The Successful Pitch

An investor is always going to probe the amount of money you’re asking them to invest. They want to make sure you’ve correctly gauged what you need to scale your business and that you’re not going to come back to them in six months or a year to ask for more. In the 52nd and final episode of The Successful Pitch podcast series, Allon Raiz talks about how you should respond when a potential investor asks what you would do with way more money than you’ve asked for in your pitch. Listen Now >

An increase in the size of the market could present your company with an opportunity to take advantage of favourable market conditions. Conversely, a declining market could pose a serious threat to your business. During your pitch, potential investors will want to see if you are prepared for both scenarios. Remember, there are opportunities in declining markets as well! In episode 51 of The Successful Pitch podcast series, Allon Raiz explores market growth and decline as it relates to your investor pitch. Listen Now >

In a pitch, you have to be able to communicate your vision for your business to your potential investor. You need to strike a balance between being too aspirational and unrealistic and not having any growth plans at all. Investors always strive to get a good return on their investment. They are looking to scale startup businesses but are also aware of the risks that startups face. You need to effectively communicate your growth plans and how you intend to mitigate the risks that are associated with growth. In episode 50 of The Successful Pitch podcast series, Allon Raiz offers his advice on how to go about answering the question, “Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?” Listen Now >

Investors want to make sure you are aware of all the risks that may affect your business – which you may not have mentioned during your actual pitch. They need to know you’ve considered all possible risks and they especially want to know which are the ones that give you sleepless nights. When answering this question, you need to be honest. In episode 49 of The Successful Pitch podcast series, Allon Raiz offers his advice on answering this challenging question. Listen Now >

Dealing with competition is an inevitable part of business. It’s simply a fact that when your business begins to thrive, new competitors will emerge and they will want a piece of the market pie. You need to show your potential investors during your pitch that you have strategies in place to build defensive “moats” to keep the competition at bay. In episode 48 of The Successful Pitch, Allon Raiz explains the term “moats” and helps you prepare for questions about handling your competitors. Listen Now >

Do you have a plan in place if anything happens to you, the business founder? This may be an uncomfortable question but one you should definitely be prepared for when you’re pitching to potential investors. Investors will want to know that you have thoroughly thought through how your business will continue operating in your absence and that you have put solid plans in place. In episode 47 of The Successful Pitch series Allon Raiz offers his advice on how you should approach answering this question during your pitch. Listen Now >

When you’re delivering an investor pitch, it’s vital to show your potential investors that you are aware of who your indirect competitors are. These are businesses who may entice your target audience to spend their hard-earned money elsewhere, even if it’s on a different product or service. Knowing your indirect competitors can help you strategise and stay ahead. In episode 46 of The Successful Pitch series, Allon Raiz offers some insights on dealing with this often-neglected aspect of running a business. Listen Now >

It’s important for you to be able to show potential investors that parties who are doing business with you have given you some form of commitment. Investors always try to mitigate their risk so if you can produce letters of intent during your pitch, it will increase your chances of getting funding. Allon Raiz talks about the importance of letters of intent in episode 45 of The Success Pitch podcast series.

Who would be your first ten staff hires? By asking this question, investors want to establish if you have a thorough understanding of the operational requirements of the various functions in your growing business and the respective roles that must be filled. Listen to episode 44 of The Successful Pitch series to hear Allon Raiz’ advice on how to answer this question during your pitch.

Attracting and retaining the right calibre of staff is a fundamental component of scaling a business. It’s vital to invest in the right people by hiring top talent with expandable and diverse skill sets. A growing business also needs a staff complement to match its increasing operational demands. Be prepared to answer the question of how you will attract and maintain skills as your business expands. Tune in to episode 43 of The Successful Pitch series where Allon Raiz will highlight the important points to mention when answering questions about your team during your pitch.

No company is immune to business risks. They impact your business in several ways and can pose a serious threat to the very existence of your organisation. It’s imperative to address these risks during your pitch and indicate to investors how you plan to mitigate against and minimise them. Investors want to see that you have a thorough understanding of the main risks that have the potential to affect your business. Join Allon Raiz for episode 42 of The Successful Pitch series for some insights into this topic. Listen Now >

When starting your business, it’s advisable to raise enough capital to sustain you throughout the growth phase . . . But, in some cases, it’s better to start with less capital. That’s because the growth phase will be a learning curve during which making mistakes will be unavoidable – and minimising the mistakes and their associated costs will be important. Your investors will want to see if you can strike a balance between the learning curve and its cost. So, what is the minimum amount of funding you would need to achieve this balance? Tune in to episode 41 of The Successful Pitch podcast series in which Allon Raiz explains the concept of MVF or minimum viable funding. Listen Now >

In business, a return on investment is a by-product of margin profitability. Investors want a business with the potential to achieve increased profitability, a business that can identify areas in their operations that can be leveraged to achieve bigger margins. During your pitch, you need to be prepared to answer questions on how you plan to increase your margins and provide practical examples to support your reasoning. Tune in to episode 40 of The Successful Pitch series where Allon Raiz will explore this aspect of a successful investor pitch. Listen Now >

As an entrepreneur, you should expect investors to pose the following question during your pitch: “What do you need the money for, and how are you going to spend it?” This is a crucial question, and it needs a well-articulated response that clearly outlines your projected expenditure over a specific time frame. Investors always want to minimise risk; they are looking for an entrepreneur who displays good cashflow management skills and who will use the funds wisely. Join Allon Raiz for episode 39 of The Successful Pitch series, where he will take you through how to handle this defining moment of your pitch. Listen Now >

Investors always strive to get the highest possible return on their investment; they want to gauge if their investment will be worthwhile, how lucrative your business is and if it has growth potential. The financial performance of your business will be scrutinised in terms of capital requirements and profitability. You should expect the following question: “When are we going to be paid back?” You need to be thoroughly prepared for this inevitable question and provide figures that will back up your argument. Listen to episode 38 of The Successful Pitch series where Allon Raiz will take you through this critical question and guide you on how to structure a well-thought-out and comprehensive answer during your pitch. Listen Now >

Every single business known to man has competition and to deny this is a fatal mistake. The question investors want you to answer is “What is your plan for dealing with competitors?” Investor’s want to know that you have thought this answer through in a strategic, realistic way. Join Allon in episode 37 of The Successful Pitch for some dos and don’ts when giving this answer. Listen Now >

Your break-even threshold is a pivotal point in your pitch. Surprisingly, investors don’t want this number given to them in terms of revenue, they would much prefer this figure in terms of units sold. Listen to Allon explain why in episode 36 of The Successful Pitch. Listen Now >

As much as investors want their return on investment, they also want this return to transpire in a certain timeline – and this timeline varies from investor to investor. In this episode of The Successful Pitch, Allon prepares you for the question, “Who will buy my equity when I am ready to exit?” Join him for episode 35 as he walks you through laying out potential future buyers in a well-constructed way. Listen Now >

Another question to be prepared for is the inevitable, “What’s in it for me?” Your investor isn’t in the investing game to give money away freely. You are one of three or four potential investments. This month. Join Allon in episode 34 of The Successful Pitch to gain some insight into balancing why the return-on-investment opportunities far outweigh the potential risks – and how to prove you can be believed. Listen Now >

Join Allon Raiz in episode 33 of The Successful Pitch. Over the next 20 episodes, Allon will take you through some common questions investors ask and what they are looking for in your answers. This week’s question is “who else is doing something similar to you in the world?” Tune in to find out why it’s important to answer this on a global scale and which direction an investor wants you to take when you answer. Listen Now >