M Wallace Green - Actnow Ventures

1. Pitch Like A Rock Star ⭐️
Wallace Green

2. confident
confident confident
fearless
focused
courageous
self-assured
ambitious ambitious
determined
committed
I’m a Startup Coach
driven

3. I coach Startup Founders to Pitch Like A Rock Star
▪ Rock Solid Story
▪ Water-Tight Biz Model
▪ Bullet-Proof Founders

4. not 99
reasons
Investors are looking for
to
reason
NOT
invest to invest

5. Nail the
Positioning
Identify
Critical
Assumptions
Test &
Validate
Find Your Story
(Storytelling) Build Your
Story in Slides
TO
INVEST
MENT
FROM
IDEA
I use six key work steps to Make Startups Investable
Pitch (on Stage)

6. Nail the
Positioning
Identify
Critical
Assumptions
Test &
Validate
Find Your Story
(Storytelling) Build Your
Story in Slides
TO
INVEST
MENT
FROM
IDEA
I use six key work steps to Make Startups Investable
Pitch (on Stage)

7. Pitching
Basics

8. Different contexts & types of pitching
Handshake pitch Pitching on stage

9. Handshake pitch – your objective is to
▪ Grab (emotional) attention
▪ Get biz idea across clearly, rationally
▪ Test to see if they are interested
▪ Open the conversation for next steps
or a specific Call-To-Action

10. … first impression matters a lot
▪ Eye contact
▪ Firm handshake (in the West)
▪ Speaking, but also knowing when to
shut-up and listen
▪ Asking questions

11. … show that you are serious
DON’T
DO THIS
Well, we basically…can I show my slide deck?
We built a really cool product that …
DO
THIS
We use [technology] solve the [$$$]
problem that affects [target customer]

12. Rock Solid
Pitch Deck

13. When sharing a pitch deck
only send PDF (Never PPT).

14. Design your slides in
widescreen 16:9 format,
here’s why…

15. Standard (4:3) Widescreen (16:9)

16. Stage pitch deck
– minimal text.
Investor pitch deck
– sufficient text.

17. Slide design should be
Legible.
Simple (Pixel Discipline).
Obvious.

19. Legible slides are the ones
that even old people in the
back row with bad eyesight
can read.

20. THIS IS A TEST.
Text color should contrast
sharply with a background.

21. THIS IS A TEST.
Text color should contrast
sharply with a background.

22. THIS IS A TEST.
Text color should contrast
sharply with a background.

23. THIS IS A TEST.
Text color should contrast
sharply with a background.

24. One slide.
One message.

25. Order slides so the pitch
deck tells a coherent and
captivating story.

26. [cover page] Here's an investment opportunity you should read
Something is happening, and it needs to be fixed.
It's happening at scale, affecting lots of people/companies, and the consequences are devastating
We fix this problem with our amazing solution
When we fix this problem with our amazing solution customers pay us in this way
And there's a lot of money to be made
Customers choose us because we solve their problems better than alternatives & competitors
And we've made good traction so far, because we have an amazing team
But we need your help to empower this amazing team to get more traction into this lucrative opportunity
with our water-tight business model and rock-solid solution that solves this terrible problem
That's why we are raising this investment round to achieve a big milestone in a defined timeframe
Your deck tells your story …

27. 1. Cover slide
2. Hook (context of the problem)
3. Problem (quantified)
4. Solution
5. Business model
6. Size of opportunity
7. Competitive landscape / advantage
8. Traction so far
9. Team
10. The Ask / Call-To-Action
11. Anchor
11-15 slides tells your story #slides
1
1-3
1-2
1-2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

28. The Hook.
The Problem.
The Solution.

29. Q1 2017

34. Rock Star Pitch Deck Guidelines
FREE RESOURE

35. Tips for
Q&A

36. Answering questions
It’s not an
interrogation.

37. By failing to prepare,
you are preparing to fail.
Benjamin Franklin

38. Be prepared…
FREE RESOURE

39. Pitch
Delivery
(On Stage)

40. Glossophobia
fear of public speaking
75%people have this fear

41. Non-verbal communication
is an elaborate secret code
that is written nowhere,
known by none, and yet
understood by all.
Edward Sapir
widely considered to be one of the most important
figures in the early development of the discipline of
linguistics

42. paralanguage
The non-lexical component of communication
by speech, for example intonation, pitch and
speed of speaking, hesitation noises, gestures,
and facial expression.

