[TEXT: Young African Leaders Initiative Online Training Series]
[TEXT: Pitching Your Business Ideas for Investment] My name is Claude Grunitzky and this is “Pitching Your Business
[TEXT: Learning Objectives 1. Identify potential business partners. 2. Look at the key elements of a pitch. 3. Craft and deliver a pitch. 4. Follow up.] Ideas for Investment.” In this lesson, we will explore how to
identify potential business partners, look at the key
elements of a pitch, craft and deliver a pitch, and follow up.
[TEXT: Claude Grunitzky, Chairman, TRUE] If you are serious about starting a new venture,
you must demonstrate to potential business partners
[TEXT: Passionate] and investors that you are passionate about the idea
and truly believe that the business can succeed.
[TEXT: Work hard] You must be willing to work hard, on weekends and
late into the night. You will show your investors that you can
do what it takes to make your business thrive, knowing that
[TEXT: Profitability and growth] profitability and growth will one day justify all the efforts.
Although many businesses fail within the first year,
[TEXT: Drive and a great idea] many others succeed because their founders have drive,
and a great idea. They were able to rally
a winning team and investors.
[TEXT: Identify potential business partners] How does an entrepreneur identify potential business
partners? It’s very important to choose business partners
[TEXT: Skill set and personality] according to both skill set and personality. Explore your own
skill sets. If you are passionate about technology
and see yourself as more of an introvert, then you should
choose business partners who are more extroverted — partners who
are willing to go out, meet customers and engage in the
marketplace. If you are not very organized, then it is crucial to
add a business partner who is very detail-oriented and good
at handling complex tasks, whether dealing with lawyers,
accounts or suppliers. It is also good to have at least one
[TEXT: Handle investors] founding team member who knows how to handle investors and
[TEXT: and answer financial questions] answer difficult financial questions. Still, for the
business partnership to work well, you need more than just
a balance in skill sets. You need to be relatively
[TEXT: Personalities will not clash] certain that your personalities will not clash. Too many
businesses fail because of ego or personality mismatches.
How can you find a good match in your business partners?
By first getting to know your potential partner well.
[TEXT: Clearly assigned roles] Make sure you have clearly assigned roles and
responsibilities from the start.
Set up a system that allows you to resolve differences amicably,
without fights or unnecessary arguments.
Once the business plan is written, how does the
entrepreneur craft the pitch? The pitch should be short,
[TEXT: Idea Potential explaining the idea, the potential and team members’
[TEXT: Expertise] expertise. The key is to convey why this business is worth
investing in. The pitch should explain why the target customer
is willing to pay for the product or service.
[TEXT: Value for customer] It should explain what kind of value you will create for that
customer. Once that value proposition is framed into
numbers and full market- potential quantified,
the founding team should make five-year sales and expense
projections and come to the required investment
amount. The objective of the pitch is to get an investor to
[TEXT: Commit capital] commit capital to the business.
What are the key elements of a pitch? A sophisticated investor
will listen to your pitch and assess whether you understand
[TEXT: Market and competition] the market and competition. In your pitch, you should focus on
[TEXT: Single initial market] a single initial market and grow from there. If, after your short
pitch, the investor is convinced that there is something there,
then you have succeeded in grabbing their attention and
they will want to investigate further and review your
full business plan.
How to best deliver the pitch?
[TEXT: Know the audience] It’s really about getting to know the audience you are
pitching to. If you are meeting one investor, then you will need
[TEXT: Research investments] to research them and know what kinds of companies he or she has
invested in in the past, and if they were successful.
If, however, you are pitching to an audience of 12 people,
you must first understand the decision-making process and
figure out which audience members will have the greatest
[TEXT: Grab their attention] impact on the actual investment decision. Grab their attention
and get them excited by showing them why your idea has the
potential to change the market and lead to a consistently
profitable business.
[TEXT: How to follow up after the pitch] How to follow up after the pitch?
[TEXT: Don’t be afraid] Don’t be afraid to email them relentlessly.
[TEXT: Persistent] Walk them through your business plan. Remember, investors like
persistent entrepreneurs and everything you say will need to
[TEXT: Numbers, research and a plan] be backed up by numbers, research, and a plan.
Don’t be boring and don’t allow the investor to be distracted.
Your job is to help them imagine what your company could one day
become, with their funding.
[TEXT: Test Your Knowledge YALI.state.gov] After you’ve completed all the units in this course at YALI.state.gov,
you can test your knowledge and earn a
[TEXT: YALI Network Produced by the U.S. Department of State] YALI Network certificate.