Startup workshop on refining your messaging, drafting better pitch decks, and effective public speaking & presentation. Hosted by Gobi Partners and The Hive Bangkok.

1. PERFECT
YOUR
PITCH
Paul Ark
October 2020

2. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Pitching your startup is like a golf swing…
…many things have to work together well for success,
and only a few things need to go wrong to screw it all up

3. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
MESSAGE FORM DELIVERY

4. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
MESSAGE:
MAKING YOUR POINT

5. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
THE HOOK
Problem
Solution
Market size
Business model
Traction
Competition
Team
THE ASK
Anatomy of a (great) pitch (courtesy of )
Demo goes here
No B.S.
Don’t be shy;
don’t ask, don’t get!
Get your audience’s
attention quickly!
Talk about your
competitive advantages

6. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
30
number of seconds you have
to engage your audience
before you lose them
Tell a jokeTell a story Ask a thought-
provoking question
Ask for a show of handsMake a bold
statement

7. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Problems & Solutions
• How big is the
problem? Can the
scale of the problem
be quantified?
• Do people care? Is the
problem big &
important enough that
it needs a solution?
What makes your
solution so
innovative, exciting,
and unique?

8. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Market Size, Business Model &Traction
• MARKET SIZE – standard
TAM-SAM-SOM framework;
quantify in dollar amounts
• BUSINESS MODEL – will
customers pay? How will
you monetize?
• TRACTION – everyVC will expect you to use a
hockey stick chart. Why is your industry
exponential, and why does the inflection point
occur when you predict?

9. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Competition
• 2x2 (2-factor) matrix communicates
the 2 factors you think are most
critical to success in your industry
• Checklists allow you to compare
product/service features that drive
purchase decisions
• Never say you don’t have competition.
At the very least, the status quo is
your competition
• No competition = a) you don’t know
who your competitors are, or b) your
industry is not economically attractive
enough to attract competition
YOU
Feature 1
Feature 2
Feature 3
Feature 4
Feature 5

10. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Team
• The point of the team page is to
highlight that the company is lead by
key people in key positions with the
right skills, experiences & credentials
• It is not about a group photo; limit
the number to key executive
positions needed to drive company
growth to the next milestone
• Add a page for key investors and
advisors ONLY IF they are making a
significant and tangible contribution

11. • Capital?
• How much money?
• How much runway?
• How will you spend the
money?
• New employees?
• What positions? How many?
• New markets?
• Which markets?
• Why? Synergy?
• Market potential?
• New customers, vendors, or
partners?
Don’t forget THE ASK

12. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
10 sec
1 minute
3-5 minutes
30-60 minutes
This is your 1-sentence “throughline”
(connecting theme that ties together
each narrative element )
This is your 60-second pitch, your
“networking event” introduction
Adding is easy, cutting is hard!
This is your standard pitch
competition length
This is how long you might get to
pitch a VC
“For each additional minute I get to speak, what is the
most important piece of information to add?”

13. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
30-60 minutes
10 sec
Come up with a 1-sentence description of
your company that you can communicate
in 10 seconds or less
1 minute
With 50 additional seconds, you can add 3-5
brief pieces of information, or 2-3 slightly
more detailed pieces of information. What are
the most critical things to add?
Exercise: Layering your message
3-5 minutes
For every minute of pitch time, you have
enough time to present 2-3 slides in
sufficient (but not overwhelming detail).
• For 3 minutes, what are your 6-9 most
important slides?
• For 4 minutes, what 2-3 slides would
you add on top?
• For 5 minutes, what 2-3 slides would
you add on top?

14. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Don’t fall victim to
the pitch competition
“Death Zone”:
master the Q&A!

