This year, there’s a 24% decrease in the time investors spend on pitch decks.

It’s interesting: you might think they would be spending a lot more time looking at the “traction” or “business model” slides. But they’re not (at least, compared to how much time they spent since it was last measured). Investors are increasingly focusing on the “purpose slide” of investment decks. They want to know if you actually care about this project or if this is just a money-grab. If you don’t pass that bar, the rest is moot.

“…investors tend to be using this section as a kind of gatekeeper. They want to know at a glance whether this company has a reason to exist before even going through the rest of the deck.”

Sometimes, technical founders are so deeply immersed in the intricate details of their projects, they don’t know how to show they actually care about their mission, even if they actually do. They know “how the sauce is made,” but explaining the “why” is harder. They tell their family and friends about it, but maybe think it’s too “unprofessional” to include in a deck (it’s not – it builds trust).

Most of the time, it’s not that they lack passion or purpose. They just need to learn to talk about themselves in a way that makes people want to listen.

Connecting Your Venture with a Compelling Story

Many “superior” products lose in the marketplace. Why? Because the “lesser” product had a better story and therefore better at building trust. That’s just how it is.

That means, logically, a good portion of your time investment should be spent on storytelling. It’s a bit of a paradox, though, because being good at storytelling is about doing more of what comes naturally. In other words, speak to an investor like you’d speak to a friend at dinner. In fact, that’s a good place to practice your pitch. If your friends are bored, you need to find a new angle.

It’s not just about “wowing” someone with a good pitch that highlights all your most impressive numbers. You need to be able to answer the question, “That’s all very impressive, but why do you care?”

Investors go through pitches all day, just hoping to find a story that they want to be part of for the next decade or more. That’s the sort of resonance you want to create.

“….you want to make sure that people are able to understand why they should invest in you and your team members versus investing in another team. Here, you want to make sure that you’re putting front and center the capabilities, the expertise, the skillset, and some of the accomplishments that you’ve done in the past, as individuals, that coming together makes this thing incredibly powerful.”

Numbers are something investors can fix. But they can’t fix an uncompelling vision. Due diligence is important, but it only matters if you nail your purpose.

To that end, go into your background and experiences. Talk about failures. Tell me why you care about this mission, even if the reason is not the most flattering thing in the world. This works, trust us. The more honest and open you are about your journey, the more compelling your narrative becomes. It’s not just about being the ‘Venmo for fundraising’ (everyone claims stuff like that); it’s about why it matters to you, personally and professionally.

If you don’t know where to begin, talk to us and we’ll listen to your story. Then, we’ll show you how to be more yourself. That’s how you get funding. It’s simple, but not easy.