 2012 Plano & Simple | www.PlanoAndSimple.com
P&S Team Template 3
Advisory Board
Michael Nesmith
Current title
Relevant experience
Peter Tork
Davy Jones
Micky Dolenz
Partners
John Doe
VP, R&D, Big Manufacturing Corp
Jill St. John, PhD
Professor, Fancy University
Jason Bourne
CEO, CustomerCo
Lily Smith
VP Distribution, Supplier Heaven, Inc.
Big Mfg Co
Logo
Fancy University Logo
CustomerCo Logo
Supplier Heaven Logo
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

23. 9. How Much Time and… 10. How Much Money until my ROI?
Development Plan should include:
Liquidity event (if pitching to investors)
Value-added milestones to get to liquidity event
Investment required for each phase
Use these numbers for your ask
When pitching to customers or partners
Describe what you need for them in order to deliver the products or services that they want (their “ROI”)
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

24. P&S Development Plan Template 1
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
$15 M
Break even
New customer signed
$5 M
Regulatory compliance
1st customer signed
$4 M
Demo complete
2 new patents filed 24
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

25. P&S Development Plan Template 2
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
$4 M
$5 M
$15 M
Demo complete
2 new patents filed
Regulatory compliance
1st customer signed
Break even
New customer signed $X
[revenue] 25
© 2012 Plano & Simple |

26. © 2012 Plano & Simple | www.PlanoAndSimple.com
Checklist
Do I know my audience and what they care about?
Can I deliver this pitch comfortably in 10 minutes?
Do I have a compelling second elevator pitch to deliver at the beginning?
Am I using relevant graphics every 3 pages or more?
Have I cut the number and length of bullets to the absolute minimum?
Do my slide titles capture the 1 major point I want them to get from each slide?
Is all the text on every page legible from a distance (same as 18pt Arial, ideally)?
Have I answered all 10 questions?
Do I have the backup slides and data I need to support my answers?
Have I created a compelling ask?
© 2012 Plano & Simple |