PITCHING TIPS

 

A typical investor pitch example may grant the entrepreneur 15 minutes to include Q&A with the investors.  If this is the case, then you are best to pitch for 50% of the 15 minutes and allow 8 minutes for the Q&A.  This will give the investors of a panel of 4, enough time to ask questions.

Your slide deck (if you decide to use slides) will cover the main subjects of product, team, markets etc and your financial presentation must be precise and demonstrate that you have a good understanding of your own business finances.  Your financial literacy levels will be tested by the investors in the way you answer their questions.

​

If you have prepared your business plan well and your 3-year forecast, your best tactic is to summarise your projections into the format below or a similar style depending on your business.  You should summarise your figures as shown and develop supporting slides of unit numbers and unit prices.  These will be held within your forecast.

​

You can prepare and save any number of ‘appendix’ slides separate from your main pitching slides and you can bring these up for the attention of the investors in response to their questions.  This demonstrates a grasp of your figures and a depth to your financial understanding.

​

If you can provide credibility to your forecast, you can also use the EBITDA numbers to propose a valuation for your business, based on the multiplier for your sector.  In the example below I have used a multiplier of 5.  You can insert your own figures into the tables.

​

Luca Pacioli, who we named our Company after, emphasised the importance of the ordering of your figures through record keeping, stock taking and awareness of gross and net profit margins.  Your business plan, based on solid research, is your starting point and your financial forecast is the record of your numbers. 

​

 

Summary Forecast

 

​