Your Pitch & Stupid VC Questions

In a speech to enterprising young entrepreneurs a few months ago, my friend Guy Kawasaki stated that there are indeed stupid questions. For instance, when a VC asks "What is your exit strategy?" - Guy suggests you should run - fast. It's because there's only two ways to ask that question - 1: sell the company; 2: go public. Good point.

I guess that's indicative of the "powerpoint parrot pitches" that we see, where entrepreneurs have downloaded a template and started filling out the "value proposition", "team" and "exit strategy" slides without truly understanding what is being asked. They think that if they repeat enough VC terms, they'll sound like they know what they're talking about. So, to a large extent, VCs themselves have propagated the inappropriate use of all this MBA-speak.

After speaking with other entrepreneurs regarding this issue, I think there are several ways to combat this. First, if you're pitching, try to eliminate all MBA-speak from your slide titles. Second, be passionate about your product - never let the slides make your business boring. And finally, be honest about what you're good at, and what skills you'll need to find to build your company.

After hearing a lot of pitches over the last year, I think I've come up with a jargon-free first slide format that works for most companies. I'd love to hear if it works for yours - here's a mock-up:

The problem with the world today is that we waste half a barrel of energy to recover one barrel of oil when drilling in the deep north. (In one statement, tell why the problem you're looking to solve should be relevant to anyone).

In one year, drilling programs in the north burn 100,000 barrels, enough energy to light a city the size of New York for 2 years. (Not just numbers, try to quantify the problem with a relevant comparison).

Our company has developed a patent-pending technology that will vastly improve upon the way things are being done today by capturing and recycling steam used in the oil recovery process. (State your core technology or solution) As a side benefit, our technology adapts easily to most existing rigs, eliminating the need for costly upgrades. (A quick statement regarding additional benefits or a passing statement that infers superiority over your competition)

As any good VC will tell you, the best businesses can be understood by anyone. Simplifying your pitch might be one way to eliminate those "stupid questions".