A short presentation about the dos and donts of pitching and how to always be prepared for a stellar performance in front of investors or potential partners. Further useful resources included at the end of the presentation.

1. THE DOS AND DONT OF PITCHING
Lubomila Jordanova,
Founder & CEO, Plan A
Berlin, Germany

2. AGENDA
1. WHAT IS PITCHING?
2. THE STRUCTURE OF A PITCH
3. THE DOs OF A PITCH
4. THE DONTs OF A PITCH
5. HOW DOES A PITCH DECK LOOK?
6. RESOURCES
7. ABOUT ME

3. WHAT IS PITCHING?
A pitch deck is usually a 10-20 slide presentation, designed to give a short overview
of your company, your business plan and your vision.
Pitch decks also serve very different purposes, from trying to get a meeting with a new
investor, to presenting on a stage, to getting a partnership and each one of them should
follow a different structure.
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER BEFORE STARTING TO PREPARE YOUR PITCH DECK:
WHO AM I
PRESENTING
TO?
WHAT DO I
WANT FROM
THEM?
HOW MUCH
TIME DO I
HAVE?
WHAT IS THE
SETUP OF THE
PITCH?
WHAT IS THE
MESSAGE I WANT
TO CONVEY?
DO I KNOW
ENOUGH ABOUT
THEM?
HAVING CLEAR ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS IS A MUST IN ORDER TO DO WELL.

4. THE STRUCTURE OF A PITCH
1. Title / Backstory
2. Problem / Opportunity
3. Solution
4. Business Model
5. Market Size
6. Competition
7. Marketing Plan
8. Traction
9. Team
10. Product Demonstration
11. What are you looking for? Call to Action!
12. THANK YOU slide with contact details

5. *SDGs = The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal call developed by the United Nations.
• Keep it straight to the point, don’t fluff
• Tell a story to engage the audience. Be honest.
• Have a clear structure of your pitch
• Prepare a list of the likely questions you will be asked and know the answers
• Be realistic with your financial projections or business plans
• Show that you have a plan - no investor or partner will listen, if you haven’t thought of the future
• Rehearse a few times in order to be on time and convincing
• Do it yourself– don’t copy existing information on the Internet – your startup is unique!
• Listen.
THE DOs OF A PITCH

6. THE DONTs OF A PITCH
• Don’t lie. Seasoned investors / corporates will catch you quickly.
• Don’t worry if you mess up the slide or the content. Take a breath and start again.
• Don’t forget to introduce your team.
• Don’t overlook the time frame that you have for your pitch.
• Don’t be anxious in your body language.
• Don’t dance around a question. If you don’t know the answer, say you will check and come back.
• Don’t read from slides
• Don’t give away too much too soon.

7. Subtitle
TITLE
• Bullet point
• Bullet point
References
HOW DOES A PITCH DECK LOOK?
slide
Always use the same
font family!
Or body of text
YOUR
LOGO
Graphic that illustrates
the point:
-mockup
-pie chart
-photo of team
Dont use
stockphotos!

8. RESOURCES
1. www.SlideShare.com - database of presentations for inspiration
2. www.ted.com – engaging presentations, even thought not of startups
3. www.pexels.com – If you have to use stock photos, use these
4. www.coolors.co – colour coding so it looks cool and stylish
5. Link – Questions investors are likely to ask you
6. Startup Metrics – metrics for calculating traction
7. www.meetup.com – database of events to practice your pitch or listen
to other people pitching
8. Www.techcrunch.com – the best technews website
9. www.quora.com – ask questions & get answers

9. ABOUT ME