Pitch your Business in 12 Minutes

PITCH YOUR BUSINESS IN 12 MINUTES TIPS FROM OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS, DASH VENTURES

Omar J. Sati and Mohamed Malik

MINUTE 1: Introduce yourself. Tell us a bit about who are you, your background, what your position/role in the venture is, and what skill-sets and value you bring to the table.

MINUTE 2: One minute overview of the business. Explain what the business does. In a few sentences and as concisely as possible, give us your elevator pitch (stick to one minute).

MINUTE 3: Communicate your value proposition. What pain-point is the business addressing? Why do customers or consumers need the product and/or service?

Show evidence, either through market research (primary or secondary) or from your own operations/analytics that your product/service is effective, demanded, used, needed, wanted, etc.

MINUTE 4: Who is your typical customer? Investors want to understand exactly who the customer is and why they need your product or service. If you're a B2C company, profile your various customers (gender, age, education, income, interests, etc.). If you are B2B, then describe the types of companies you are targeting (small, medium, large, what sector, what department, etc.).

MINUTE 5: What is your competitive advantage, edge, or secret sauce? Here, you should answer the question: what makes you unique or different? How and why are you doing what you do better than your competitors (whether they are incumbents or competitors-to-be). You need to show barriers to entry and that you have a strong advantage you can protect over time.

MINUTE 6: What is the market size? Here, preferably describe the total addressable market (TAM). For example, the number of Internet users is NOT your market size; rather, you should explain how many of those users are potential buyers or users.

Make sure to describe the expected growth of market - investors want to see that this is a growing space. Also, and this is critical, you need to source your figures or at least explain how you estimated those figures.

MINUTE 7: How will you break into the markets your product/service is aimed for?

Give investors the confidence that you have a strong understanding of your markets and what is needed to navigate it and ultimately service your customers. In essence, provide your go-to-market strategy.

MINUTE 8: How does your company generate revenue today? Do you expect this to be tweaked or evolve over time? If it is in the pre-revenue stage, then explain the revenue model you plan on implementing.

MINUTE 9: What is your exit strategy? Do you expect your business to be acquired by another, larger company in a similar space? What are the types of companies that fit the profile of a potential acquirer, and what do you think would attract them to your company? Can you see your business going down the IPO route?

MINUTE 10: What do you need to achieve an exit? Gives us a sense of the milestones you’d have to cross in your journey to an exit - i.e. monthly revenue, daily active users, products sold, number of clients, etc. How many investment rounds do you project? What are the resources needed in terms of people/partners/relationships/etc.?

MINUTE 11: How much money are you looking to raise? How are you going to spend the money? And how long will the money last until the next investment round (runway)?

MINUTE 12: Finally, as you wrap up your pitch, explain what you will offer the investor in return, whether a percentage of equity, or a pre-investment valuation. It doesn't need to be a final 'set-in-stone' figure, but this is at least a place to start.

ABOUT DASH VENTURES A Venture Capital firm based in Amman, operating at the forefront of MENA’s rapidly transforming economic landscape and at the center of the region’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. DASH is a private partnership of entrepreneurs and business experts who harness decades of experience building and backing successful regional and international companies. They integrate their entrepreneurs into a global network that spans a variety of industries including technology, healthcare, financial services, and government, delivering access to investors, acquirers, partners, and customers.