Women Pitching: Finesse to Success

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Women Pitching Finesse to Success
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• Female founder companies raised only 2.2 of VC
  funding in 2017 Source Fortune.com and Pitch
  Book.
• These numbers suck.
• We all want to see more strong female founders
  gaining investment.
• Unfortunately, the stats dont support this.
• A founder should be judged on their merits.
• The question was posed to me by a female founder
  should female founders pitch differently to
  men?.
• Following a presentation, I gave during female
  entrepreneur week (and because the stats dont
  lie) I decided to go a little deeper on the
  topic.

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• I wrote this article for the women who have said
  to me, we just want honest feedback, I get a
  lot of time wasters, the investors changed the
  deal on me at the last minute and I dont know
  whats right. There are too many bad experiences
  to list. Oh, and my favourite (that I can
  mention) is when do you plan on becoming
  pregnant because, with women entrepreneurs, you
  never know how much time youve got lol, shock
  horror, the leading cause of female founders
  failures. The topic has been a taboo for too
  long. I want to make a few things clear
• My goal is to get people talking to help founders
  and investors.

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• This is not a definitive how to anything. Just
  some observations coming from a place where I
  hope I can encourage good female founders not to
  give up because theyre having trouble raising.
• You could be a female founder who says, Im an
  exception to that rule and to you I say, go
  you. I would love to hear your experience or
  some feedback on the blog.

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• You might be an investor feeling some remorse or
  even saying thats not your experience of female
  founders which you have invested in. Or you could
  be a female executive who has experienced the
  same sort of feelings in a corporate environment
  and wish to be better prepared. Im writing this
  blog for every female founder I havent met.
• Of course, this is no panacea for female
  founders. It could respectfully be a potential
  way to re-evaluate your approach if it is not
  going well.

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• TLDR No secret, its not how well you pitch, but
  how well you shape a business that counts. Your
  go-to-market strategy, selling skills, branding,
  positioning, product development and managing the
  business fundamentals are of course far more
  important. These skills and your progress in
  these disciplines will determine (mostly) how
  well you are likely to perform. Did I mention
  resources and almighty cash? Again, the truth is
  that pitching is so much easier if you can
  finesse a few things before you pitch.

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• Understanding the problem is the first step. Ive
  sat through so many pitch sessions with men and
  women (and just women) both in the audience and
  as a judge in pitching competitions. Ive
  distilled some lessons from the thousands of
  pitches Ive seen which are clearat least to me.
  However, I would love to hear your thoughts on
  the list, other problems, and your hacks to
  pitching and business shaping.
• So here it is, awareness leads to enlightenment
  and for those few who are prepared to
  changesuccess can be yours.

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• The problem, women are awesome, butand this list
  is just based on the last 5 meetings I have had
  with female founders
• They dont want to be that girl (you fill in
  the rest).
• Hate pretending to be something they are not.
  This grinds them and is not natural.
• Being the smartest in the room didnt go so well
  for them at school.
• They apologize for perceived shortcomings rather
  than allowing their actual strengths to pervade
  during a pitch.

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• Of course, there are countless exceptions. Born
  superstars I have seen raise money in seemingly
  easy fashion. However, for everyone else, the
  above rules are meant to be broken in my world.
• Is there really any difference between how women
  should pitch?
• Some of the best founders I have worked with are
  as good, and often much better at pitching to
  investors than their male contemporaries. There
  are definitely some common strategies that can be
  codified. I have watched this so many times so, I
  am putting it out there, girls and guys should
  pitch (slightly) differently.

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• Like it or not, we have all sorts of preconceived
  notions when we listen to anyone pitch. Things
  that go through peoples minds are (regardless of
  gender) either
• I like this person, they are a winner
• They are a ditherer and cant sell to save
  themselves or
• Same idea, no idea (I will just check my
  Facebook) game over
• And so many more impressions. It is not uncommon
  that investors tend to label people early on in
  the pitch and then use the remainder of the pitch
  to justify their first impressions.

