How To Pitch To Investors & Keep a Level Head
There are a lot of tips and tricks about how to pitch to investors. Many articles will tell you to be concise, focus on storytelling, and include a bunch of technical information, like product-market fit, target market research, your business plan, and much more. Others will tell you exactly what to avoid, like choosing not to present a demo or failing to send a follow up thank you email. With all of this advice to follow, the idea of pitching to investors can become quite daunting.
Pitching to investors is nerve-wracking as it is, but if you try to focus on every little do and don’t, you might very well lose your mind. The fact of the matter is that, while your success rate might increase by following this advice, luck has a lot to do with landing an investor. No matter how much you prepare, it still might come down to getting in front of the right investor at the right time. That isn’t to say that preparation isn’t key and all of the advice out there is pointless, but there is perhaps a less tactical way to prepare that may help you through the ups and downs of pitching to investors.
A lot of presenters use rituals to get in the right mindset for a big presentation. The idea of being “on your game” or simply “on” is often discussed in relation to pitching investors. Maybe some of these rituals are merely superstition, but there are other more mindful ways to prepare before a big pitch that will ensure you walk into that meeting with the right balance of nerves, energy and enthusiasm. In fact, one of our previous Founders Forum speakers, Dr. Chloe Carmichael, wrote a whole book about how you can harness nervous energy into productive drive.
To help in these high-stress moments, we created a mental health and performance tracking app that helps entrepreneurs understand and become more aware of their current mindstate. With this knowledge, the app will recommend various mindfulness practices to improve performance and provide balance to your mindstate.
For example, say you’re heading to your very first pitch to a potential investor, and you’re so nervous that you’re shaking. When you get to the office, you notice that you have 15 minutes to kill before you need to meet your co-founder in the lobby. You decide to check-in with the mental health and performance grader in the Founders First app and notice that your anxiety levels are off the charts, but your energy is pretty low. All of this nervousness is tiring you out before you even step into the meeting. The app might recommend a practice of visualization to increase your energy and excitement, turning your nerves into positive energy.
While there may be a lot of strategic advice out there about how to pitch to investors, there’s not much about how to mentally and emotionally prepare. And while all of that practical advice is important, it means nothing if you’re not in the right mindset to present your pitch well. To find balance and transform your nervous energy, start a practice of tracking your mental health and become more aware of your current mindstate.
Join over 3,000 entrepreneurs improving their pitch performance by finding balance and try the app free for seven days.
Join the Community
Founders First is a set of evaluation tools that will improve your business by strengthening its most critical asset: You.
Are You An Entrepreneur Struggling with the Personal Impacts of Stress?
Let us show you a revolutionary program that’s transforming the lives of entrepreneurs just like you.
Join the Community
Founders First is a set of evaluation tools that will improve your business by strengthening its most critical asset: You.
Founders Forum is a live show where we talk about mental health in entrepreneurship and how to build resilience to stay stronger, happier, and be more successful.
