How to Prepare High-Impact Memos and Presentations

David Teten Partner, ff Venture Capital ffvc.com // @ffvc teten.com // @dteten

August 2013 http://www.flickr.com/photos/govanriverside/6231627652/sizes/m/

Don’t Take Notes!

Download detailed slides at: ffvc.com/memos

© 2013 David Teten. More at ffvc.com and teten.com

David Teten (teten.com) •  Partner, ff Venture Capital, early-stage technology venture capital fund •  Founder and Chairman, Harvard Business School Angels of New York . Co-founded

Venture Capital Access Program, introducing women and minority entrepreneurs to Harvard-affiliated angels

•  Lead author, The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online

•  Lead author of first-ever research study on best practices in private equity/venture capital deal origination

•  Lead author of first-ever research study on best practices of venture capitalists in increasing portfolio company value through operational support

•  Harvard MBA 1998, Yale BA, both with honors. •  @dteten


ff Venture Capital (ffvc.com)

•  Early-stage technology venture capital fund •  Founded 1999, with over 180 investments in over 70 companies •  First investments typically $100-$500K at valuations of <$5m pre-money •  Follow on in later rounds for best-performing startups •  Prominent investments include:

Cornerstone OnDemand (IPO); Quigo Technologies (sold to AOL for reported $340m); Klout; 500px


ff Venture Capital: Over 180 investments in 70 companies

Investments as of July 17, 2013 Only logos of active companies whose investment from ff VC is publicly disclosed are shown. © 2013 David Teten. More at ffvc.com and teten.com

Master your tools.

© 2013 David Teten. More at ffvc.com and teten.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/florin_mogos/2065112973/sizehttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7207/6998671792_ca8cfa179c_c.jpg


Concise

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“I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter.” ― Blaise Pascal, The Provincial Letters,

Write for skimmability.


•  Rank-order all lists. •  Boldface subject lines.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/florin_mogos/2065112973/size

Use outline tool

http://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/235993781/sizes/m/ © 2013 David Teten. More at ffvc.com and teten.com

Source everything, and double-check your sources

http://www.flickr.com/photos/llansades/3689664203/sizes/m/ © 2013 David Teten. More at ffvc.com and teten.com

MECE = Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive

http://www.flickr.com/photos/geishaboy500/3220722686/sizes/m/ © 2013 David Teten. More at ffvc.com and teten.com

Use graphics

http://www.flickr.com/photos/greencolander/486258320/sizes/m/ © 2013 David Teten. More at ffvc.com and teten.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreanna/2812118063/sizes/m/ © 2013 David Teten. More at ffvc.com and teten.com

Answer the six key questions for each data point/chart/table

•  Who? •  What? •  Where? •  Why? •  When? •  How?

© 2013 David Teten. More at ffvc.com and teten.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfws_pacificsw/6518325129/sizes/m/

Sample Slide Format


Headline Car sales have dropped significantly due to recession, cultural change, and growth of car-sharing.

What the chart actually measures; rarely includes any numbers

U.S. Car Sales

How the data is being split, e.g., by category or by state

by brand

Year(s) 1980-2012 Units in parentheses (M) Source National Automotive Dealers Association,

http://www.nada.org/Publications/NADADATA/ , as of August 6, 2013. Based on reports from individual auto dealers.

Presentation matters

•  Format consistently •  Double-check for internal consistency of data

© 2013 David Teten. More at ffvc.com and teten.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/icmcwaffle/6104852910/sizes/m/

Articulate Next Steps

© 2013 David Teten. More at ffvc.com and teten.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/32314864@N02/3253876458/

CLEAN Presentation Checklist

© 2013 David Teten. More at ffvc.com and teten.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/multiplyleadership/8535538329/sizes/m/

•  Consistent – style and data internally consistent?

•  Language – precise and accurate? •  Elegance – attractive and clear? •  Auditable – data sourced?

outliers explained? •  Next Steps – what should the

reader do?

•  Append file name with date in format yyyymmdd

•  Review “Document Properties” fields


Clean up the Metadata

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sookie/94778946/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thewilkybarkid/3557251360/sizes/m/ © 2013 David Teten. More at ffvc.com and teten.com


Don’t put strong criticisms in writing if you can avoid it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jessetorres/3756352569/sizes/z/in/photostream/

Books •  Edward Tufte, all of his books •  Garry Reynolds, Presentation Zen •  Nancy Duarte, Slide:ology

Links and Blog Posts •  emailcharter.org •  teten.com/blog/category/personal/communications/

(particularly three-part series in Forbes on communications)


Recommended Reading

Any questions ? slides at

ffvc.com/memos

Sign up for our mailing lists at ffvc.com

hbsalumniangels.com/NY teten.com

Twitter: @ffvc @HBSangelsNY

@dteten © 2013 David Teten. More at ffvc.com and teten.com

Disclaimer

This Presentation is for the exclusive use of the recipients to whom it is addressed. References to the “Presentation” includes any information which has been or may be supplied in writing or orally in connection with the Presentation or in connection with any further inquiries in respect of the Presentation. This Presentation is not intended to serve as basis for any investment decision. While the information contained in this Presentation is believed to be accurate, the Preparers have not conducted any investigation with respect to such information. The Preparers expressly disclaim any and all liability for representations or warranties, expressed or implied, contained in, or for omissions from, this Presentation or any other written or oral communication transmitted to any interested party in connection with this Presentation so far as is permitted by law. In particular, but without limitation, no representation or warranty is given as to the achievement or reasonableness of, and no reliance should be placed on, any projections, estimates, forecasts, analyses or forward looking statements contained in this Presentation which involve by their nature a number of risks, uncertainties or assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in this Presentation. By its acceptance hereof, each recipient agrees that none of the Preparers nor any of their respective Representatives shall be liable for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damages suffered by any person as a result of relying on any statement in or omission from this Presentation, along with other information furnished in connection therewith, and any such liability is expressly disclaimed. Except to the extent otherwise indicated, this Presentation presents information as of the date hereof. The delivery of this Presentation shall not, under any circumstances, create any implication that there will be no change in the affairs of ff Venture Capital or HBS Alumni Angels after the date hereof. In furnishing this Presentation, the Preparers reserve the right to amend or replace this Presentation at any time and undertake no obligation to update any of the information contained in the Presentation or to correct any inaccuracies that may become apparent. No securities commission or regulatory authority in the United States or in any other country has in any way opined upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Presentation or the materials contained herein. This Presentation shall not form the basis of any contract. The distribution of this Presentation in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law and, accordingly, recipients of this Presentation represent that they are able to receive this Presentation without contravention of any unfulfilled registration requirements or other legal restrictions in the jurisdiction in which they reside or conduct business. Date at your own risk.
