Not everybody agrees with my argument that entrepreneurs should focus on their pitch decks, not on writing text-based business plans.
So, this morning I decided to get some more opinions. I surveyed over 50 experts, including venture capitalists from leading firms like Kleiner Perkins Caulfied & Byers, noted angel investors such as the backers of Method, and serial entrepreneurs like John Osher, creator of the Crest SpinBrush and the Gillette Mach3 Turbo Power razor.
The results? 90% of respondents said “focus on the presentation, not a text-based plan”.
I agree 100% I took your advice and spent the last week polishing my pitch deck and preparing for questions.
Yesterday I sat down with someone at VC to discuss my start up and they were very pleased with the information I presented. They were excited about the idea and asked for a 2 page executive summary.
What I didn’t bring and what they didn’t ask for was a business plan. All they want to see is a financial overview showing how I will make money.
Interesting note: Any slide that contained an onslaught of numbers and hypotheticals didn’t garner the same positive response or excitement as the slides showing the market, competition and solution to a problem.
Cheers.