1. How to Apply to Venture Atlanta
May 2019

2. Fill out web form about your company:
Ask
Fill out web form about your company:
bip-capital.com/corporate-submissions
Follow Us on Twitter and LinkedIn:
@BIPCapital
@cresferrell
Tag us on Twitter to share lessons, advice, and tips you learn throughout the session in real time
Prepping for Venture Atlanta

3. May 15th – applications open
Dates to Remember
May 15th – applications open
August 2nd – Applications close for Presenting and showcase Companies
Showcase companies are allowed to setup a booth in the main lobby
August 8th – companies notified if selected for Pitch off
30 companies selected for pitch
August 14th – Pitch off in front of Judges
October – Venture Atlanta
Prepping for Venture Atlanta

4. Convey the essence and energy Sell, not describe
Objectives
Grab – 3 C’s
Clear, Concise and Compelling
Short amount of time to grab the attention
Convey the essence and energy
You have identified a problem and have best solution
Sell, not describe
This is first impression; only get one chance to make a good one
Don’t explain the entire business plan
This is a First Date
No VC will invest on the spot or first meeting, if they do you don’t want them
Want to get them to take a follow-up meeting; only get one time to make a 1st impression
Help them develop an investment thesis
Objective = to be selected as one of the companies for VA. In general this advice works for both exec. Summaries and investor pitches.
24 people that will read each one of the 200 applicants and 30 or so get selected
Each will spend >10 minutes to decide your fate
Must spend as much time making it compelling; don’t just cut and paste from past material
Prepping for Venture Atlanta

5. DO DON’T Do’s | Don’ts Be respectful of time, keep summary concise
Allow for questions
Describe by analogies
Address issues that are problematic to your company or funding head-on
Study examples on the web
Google “VC Executive Summary”
Go beyond 1 page on executive summary
Don’t deviate from format
Describe other market you can attack
STAY FOCUSED!
Suggest valuation
Acronyms
Superfluous Words
E.g., Dynamic, Next Generation, Innovative
Latch onto Buzzwords
E.g., Machine Learning, Big Data, AI
Don’t have to explain every detail; present on a peer level, this is quick list from seeing a lot of pitches. Are there any you can think of I left off?
-search 1.0 Alta Vista; search 2.0 Google
Prepping for Venture Atlanta

6. Tips | Secrets
If $0 revenue right now, product and story must be compelling Momentum and traction are important Describe how you are going to make money, more importantly profit
Prepping for Venture Atlanta

7. Executive Summary Template
This is your 1st impression!
FILL OUT EVERY SECTION OF THE TEMPLATE; DON’T LEAVE ANY BLANK HAVE MULTIPLE PEOPLE PROOF YOUR SUMMARY
Be Realistic!
Prepping for Venture Atlanta

8. MARKET SIZE EXAMPLE
Tells the whole US market and give a % on the area the product is solving. Then brings the market right to home. Show your references. Don’t do China math….
Prepping for Venture Atlanta

9. Product Sentiment (NPS) Product Tours & In-app Message
COMPETITION EXAMPLE
Product Usage
Product Sentiment (NPS)
Customer Health
CS Playbook
Product Tours & In-app Message
COMPANY A
COMPANY B
COMPANY C
COMPANY D
COMPANY E
COMPANY F
Very high
Medium
Low
Very low
High
”NO COMPETITORS” is not acceptable
“We are the best” brings questions
Prepping for Venture Atlanta

10. BUSINESS MODEL - EXERCISE
Large market share is not a guarantee for profits
GM vs. Tesla
Unites Airlines vs. Southwest
Kodak vs. Innovation
22 Profit Models
“The Profit Zone” by Adrian Slvwotzky
The odds you have come up with a new profit model is very low
Explain your Business Model
This tells us how you will make $$
Prepping for Venture Atlanta

11. Questions
Prepping for Venture Atlanta