Are you an entrepreneur looking to pitch your tech startup idea? If yes, then you should need an extra cup of confidence and some good tips to make the nerve-wracking pitching process effective.
A startup means a growing company. Every startup needs good funding to grow and scale. The desired funding comes from the effective pitching of your startup idea and making the people believe in your idea.
A well prepared, designed and comprehensive pitch is crucial to draw investors for funding.
In this blog, we will cover some actionable tips to pitching tech startup ideas effectively. In the end, we will answer the top FAQs related to pitching business ideas.
Let’s get started.
17 Tips to Pitch Your Tech Startup Idea Effectively
Imagine yourself entering the room with members who know little or nothing about your business. Then you will have a short time to impress them and make them believe your business idea can yield results.
It seems like a task that requires a lot of unique talents and confidence, but you can ace it when you have enough practice and the proper guidance.
To guide you better, we researched and listed 17 practical tips on how to pitch your startup idea. Next time, this will give you confidence when you stand before investors.
1. Make the presentation simple and strong
Nothing beats when things are simple to understand. So before you start preparing your presentation, make your points and ideas as easy as possible so that your investors don’t get confused.
Here, the goal is to create a presentation with solid visuals of what you are talking about.
Your idea should sound and feel exciting to investors.
So create two presentations, short and long. If you get an opportunity, use the long presentation and impress more.
There are two ways to prepare your pitch:
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- You can create a presentation from scratch
- You can create the presentation using pre-defined templates
Either way, have the same colour code and fonts throughout the presentation for a better impression.
2. Research your audience
It’s always better to know what people like and what they expect. Contact the venture capital company and get a list of people who will attend your pitch. Take a step ahead and try to understand your audience.
Research about the individual and the organisation for better understanding. While researching, understand:
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- Which companies have they invested in?
- Where do they spend their money?
- At which stage they are more likely to invest in a business?
- Their other interests
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Surf about them on the internet and mainly on LinkedIn for a better idea. Take a look at the vital factors venture capitalists look for before investing in your startup.
3. Manage the time in advance
Plan how you will spend the time in advance.
Once you get a time frame, set your presentation inside the time frame. Our goal is to use the maximum time out of it, so never rush out. Also, don’t prolonge it.
Investors don’t have the mentality to extend the time frame as they are super busy. So don’t make a long one that consumes more time than the wireframe.
Figure out how much time you will spend on a specific topic, and don’t talk about a slide for more than 3 minutes. It will be boring and take away your audience’s attention.
Key points:
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- Go at a steady pace without rushing a lot.
- Use the maximum time from the time frame.
- Leave some time for questions.
- Don’t take more than the allotted time.
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4. Focus on one thing
While you present, focus on only one thing – Your pitching. If you get distracted with preoccupied thoughts about your pitch, it may not give the best result. You should be laser-focused.
Never go out of your pitching while you talk about your business story or other things.
Once you start presenting, go with the flow; yeah, it takes a lot of confidence to do that. But it’s pretty reasonable to focus just on your pitching rather than worrying about the results.
5. Describe the problem with a story
Start your presentation with a story relating to the problem you are solving. When you include a real-time story or fictional one, it should always connect with the audience, the investors.
Let’s say you are going to raise funds for an AI-related startup. You can start by saying how AI has changed the world, especially in your niche.
When they connect with the problem, they can easily understand why the solution has a good market.
6. Explain the solution
Once you explain the problem, tell them how you are going to address the problem.
Let’s take the same example of AI. You have an AI-empowered health app that provides accurate data analysis to hospitals.
Focus on how the app will benefit the hospitals. . Also, explain how much time will be saved by your solution for customers. Talk about the benefits when you’re explaining the solution you provide.
7. Describe how your product stands out (USP)
It is crucial to explain how you stand out from the already available products. Explaining this stage is important to win the investor for funding.
Explain every crucial point in this stage clearly, how your solution is so unique and what are the new features you are going to implement in your niche.
Having any data like licences or patents or any crucial orders you already bagged will be more helpful in this stage.