43. A speaker’s words are only a
fraction of his efforts. The pitch
and tone of his voice, the speed
and rhythm of the spoken word,
and the pauses between those
words may express more than
what is being communicated by
words alone.
Albert Mehrabian
UCLA professor who proved and quantified the
importance of non-verbal communication

44. 55 % Body
Language
38
7
% Tone
of Voice
% Words
Used

45. 93%non-verbal

46. Harry Green,
Ballet performer, my son
Crossed arms
makes us
smaller and
symbolizes a
closing-off of
ourselves
from others

47. Powerful posture to cast your
voice across the room and fill
the space with your presence
Harry Green
Ballet artist, LEGO expert
My son

48. Body language affects
how others see us, and
it may also change
how we see ourselves.
Amy Cuddy
Social Psychologist,
Harvard University,
Bestselling Author,
TED Speaker
Power posing can boost
feelings of confidence and
might have an impact on
our chances for
success.

49. I am a Rock Star.
I am Confident.
I GOT THIS.
POWER
POSE

50. Strong voice, vary the tone (no monotone)
Barak Obama,
US President

51. Strong voice, vary the tone (no monotone)
Margaret Thatcher,
British Prime Minister

52. Strong voice, vary the tone (no monotone)
Deep voice matters,
especially for women Elizabeth Holmes,
CEO & Founder Theranos

53. Speak slowly,
enunciate clearly
James Earl Jones,
Actor, Voice of Darth Vader

54. With eye contact, others are more likely to
listen to you, and to buy into your message.

55. The most popular TED speakers
used an average of about 465
hand gestures,
2X as many as
the least popular
speakers used.
Tim Ferriss,
American entrepreneur

56. TED is an18 minute format
That’s 1080 seconds
1-hand gesture
every 2.3 seconds
Tim Ferriss,
American entrepreneur

57. Other research has found that
people who “talk” with their
hands tend to be
viewed as warm,
agreeable and
energetic, …

58. … while those who
are less animated are
seen as logical,
cold and
analytical.

59. Hand gesture do’s and don’ts
Steve Jobs,
Founder of Apple

60. Give your hands a place
keep your hands in the
strike zone, when possible
Hand gesture do’s and don’ts

61. Give your hands purpose
use your hands at well-timed
moments to underscore the
meanings of your words
Hand gesture do’s and don’ts

62. Do use hands to reinforce
key messages, the power
of threes
Hand gesture do’s and don’ts

63. Give your hands power
an open palm facing outward
and upward builds trust with
the audience, so they will
follow your lead
Hand gesture do’s and don’ts

64. The fig leaf pose
clasping hands over the lower abdomen, used when a person feels
vulnerable, but they feel the need to express confidence or respect

65. A quick story about accents …
Conan The
Barbarian
A quick story about
accents
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Seven times Mister Olympia
Hollywood actor,
Former Governor of California
Environmentalist

67. A strategic pause and
look-around completely
captivates an audience.

68. Practice,
practice,
practice …
until your pitch is
muscle memory.

69. Find a pitch coach buddy to drill you till
it hurts – that’s the only way to improve.

70. Tell a Rock Solid Story, but also…
▪ Be mindful of your body posture
▪ Have a deep, strong, voice
▪ Speak slowly, enunciate clearly
▪ Make eye contact with audience
▪ Use hands to support the pitch
▪ Use pauses to refocus audience attention

71. Put in the work, and this can be you

72. END WITH
‘THANK YOU’
(Signals audience to start clapping)

73. THANK YOU
Pitch Like A Rock Star ⭐️
Wallace Green