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We have a project we've been working on as a side project (Web based education and training application) for a few months as more of a hobby than anything. Recently we were approached by someone who had heard about it and is willing to fund the project to turn it into a startup.

They would like a short company pitch as part of the initial funding. I was wondering the sorts of things I should be adding to this pitch. Here is the list I have at the moment.

  • Overview of the product
  • The problem it is trying to solve
  • How it's going to solve it
  • Potential Market?
  • Timeline?
  • Team Profiles?
  • Non Disclosure Agreement?

I know that the pitch needs to keep the technical information to a minimum and not be to "wall-of-text"ish, but is there anything else I should be keeping in mind too? (Sorry if this sounds like two questions)

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Here is a recent hit -- slideshare.net/hnshah/mintcom-prelaunch-pitch-deck – MikeNereson Dec 2 '11 at 4:09
@MikeNereson Thanks for the link, it looks interesting... – Cubed Eye Dec 2 '11 at 9:50

1 Answer

up vote 6 down vote accepted

Looks like you have most of it covered, I'd suggest covering the following topics.

  1. Problem. Good to start here because your solution is irrelevant unless your audience understands the problem that you are trying to solve.
  2. Your Solution.
  3. Product Demo
  4. Differentiation. What's special about your solution? How is it different/better?
  5. Business Model. How are you going to make money?
  6. Market Size. How big is the opportunity? Sometimes this is calculated as Total Addressable Market (TAM). That means the revnue per user * the number of ALL potential users. The investor will then do some math to assess how much of the total he/she thinks you can get.
  7. Competition. Who else is doing something similar? Or what are customers currently using instead of your product/service.
  8. Team. Why are you the right team for the job?
  9. Status. How far have you come?
  10. Projections. And where are you going?

I'd skip the NDA. Unless you have something that you are going to patent or a trade secret, NDA's generally don't make a difference. It'll ultimately come down to execution. In addition, most seasoned investors likely won't sign one.

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Add exit strategies. If someone is going to fund your software, they want to know by what means they are going to get paid. – MikeNereson Dec 2 '11 at 4:09

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