A Pitch Deck in Advance Helps the Relationship
“As an entrepreneur, you probably thrive on surprises. VCs, on the other hand, don’t like them at all.” – Blair Garrou
A pitch deck is a short presentation that entrepreneurs use to provide the investor an overview of their business plan, and it’s typically executed during the initial meeting. It is one of the most crucial components to this meeting, and because it is so crucial, many entrepreneurs prefer to keep it under wraps until the meeting itself. The reasoning here is that if they provide it ahead of time, the investor may have all the information they need to say “no”.
What the entrepreneur is overlooking is the fact that this meeting is also about developing a relationship. By providing the pitch deck beforehand, you’re giving the investor the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the nuts and bolts of your business plan. Now during the meeting, you can spend less time explaining the nuts and bolts and more time establishing a rapport, and discussing the big picture.
“The goal is to get the VC educated before the call, so that you can engage in much more meaningful discussions,” Garrou says.