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• Female Pitch Routine
• Why not consider this, if you havent closed your
  round yet?
• You might be quietly spoken, but you have poise
• You demand attention by articulately nailing the
  essence of the problem.
• You slow down, for maximum lean-in effect, reveal
  your solution.
• You add, with enthusiasm and some humour I will
  tell you about my traction in a second but first
  you explain why you will nail this.

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• You share a few diamonds on the rationale for the
  market, why the timing is ideal, that you are
  already working for free and a short but
  important list of things done so far.
• You briefly touch on the magical amount of
  traction a list of 5 points up on a screen for 3
  seconds only and then its gone!
• Some killer numbers, (high level only) explained
  with the assurance of a seasoned CEO. Explain how
  the numbers will scale, what the economics are
  for delivering the top line and a precise dollar
  amount required to become to a company that will
  have the following characteristics at Series A.

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• Flicking to the final screen. Your logo. Pause.
  Im looking for investors who want to work with
  an A grade team if they have experience in sector
  x.
• Come up with an expression. A mantra just before
  you go up to the front of the room to pitch, this
  will get you into the zone.
• Practice lots, not the words, but the mindset.
• Break down and dilute your lack of confidence by
  looking at what you have achieved.

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• Of course, a lot of the above makes sense
  regardless of gender. But some subtle nuances may
  help your style.
• Extra subtle points I would add
• Remember, you are not reading the evening news.
  Its not about being perfect/professional. Your
  passion and enthusiasm are infectious.
• Its ok to show, once, a little chink of
  vulnerability for effect
• You must build inner excitement, slowly. Perhaps
  when you hit your numbers slides with a cheeky
  grin say, Ive been trying to find what Ive
  missed, but here are the numbers!.

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• Let the investor chase and qualify themselves
  stepping up to verify they have experience and
  track record. It invites them (feels good too)
  and allows them as people to feel relevant by
  adding value.
• Practice your narrative. Get feedback and
  reshape.
• Develop an economy of words approach in the Q
  A part of your presentation. For that matter
  probably, this applies across the board.
  Answering the question succinctly is gold.
• For further context (and impact) during the
  course of the presentation if you can convey that
  you

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• Think big but can back it up with numbers that
  make sense and that you get resource management
• Demonstrate the rigour of your validation but you
  are still having fun.
• Have a sense of humour.
• Can be serious, demonstrate tenacity and possess
  a bold but believable vision.
• You are generally going to get another meeting
  with investors (regardless of your gender).
• The goal is to tell a story, weave in a business
  idea and a set of craving customers.

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• The pitch is step one in getting the cheque, so
  get your cash flow right to survive until you are
  topped up.
• I stress too, start-up success is anything but
  all about pitching. In fact, Pitching is a word
  I dont really like anyway. It presupposes the
  founder is trying to sell you their crazy and
  often meritless business idea. However, you
  provide an insight into your resourcefulness and
  ability to sell, lead, your emotional
  intelligence and your likeability. Watch what
  happens.
• Refocus on building a great business, defer your
  capital raising until you have derisked as much
  as possible.

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• Post pitch the negotiation begins
• A pitch is a very different mode to a chat with
  investors in a one-on-one setting.
• A coffee meeting with a VC is all about building
  rapport and demonstrating integrity, passion, and
  capability (without using any of those words).
• Make sure you get more than one investor to the
  table to keep the negotiation strength in your
  court. Recognise they are chasing you now.
• Do your homework on the investor(s).

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• Scaling your business starts with you. I doubt
  many founders are afraid of constructive feedback
  and just want to get better. This innate drive
  differentiates the winners from the pack and is
  infectious. After all, everyone wants to be on a
  good team and be a little inspired.
• Final best wishes
• Dont forget pitching is taking you away from you
  working on sales, the product, and your team. For
  survival, achieving long-term success and your
  sanity these three factors are infinitely more
  important than your slide deck. Bootstrapping a
  bit longer might be the tipping point for your
  success too.

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• Control your cash (no matter how little that is)
  and focus on getting better every day.
• I would love to hear your stories.
  dkenney_at_hallchadwick.com.au
• Be formidable. This is the new you.
• If you would like to learn more, check out our
  VCFO Services.