Photo by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash

Writer: Craig Meerkamper

I’m a big fan of the mythology behind Dragon’s Den. The lone entrepreneur charges into battle against a panel of five hungry beasts, trying their best to gain the dragons’ favor (and capital) without sacrificing too much of their company in the process. Despite the more ‘fantastical’ elements of the show it’s still the image that comes to mind for many aspiring entrepreneurs who wish to see their own venture succeed. While the reality of ‘reality’ television is always questionable, there are some major lessons that entrepreneurs can take when building their own pitch presentations. 

1. Time is Money: Wasting an investors time is an incredible way to lose their interest and their funding. You have roughly five minutes to pitch, explain, and establish trust in your venture before an investor even begins considering your offer. Instead of burning valuable minutes building up your backstory, struggles, and future goals, focus on what you have to offer here and now. Lead with value and follow with context. 

2. Be engaging and clear: No one knows the nuanced details of your project like you do so it can be easy to forget that no one is where you are when it comes to your venture. It’s so to lose investors and customers explaining the niche and specific elements of your product. What may very well be an impressive stat, or innovative change to a classic design, will fall flat if not communicated clearly and concisely. Your presentation should be engaging, easily understandable, and focused on the things that really count. You can always elaborate more if an investor is interested in specifics, but if they can’t understand the broad strokes of your presentation then they can’t understand the value you want to bring.

3. Leave a lasting impact: Bad presentations are notorious for being long slogs of dull information, so learn how to defy that expectation. Add personality to your presentations by delivering it with a conversational confidence. Don’t rely on your presentation to do the pitch for you, use them strategically to deliver the most important information in an impactful and memorable way. Keep focused on success stories and ongoing plans that show you’ve planned the future of your venture and can execute it with investor support. You want your venture to be seen as a sure investment, so even if you leave without a deal, you’re sure they’ll remember your project. If your presentation feels like every other presentation the investor has seen before, then you’ve given them nothing new to consider.

With these struggles and tips in mind, Blast is launching an exciting new course “How to Build Powerful Presentations”, designed for professionals who want to improve the way they build presentations that shine in front of investors and customers. By taking the course you’ll learn proven methods to structure a clear, compelling story, build clean, impactful slides and bring it all together in a way that gives you the platform to communicate your pitch with confidence every time.

Upcoming Entrepreneur Sessions: January 6 & January 8 2025 4pm-7pm EST.