2. Kapor
Capital
is
an
investment
fund
based
in
Oakland,
CA
that
invests
in
seed
stage
informa@on
technology
companies
which
aspire
to
generate
economic
value
and
posi@ve
social
impact
that
align
with
the
over
arching
Kapor
Center
mission.
The
Kapor
Center
for
Social
Impact
relentlessly
pursues
crea@ve
strategies
that
will
leverage
informa@on
technology
for
posi@ve
social
impact.
We
primarily
work
with
underrepresented
communi@es,
focusing
on
closing
academic,
poli@cal,
health,
and
economic
gaps.
4. In
Person
Warm
Introduc@on
Angel
List
Cold
Email
Mastering
the
elevator
pitch
• Your
goal
should
be
to
grab
the
aLen@on
of
the
reader.
• Quickly
state
the
big
problem
that
your
company
seeks
to
address
• Explain
your
unique
solu@on
to
the
problem
• Ask
for
their
business
card
and
two
possible
things:
1. A
@me
to
meet
2. An
introduc@on
to
someone
who
would
be
interested
• When
wri@ng
a
cold
email
more
context
is
needed
so
the
investor
understands
who
you
are,
what
you
are
working
on,
and
why
you
are
contac@ng
them.
Getting in the door
5. Practice
• In pairs make your elevator pitch
• 30 seconds or less
• What’s the problem? What’s your
solution?
• Ask for follow up"
____[product/service name]___ WILL HELP ____[customer
description]____ TO____ [the problem being solved] _____[secret
sauce]____
6. • Ten
slides.
Ten
slides
is
the
ideal
number
of
slides
in
a
PowerPoint
because
a
normal
human
being
(which
includes
a
venture
capitalist)
cannot
comprehend
more
than
ten
concepts
in
a
mee@ng.
1. Problem
2. Your
solu@on
3. Business
model
4. Underlying
magic/technology
5. Distribu@on
Plan
• Twenty
minutes.
You
should
be
able
to
present
your
slides
in
twenty
minutes.
You
may
be
alloLed
an
1
hour,
but
keep
in
mind
that
setup
@me,
ques@ons
from
the
venture
capitalist,
and
ques@ons
you
have
for
the
investor
all
need
to
be
taken
into
considera@on.
• Thirty-‐point
font.
The
font
on
the
PowerPoint
should
not
go
below
thirty-‐point
font.
Squeezing
excessive
amounts
of
text
on
the
slides
will
not
impress
the
VC
firm,
but
may
actually
make
them
doubt
whether
you
know
the
material
well
enough.
6. Compe@@on
7. Team
8. Trac@on
9. Total
addressable
market
10. Fundraising
and
milestones
10/20/30 Rule
7. Business Model
• How will you make money? Key revenues
streams
• Pricing
• ARPU – Average Revenue Per User
• Life-time value of a customer
• Monthly Burn Rate
• CAC – Customer Acquisition Cost
14. Fundraising and Milestones
• Show timelines
• Past fundraising history
• Be prepared to speak about the use of
the proceeds
15. Pitching VCs
Confidence
(Not
arrogance)
You
must
firmly
know
that
you
are
doing
a
great
thing
for
the
poten@al
investors.
You’re
not
asking
for
money.
Rather,
you’re
making
them
money.
You
must
believe
in
your
product,
but
be
open
to
construc+ve
feedback.
Story
It
is
vitally
important
to
weave
a
story
through
your
deck.
The
story
should
be
of
who
you
are
and
how
your
idea
is
going
to
change
the
world.
Be
sure
to
help
familiarize
new
concepts
and
create
a
smooth
flow
from
start
to
end
of
your
deck.
Structure
Follow
the
10/20/30
rule
discussed
previously
as
close
as
possible.
Keep
the
deck
itself
simple,
but
decks
will
get
circulated
prior
to
you
presen@ng
so
it
should
convey
the
whole
message.
So
NO
slides
with
an
image
and
no
explana+on.
16. Itera+on
Do
not
get
trapped
in
crea@ng
the
perfect
deck
on
version
one.
There
will
be
a
few
versions.
So
get
plenty
of
feedback
afer
you
create
the
first
draf,
but
rather
than
incorpora@ng
all
the
input
you
receive
look
for
common
problems
and
address
them.
Memorize
your
pitch
Before
you
arrange
to
speak
to
any
investor
you
should
have
the
flow
of
your
presenta@on
memorized
and
be
able
to
take
ques@ons
in
your
stride.
Remember
whenever
a
ques@on
is
raised
to
return
back
to
the
relevant
slide.
Topics
you
must
include
Refer
to
the
10/20/30
Rule
slide.
Pitching VCs cont.
17. • The biggest mistake an entrepreneur can make is misleading
investors. Be sure to state accurate numbers and have the
source links saved for all statistics.
• Do your homework. Venture capitalist will assume you spend
day and night researching your specific industry. Be sure to
know your competitors in your space.
• It is equally as important to know what stage, sector and
investment strategy of the investor or investment firm. Do
research in understanding their “Sweet spot”
Things to avoid…
18. • When raising money there are many times you will be
overwhelmed with things to do. This is not an excuse to let
things fall behind. Be sure to follow up on emails and
conversations. A helpful tip is to create a spreadsheet with all
the investors and process your investor pipeline.
• As a founder, understand that many investors will say “No”.
Investors will say one of three things in different forms:
1. Yes, we would like to make an investment
2. “No” means the investor does not want to invest in your
company. If you receive a “no” then move on and ask for
feedback.
3. “Keep us updated” means we aren’t ready to invest but
send meaningful updates in the future.
More things to avoid…
19. What actually matters?
Ofen
people
spend
a
surprising
amount
of
@me
on
things
that
contribute
liLle
or
no
value
to
the
deck
from
an
investors’
perspec@ve.
5
main
quali@es
of
an
excep@onal
startup,
in
the
following
order:
1. Trac@on
2. Team
3. Product
4. Social
Proof
5. Pitch/Presenta@on
Investors
are
trying
to
find
the
excep@onal
outcomes,
so
they
are
trying
to
look
for
something
excep@onal
about
the
company.
Instead
of
trying
to
do
everything
listed
above
well,
do
at
least
one
thing
excep@onally.
**If
you
are
seeking
funding
from
Kapor
Capital
you
will
also
need
to
clearly
state
what
posi@ve
gap-‐closing
social
impact
your
business
has.
20. Defend yourself – Common
Questions
• Why are you the person/team to do this?
• How long have you been fundraising this
round?
• Why did you choose the location of your
company?
• What are the micro economics of your
business model? i.e. units/revenue?