Key points:
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- Clearly explain why you are different
- Convey how differently you are thinking
- Show how you are solving a problem differently
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Read: What a Unique Selling Proposition is? How Can it Help You Scale? Plus 5 Examples
8. Talk about your competitors
Speaking about your competitors will give confidence to the investors that the idea is needed. It will also give them a view of the idea’s value proposition.
Talk about how your competitors started and how they are doing. Also, mention where your competitors are lagging and connect this with your unique solution.
Add a check box section in your presentation and tick what your competitor has and what they don’t have. Then compare it with your product and tick all those you give. This will give an overall idea about how you will win the market.
9. Make the investors experience your product
Give your product to your investors for a hands-on experience. Ask for their feedback and demonstrate every step to them.
10. Talk about the market and target audience
Investors always look if there is a market for a specific solution. While pitching your tech startup ideas, not everyone has a glance at the market. You need to give numbers.
Numbers speak more than words here. Show them how big the market is and who your target audience is.
Explain the demography of your target audience clearly, so the investors will understand the demand for the solution.
Talk about your marketing and sales strategies here. Use appropriate data to back your claims and you can also use your competitor’s data.
11. Show the roadmap
Investors like to know how their money will be used. To explain it, you need to show the exact roadmap of how you will get started and how you will scale.
Explain your vision here and add appropriate milestones in the presentation to explain how you achieve your exact results.
Elaborating on the vision of your tech startup idea will give your investors an idea of how you will embrace it in future.
Learn how to create a roadmap in 6 simple steps.
12. Cover with statistics
Statistics give more confidence than words. Try to add statistics to your pitching. Don’t overwhelm with statistics, but add appropriate statistics wherever needed.
Add statistics:
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- To explain the target audience
- To show the demand for your product
- For explaining the scaling opportunities
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Many companies forget to add social value to their pitching. But this is important. Nothing comes one way. You have to give back.
Every startup starts with a core value, and it always involves giving back to society. Give investors the idea about how you will give back to society. This could be in the form of funds, any service to the special community or anything, etc.
14. Show your support team
Show your support team to the investors. Introduce them with their expertise and experience. Show the investors how strong your team is and how you are passionate about your tech startup idea.
Especially while pitching the tech startup idea, show your technical team to the investors with their expertise. Technical team plays a vital role in the success of tech startups.
While speaking about the experience of your team, add the successful projects your team handled to build more confidence among the investors.
15. Close with a powerful CTA
Close your pitch with a powerful CTA. Be clear and precise on what you expect and what they gain from investing.
Add some key points in the conclusion to explain why your idea can hit the market with a bang.
Show them how you see the next few years down the road.
16. Dress professionally
Many like to invest in people as much as they invest in the idea. So present yourself as pleasant and show you are responsible enough to handle their money.
Dress professionally in a new shirt or suit in pleasant colours for a better impression.
The first 12 steps you take in the room, the first 12 seconds you spend with a person and the first 12 words you speak will have a bigger impact on your first impression. So give your best shot.
17. Practice again and again
You think you know your business, but in reality, you need to unbelieve your mind here. Take your pitching to trustworthy people and practice before them. Get feedback from the people and improve your pitching.
Practice again and again for better results.
Conclusion
A perfect pitch will give you the expected funding from the investors. Every funding matters in a startup. To grow better spend some quality time building and practising your pitch beforehand.
Also, pitching the tech startup idea needs some extra effort.
But today investors love to invest their money in future, so there is a better chance for you to get funded.
Be precise, make use of the time and include numbers wherever possible to give confidence to the investors.
Nothing is impossible with determination and hard work. So start your pitching with a smile and make it possible.
Searching for funding options? Check out the different funding sources.
Bonus FAQs
Make a simple presentation and explain the problem and the solution. Always add the benefits the unique solution provides to the target audience.
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- The problem of your target audience
- Your unique solution
- Vision and value proposition
- Appropriate statistics
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Be passionate about your idea and explain it thoroughly in a full circle to the investors. Show the possibilities of scaling and brief about your potential target audience.
While pitching, use a presentation and explain how the technology will change the future of your niche market. Add numbers to back you up for better results.
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- Patent your idea
- Explain what is needed not much
- Select the companies which you feel confident to reveal your idea.
- Document your idea beforehand.
- Record your presentation.
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