Funding Post’s annual VC and Angel Investor Showcase was held last week at Credit Suisse on Madison Avenue, where the conference was divided into an afternoon Entrepreneur Event and Pitching Workshop, and later an Investor/Service Provider Meet and Greet. The workshop was hardcore and entailed learning the ropes to constructing an elevator pitch to a room of 35 VCs and Angels.
Instructions for pitching included the need to explain what a business does in two sentences or less to the point that “even a kindergartener could understand.” It was good if the capital seekers said whether or not they had raised capital at previous companies, what those companies were, and who made the exit. Also important was the need to let a fund know if they had invested in their own company (not in sweat equity), but in cash — and more than $50,000. In essence, the entrepreneurs were going to have 30-45 seconds to make a first impression, get their company funded and have their life changed.
The founder of the Investor Showcase, Howard Schwartz, pulled no punches saying, “If you get 5 minutes with a fund, it means the VC is being nice and didn’t kick you out yet, or it means they’re insanely interested. Talk about the format and give your elevator pitch. Then look for Indicators of interest; once the entrepreneur presents his idea to investors take a breath and let the funds ask the questions. They ask you no questions, they’re not interested. If you ask they for a business card and they say they don’t have one, most likely they’re not interested. If they’re looking at other people or they are on their Blackberry, then they’re not interested.”
Later, four hundred and fifty entrepreneurs seeking capital, ranging from a quarter of a million to 10 million dollars, flooded the showcase. Because of the ratio of capital seekers versus funds, the workshop attendees were instructed to use the sniper approach rather than a gunshot approach or as Schwartz put it, “If you spend all night tonight waiting on lines for funds that are never going to be interested in, you’re wasting your time and theirs. Plan your attack.”
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