We had some success running weekly pitch sessions as part of SSG but the pitch sessions fizzled out towards the end of 2015 due to a variety of reasons.
The community has expressed a renewed appetite for pitch sessions so we are relaunching them using what we’ve learnt from the initial project and discussions with members of the community.
You can view some of our previous sessions on Youtube:
### The Process and Format
To enhance the value to the pitchers, a new feed-forward framework is being implemented. It looks like this and with mentoring should take two weeks to complete if meetings can be scheduled.
Step 1 – Prepare your application
You will need to prepare the following information:
* Name.
* Surname.
* Business Name.
* Describe your business in a Tweet.
* Describe your business in four words.
* Personal AngelList Link.
* Personal LinkedIn Link.
* Business AngelList Link.
* Business LinkedIn Link.
* Email Address.
* Stage of your company(concept, prelaunch, launch, growth).
* Executive Summary modelled on this format.
* Pitch Deck (here’s a template courtesy of AngelHub Ventures.
This information is shared with our investor network and community.
Step 2 – Application and Screening
We recommend you save your application in a Google Doc so that you can share the link with us and get input on the document without needing to send mails to and fro.
Once you’ve got all of the information ready, connect with me (Nathan) or Shane on SSG Slack to begin the screening process.
Your information will be reviewed and you’ll get mentoring on the executive summary before the deck is reviewed.
Step 3 – Pitch Deck
Prepare a pitch deck that more or less follows the executive summary but leaves room for more of the story. This will be reviewed and you’ll get feedback and the chance to refine the deck. Optional practice sessions are also available.
Step 4 – Scheduling the Pitch
When your pitch is ready it will be added to our queue and when a cohort of 3 pitches are in queue we will schedule a pitch session with mentors.
You will have 20 minutes in total, how you choose to use it is up to you. More pitch = less feedback.
Prior to the session there will be a mandatory tech/systems check so that time is not wasted on figuring out screen sharing etc.
Feedback
The mentors will provide oral feedback during the session and a structured written critique post session. As always, how you as a founder, choose to use this information is up to you.
Monitoring
As part of this new approach we will be collecting metrics from the participants to see if this is a value adding activity and how to improve upon it.
The Investors/VCs/Mentors
This is a community initiative and would not be possible without the help and support from people like:
JD Carluccio, Joshua Maher, Rob Adams, Sergio Romio, Shane Johnson and Terrence Yang.
Are you an investor or mentor? Keen to participate? Connect with me on SSG Slack.
Important Notices
Things you need to keep in mind:
- The sessions are all recorded and shared with our international VC/angel/mentor network.
- The sessions are publicly available.
- Don’t share anything you’re not 100% comfortable sharing.
- If you’re asked a question you’re not comfortable answering live, just say you’ll discuss it off air.
- You will require a Google+ account to pitch
(You will need the Google+ Hangouts Plugin installed) - You’ll be able to screen share and therefore do a demo or a presentation during your pitch.
- We recommend you wear a headset so as to reduce the chance of an echo.
- You will need a good internet connection and a quiet environment on the day of the pitch.
- These sessions are primarily to help you refine and adjust your pitch.
- This is a business based session so the ask should be for resources and help, not money although feedback will likely be given in the context of investability and how to get to a point where you are investable.
- The pitches are not for feature review, they are for your business. We’ll investigate a different format for product/feature pitches.
- Questions asked during the session are aimed at helping you with future pitches as well as help others learn from watching the pitch sessions in the future.
- Should anyone be interested in exploring investment and/or mentoring opportunities this will happen outside of the SSG pitch session.
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Interested in demoing your product to the community? We host demo sessions.
Connect with SSG online and join the conversation.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/startupstudygroup
Google+: https://plus.google.com/106149706512805295478
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ssgslack
GitHub: https://github.com/startupstudygroup