Alliance of Angels Presentation Guidelines

Please download and review our 10 Minute Pitch Clinic. Note: You will want to download the file and open it in PowerPoint so that you have access to the annotations of the slides. In this PowerPoint file you will find answers to frequently asked questions and notes on how to avoid common problems. The annotations indicate what information to present, how to present it, and in many cases, why to present it. We hope you find this content helpful.

Our members are very interested in knowing about the progress and direction of your company. As would any investors, they value transparency and integrity, as well as a succinct, well-thought-out presentation containing the following components:

Introduction - Two elements: First, remember to introduce yourself; and next, in one sentence, tell what your company does. (15-20 seconds)

The Problem - Describe the qualitative and quantitative view of the problem. Using a story or scenario is helpful. (30 seconds)

The Solution - Describe your product or service in terms of benefits. Your visual aid should contain screenshots, photos, simple architecture diagram or work flow diagram. Show a value chain diagram if it is important to show how your solution fits in with other products or services. (1-2 minutes)

Traction Slide - Bullet point milestones include: patents filed; signed contracts with partners; revenue booked; number of customers; number of employees; year founded. (15 seconds)

Market Size - Describe the total addressable market. Describe how the market is segmented, ideally in pie graph or some other graphical form. Build these numbers from their constituent parts using drivers that are relevant to your business. (30 seconds)

Customers - Current and/or Potential There is nothing more powerful than customers to prove your claims about the market. Logos work best. If you have a large number of customers, cite the total number and average revenue a customer is worth to you, for emphasis. Be sure to differentiate between paid and non-paying customers. If you have no customers, use this slide to describe your target customers are and/or who your ideal customer would be. (1 minute)

Business/Revenue Model - State how you price your product/service, what the economics of a sale are in terms of COGS; dealer commissions; distributor percentages if applicable. Explain your one time vs. recurring revenue sources, estimates etc. Identify sources of revenue and cost, with an eye to profitability. (30 to 60 seconds)

Marketing Plan/Sales Cycle - How long? Who are the decision makers and influencers of your customer? In what type of sales or sales support activities are you or your people engaging? (30 to 60 seconds)

Partners - Name names rather than generic categories, qualify status of agreement or if it is pre-agreement let investors know that X partner has a need, desire, or history of doing what you need them to do. (30 seconds)

Competition - Orient investors to your direct and indirect competition. This slide is another opportunity to highlight your differential advantage. A matrix or grid can be compelling. (30 to 60 seconds)

Management Team - Name, Title, previous experience. Be brief in your explanation. Do not explain what each person does in your company. Dont forget to include any positions you are seeking to fill. (30 to 60 seconds)

Board of Advisors - Include those business advisors who help you, know you, believe in you and agree to be spokespeople for your company if called.

Financial Projections - Show your "hockey stick" in bar graph form with bars for revenue and income for five years of projections. Clearly bullet point assumptions that drive these projections. (30 seconds)

The Offer a.k.a Funding Slide - Describe prior funding, current round offer, pre-money valuation, use of proceeds/milestones, any future rounds of financing anticipated, commentary on exit strategy. For our group, we recommend this as the closing slide. (30 seconds)

Please note that these are guidelines, not absolute rules. You should use your own discretion as to how these guidelines apply to you and your company. We will work with applicant companies on messaging that resonates with our angel investor audience.