This article was authored by Jeanne Heydecker and originally published on the Woomentum network.
Once you’ve practiced your deck and feel confident presenting your idea, the hard part is getting in front of the VCs to pitch at all. Start with tech incubators and other pitch days and tech weekends local to you to get feedback on what’s working and what isn’t. You may end up with an angel investor or two in the audience who may be interested in investing or may be able to introduce you to the right people. Also, don’t look down at LinkedIn and Angelist and other investment portals to start conversations. Make those introductions personal, even if it’s just “I noticed that you’ve been investing in [your industry] and would love some advice on how to get a meeting with investors.”
After he/she accepts, you can then start asking about what to do, what not to do, etc. Once you have built up a rapport, perhaps maybe had a coffee or drink with them, you might want to ask about the possibility of being mentored by them. They may be able to make introductions for meetings, advise you as to which people they think would be interested, provide feedback on your pitch deck, etc.
Don’t give up. Practice your pitch as many times as possible in front of these tech meetups and have a colleague in the mix to note down when people seem uninterested. Redo those sections. Collect business cards from everyone you can and follow up with them, especially those who are in your industry. It doesn’t matter if they’re your competition, industry analyst, investor, mentor – they all can add value to your startup. After that, it’s really up you! Good luck.
So what has been your experience when pitching? Did you know Woomentum is giving away ten free pitch reviews?