Demo Day Don’ts
I think most of the end-of-season Demo Days are officially over
now - at least for a while. It’s hard to be sure as the number of accelerators,
incubators, and shared office facilities continues to race toward almost 200
different entities - just in the U.S. - and everyone else also wants in.
Seems like someone’s got something going somewhere every time you turn
around. Still, having sat through half a dozen “days” in several cities in
the last couple of months and watched more than 50 different pitches, I have a
few suggestions for the teams and the teachers/mentors/coaches while we’ve got
a bit of a breather.
I realize that it’s easy to carp or complain from the cheap seats
(and overall each year the players and the pitches are getting better and more
mature), but since I’ve been there myself literally hundreds of times, I feel
entitled to offer my impressions. You can take ‘em or leave ‘em, just
don’t ignore ‘em until you’ve read ‘em.
1. One Size STILL Doesn’t Fit All.
Too many of the pitches were just too long. Early enthusiasm and
energy turned into fatal fatigue when it felt like the last few minutes were
just filler. Not every company or business needs ten minutes to tell a
compelling tale. Say your piece - keep the emotional level high - and then sit
down. Elaboration after a point is just mental pollution. Here’s an old rule
that has served me well over the years - “Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You
Should”.
Sometimes I swear that it felt like even the guy (or girl) on the
stage was just going through the motions. A separate, but related, issue is the
risk of leaving your “A” game in the rehearsal room - too many rehearsals; too
many coaches; and too many sleepless nights. Adrenaline will only take you so
far and some of the presenters just seemed pooped to me.
2. Templates are Tiresome.
Your story and your style need to be front and center and
everyone’s story is different. The type of pitch (high energy, deep detail,
quick quips, pretty pix, etc.) should depend completely on the specific message
you’re trying to send and the type of typical investor that you’re targeting.
Go with what makes sense for your story, not some set of boilerplate
presentation slides where each team just fills in the blanks. Different strokes
make sense for different folks.
Maybe your team is terrific and should be a major part of the
pitch (after all investors mainly vote on the jockeys and not the horses), but
the tenth time the audience sees the infamous smiling team slide, it’s just
tiresome and too much. Put the bios in a booklet or just bag the whole thing if
your team isn’t demonstrably a compelling competitive differentiator. You’ll
have plenty of time to introduce the team down the round.
And maybe it’s just me, but I’m also pretty sick of meeting “Bob”,
the prototypical user or target customer, who has all the problems your product
or service is going to solve. It’s a painful and tired trope and it needs to be
dumped from every demo as soon as possible.
3.
Don’t Let Your Dress Be A Distraction.
I
think that - as a general rule - wearing your team’s t-shirt may be the safest
bet of all. Dressing up or down or too distinctly is risky. The last thing you
want to happen as you walk on to the stage is to have anyone looking at you
rather than listening to you. Crazy clothes, hiked-up heels, bushy beards, etc.
all subtract substance, attention and focus from your story. It’s just the way
people are and it’s not gonna change any time soon. Make your statement some
other time and place.
I
realize that there are plenty of smart and savvy people who choose to dress or
wear their hair in a certain style, but in this narrow context, I think that a
fashion faux pas can start you off with a crowd that wonders if you’re serious
and why would you want to start with that extra monkey on your back? This is a
steep enough slope as it is – starting out in a rut of your own making – makes
no sense. First impressions REALLY matter when you’ve only got a few minutes to
make your points and your best case. And you don’t get a second chance to make
that first impression either – there are no “do-overs” on Demo Day.
I
feel the same way about humor. Jokes are really hard to set up and pull off and
they’re risky. You just don’t want to take the chance that your gag or stunt
will fall flat and the crowd will start feeling sorry for you rather than
swayed by you. They might still buy you a beer during the break, but they’ll be
a lot less likely to bet their bucks on your business if they think you’re a
clown. And a bad one at that.
4.
Case Studies Generally Suck
Talking
about your own results – user acquisition, revenue growth, major contracts, new
strategic partners, etc. moves your story forward and makes a lot of sense. But
trying to explain (as the clock keeps ticking) the details of a case study –
even one with impressive results – is just a waste of too much precious time
and – by and large – always a bad bet. You’ve got to set up the case; introduce
the client and their problem; explain the context and the actions; and show the
success – and all the while the audience is hearing the client’s name (not
yours) and you’re talking about the client’s business (not yours) and it’s just
too easy for everyone to get lost in the weeds. And frankly, they’re not that
interested in a one-off anything.
The
depth of the discussion required to make a sensible explanation simply isn’t
worth the distraction. Just claim the results – “We saved these guys millions.”
– and move on. Details to follow. You can make the point that the product works
without putting the audience to sleep.
5.
Funders are Fierce Followers
I
was amazed at how many companies said that they had raised X or Y dollars
toward their goal, but didn’t take the opportunity to say who their investors
were. If your backers are willing, it’s worth the time to tell us who are they.
Brand name investors betting on your business sends a very clear and concise
message to the rest of the crowd that they should get on board. The bigger and
faster the bandwagon, the better the fund-raising results.
You
should never forget that investors don’t fear losing their money anywhere near
as much as they fear being the only investor who does. Nobody today really
wants to go it alone if they don’t have to and, if things go bad, at least
they’ll have company in their misery.