15. FORM:
STRUCTURE, FLOW &
APPEARANCE MATTERS

16. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin

17. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin

18. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Be like Steve (Jobs) &Ted (X): great aesthetics
• Limit 1 concept per slide
• Minimize text; be visual & graphical
• Use a consistent font, and limit font size variations to 3 or less
• Use simple colors with high contrast
• Cater to the person with the worst seat in the room

19. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
A picture is worth a thousand words (and numbers)
Instead of busy & confusing tables…

20. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
A picture is worth a thousand words (and numbers)
…use a few simple charts or illustrations to make your point quickly

21. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
A picture is worth a thousand words (and numbers)
Boring, difficult to read

22. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
A picture is worth a thousand words (and numbers)
Easy to view & understand

23. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
A picture is worth a thousand words (and numbers)
Easy to view & understand

24. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
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Don’t use small fonts!
(This is 40 pt font size)

25. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
How difficult is this to read?
How difficult is this to read?
How difficult is this to read?
How difficult is this to read?
How difficult is this to read?
How difficult is this to read?
How difficult is this to read?

26. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
How difficult is this to read?
How difficult is this to read?
How difficult is this to read?
How difficult is this to read?
How difficult is this to read?
How difficult is this to read?
How difficult is this to read?

27. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Slides should ENHANCE your message, not BE your
message.They’re a guide, not a script!
“Could you pitch
your startup
without slides?”
Be aware of the
differences
between a pitch
deck for
competition vs.
fundraising

28. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Tips on creating competition pitch decks for
• Keep the top right corner free of content, especially your logo
• Keep files sizes small and animations to a minimum; not all wifi
connections are created equally
• Make sure your face is well-lit, background distractions eliminated,
and your laptop camera is at face/eye-level

29. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Exercise: Flying blind
Do all of your pitches
without slides
What happens if all your
tech fails?

30. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
DELIVERY:
BETTER PUBLIC SPEAKING

31. Public speaking is about
more than just what you say
Where you look
How well you listen
How you stand
How you move around
How you gesture and point
How quickly and loudly you speak

32. Back straight!
Don’t slouch!
Posture:
Wide stance, feet pointed straight;
strains thighs & hips over long periods
“I’m doing martial arts kata!”
Feet angled inward; bad for the knees
“I really have to pee!”
Shoulder length apart, pointed out at
45 degree angle; strong, stable position
“I’m ready to kick butt!”
Feet close together, pointed straight;
unstable stance, tiring over long periods
“I’m an Academy Award statuette!”listen
to your mother!

33. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Until you become master of the stage, have a clearly defined and
contained “circle/zone of movement”
• Align body in direction you plan to move
• Half step in that direction (left foot leads
left, right foot leads right)
• Do the same to return to default position
• Move in opposite direction
• Give each position at least 10-15 seconds

34. In conversations, people tend to focus on eyes and hands

35. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
a) Start in the
center, 1/3 of
the way back;
5-10 sec
b) Eye contact with 2-3 people in front rows; 5-10 sec
c) Left side near
front; 5-10 sec
d) Left side near
back; 5-10 sec
e) Right side near
back; 5-10 sec
f) Right side near
front; 5-10 sec
Eye contact: engage the room, share the love

36. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
What NOT to do with your hands
DON’T: cross your
arms
Appears negative &
closed-minded
DON’T: hide your hands
behind your back
Appears dishonest
DON’T: put your
hands in your pocket
Appears insecure
and powerless

37. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Using gestures
AVOID: exaggerated gestures; distracting! TRY: to keep most gestures contained within a “strike zone”

38. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Too
fast
Too
slow
Too loud
Too quiet

39. Train yourself to eliminate
filler words

40. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Have a conversation, don’t
deliver a sales pitch
How would you explain what
you do to your mother?

41. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Tips on pitching via video call: keep the camera at
face/eye-level

42. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Tips on pitching via video call: make sure your face is
well & evenly lit

43. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Tips on pitching via video call: contrast between your
clothes and your background surroundings

44. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Tips on pitching via video call: avoid distracting
backgrounds & filters

45. “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
- Winston Churchill or Benjamin Franklin
Tips on pitching via video call
Disembodied head;
clothes blends into
background
Top of head cut-off
Busy
backgrounds may
be distracting
Backlighting can
make face
difficult to see
Not enough
lighting on face

46. Last piece of advice:
PRACTICE, PRACTICE,
PRACTICE!
Thank you!