Jaine Lucas

Ellen Weber

Creating a Compelling and Persuasive Series A

Investor Presentation

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Early Stage Funding Ecosystem

Credit Cards FFF

BP Comps,

Incubators, Agencies

Angels VCs

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Angel Investors

• Exited entrepreneurs• Live in the area• Want to invest and help

grow companies

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Where to find us?

• Networking (AWE, MADV, PSL, PhillyTech Meetup)• Universities with strong entrepreneurship programs• Business incubators • IP attorneys, SBA, venture capitalists, big four

accounting firms and more• Advisory and consulting firms• Gust

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Philadelphia Angel Groups

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State-based Funds

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Other Early Funders

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Before getting involved with angels:

• Ensure you want a “partner”• Be sure you’re ready to have a Board of

Directors• Understand that involving angels means

giving up equity• Know that your forecasts will be dramatically

reforecasted (as will your valuation)• Be prepared to deliver monthly financials and

strategic updates8

An Investor Pitch

• What it is• An eight to 12-minute presentation with an

investor focus• Grabs attention early and keeps it by hitting

highlights• Leaves the investor eager to know more

• What it isn’t• A technology presentation• A sales presentation• An opportunity to “get in the weeds” 9

Why are you the team to

solve it?

How is the problem currently

being solved

What’s the problem you are trying to

solve

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What We’ll Want to Know

• What is the opportunity? How big is it?

• How do you make money?

• Do you have proof that customers will buy? Is it essential or a nice-to-have?

• Can you defend it in the market? What’s the secret sauce?

• Can you execute? Can you prove it with the management team’s track record?

• What will you do with our money?11

Sections and Flow

Title Slide Market Opportunit

y

Product or Service

Description

Go to Market

Strategy

Management Team

Competition

Intellectual Property

Exit Strategy and

Summary

Ask and Use of Funds

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Executive Summary

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Connecting to RHV

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Good Luck!

www.robinhoodventures.com

Ellen Weber, Executive Director

3711 Market Street, 8th Floor

Philadelphia, PA 19104

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Title Slide

• Include on the slide• Company name, logo and date of presentation• Ensure a highly professional image – get help if

you need it

• Talk about…• What your company does (high level)• Open with a “wow statement” that commands

attention

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Market/Opportunity

• What is the problem your product or service solves?• How is the market solving the problem currently?• Why is your solution superior?

• What is your value proposition• Must be compelling and believable

• What is the target market and size?• What segments are you addressing?• What are the size of each?• Prioritize segments; provide justification

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Product/Service Description

• Briefly explain your product or service • Why and how does it solve the defined

problem?• Provide diagrams, photos, videos• Avoid appearing too “emotionally attached” to

the product

Don’t get in the weeds: this is not a sales presentation!1

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Competitive Landscape

• What are firms and products are providing solutions to the problem?

• Use pie charts to show market share of competitors

• What differentiates your product or service?• Superior performance, lower cost alternative,

lower side effects, etc.• How entrenched is the competition?• What are their weaknesses?• Perceptual maps can help in some cases• What are the “barriers to entry” for others?1

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Intellectual Property

• What intellectual property do you have?• Do you have a proprietary and defensible

position?• Mention licensing arrangements, patents filed and

what type • Trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks, etc.

IP is an additional security blanket for investors2

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Go to Market Strategy

• How will you reach target customers and drive revenues?

• How will you make money (revenue model)?• Sell product or service direct to customer• License technology• Develop product then sell to competitor• Merger-acquisition

• What are the key messages for your target market segments?

• Describe marketing and sales plan• What partnerships or alliances are necessary?

Taking it from idea to market success

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People

• Management Team• List two or three key players: CEO is the focus • List successful exits, impressive affiliations, inventions,

discoveries, degrees, etc.• Acknowledge additional key players needed

• Advisory Board• List three or four highly impressive members• Round out deficiencies or weaknesses of management

team• Notable industry experts, key executives or former key

executives in your field/industry

Demonstrate you have the right team to execute!2

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Financials

($ 000’s) 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Revenues $ 277 $7,016 $17,299 $28,315 $39,706

Expenses $1,1418 $4,075 $6,087 $9,178 $11,443

EBITDA ($1,155) $2,941 $10,252 $19,137 $28,263

• Minimum of three years’ financial projections• Revenue, expenses and EBITDA are typical• Chart form is preferred• If you received funding, could you scale faster and

become profitable sooner?• Be prepared to talk about break even analysis, etc.

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Funding and Uses

• How much have you raised to date and from whom?

• Show founders investment and/or “skin in the game” from management team

• List current and future asks• How will the funds be used?• For therapeutics and medical devices, show

clinical trials milestone with needed funding

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Exit Strategy

• When will investors receive back their money?

• What multiples are likely? Are there comparable exits?• Provide examples where possible

• What will be the scenario?• Acquisition by competitor or market leader• IPO (proceed w/ caution!)

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Special Issues for Therapeutics

• Revenue projections are often not relevant for therapeutics – that’s OK

• Long and expensive runways to commercialization• Phase 1-3 studies are time and cost intensive• Milestone charts demonstrate an experienced and

knowledgeable CEO• Higher failure rate compared to other technology

sectors• Show how you can mitigate risk• Think out of the box for investment

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Summary

• Reiterate the market problem your product/service solves and why it represents a disruptive or superior approach

• State the large market potential and scalability of your business

• Emphasize you have the right team to turn idea into profits

• Thank the audience and solicit questions• Put your logo and contact info on it.2

7

• Delay talk about valuation until you’ve sold them on the idea

• And never in an investor forum!• Make it a closed door discussion

• An entrepreneur’s company is always worth less than he/she thinks

• Pre-money/early stage valuations are imprecise and difficult

• Few assets, little cash flow• Valuations are complex

• Science (formulas, number crunching)• Art (how do you apply the numbers?)

Valuation. . .

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Factors Affecting Valuation

• Previous Investment• Money required to achieve exit• Time to achieve exit• Market adoption and long-term

market potential• Competitive landscape• Financials• Value proposition• Entrepreneurial ecosystem• Investor comfort level

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