Venture capital investments have been seen to increase steadily in countries across South and Latin America, as well as India, Southeast Asia, Central Eastern Europe, and the Commonwealth of Independent States – which includes Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
In just five years, venture capital investments have increased from around $12.6 billion in 2014 to $27.4 billion in 2019. This increase has been noted by industry insiders such as Thibaut de Roux, who is part of the fintech ecosystem as a board member, advisor and investor.
There are four things that are essential to have for anyone who is looking to raise venture capital for their business:
- An elevator pitch
- An executive summary
- A pitch deck
- A product demo/prototype
By having these four elements as part of your pitch the prospect of successfully receiving venture capital increases greatly, as does the likelihood of securing a meeting and raising money for your business.
The Elevator Pitch
It is essential to have both a verbal and a written ‘elevator pitch’ when looking to raise venture capital for a business. An elevator pitch is an efficient and effective 30-second description or overview of the business, which should include what the company does, what problem it solves, who the target market is, and how it will turn a profit.
The Executive Summary
An executive summary is a longer and more detailed overview of the business; however, it is still a clear and concise document. This document should detail the key facets of the business, including the investment opportunity/risk, a more detailed summary of the problem (and your solution to it), the market opportunity, key customers, team members, the financials, and key contact information.
The Pitch Deck
The pitch deck is a deck of 10-20 slides that examine the business in much greater detail than the executive summary or the elevator pitch. There are many different ways to compile an effective pitch deck. Some choose to focus on imagery, while others decide to include a little more text to fully explain the story of the business. Guy Kawasaki has created a simple rule to follow for a successful pitch deck called the ‘10-20-30’ rule. Kawasaki suggests keeping the pitch deck presentation to just 10 slides that take 20 minutes to present, using a font size of no less than 30 points.
The Product Demonstration
Prepare a demonstration, mock-up or sample product for the venture capitalist to play with and experience, as this creates a stronger understanding of the product and much more excitement around the idea of investing.