Bringing the Investment Memorandum to Life

Bringing the Investment Memorandum to Life

I have recently been working with a client preparing their Investment Memorandum and presentation to potential investors. The company had spent numerous hours researching, preparing the information, and creating Power Point slides.

The first presentation was two days away. I sat through the first presentation – disaster!

Thank goodness I was not the potential money source. My answer would have been a blatant NO! If a company can’t organize itself to sell me on the concept, how can they organize the company and sell the products?

In an earlier blog post I outlined a presentation format for presenting to potential investors.

In this post I want to emphasize the value of rehearsing the presentation. I see this time and time again, where companies prepare material, but leave next to no time to rehearse the delivery. The information is important, but its delivery can make all the difference to securing the funding.

Through the delivery a bond can be created, knowledge of the business espoused, and passion can be portrayed. One can develop chemistry with the audience and engender trust.

The potential investor seeks more than a well-written Investment Memorandum. They want to know that they are backing the right team. This is where the presentation becomes so important. It presents the people, the team which will implement the strategy detailed in the Investment Memorandum.

My recommendation is to spend 50% of time in creating the materials and 50% rehearsing the presentation. This is especially true where more than one person will present. Practice delivering the presentation, and rehearse how to answer likely questions.
By practicing, the team will feel more confident. Confidence breeds success.

Remember to practice the Q&A also – how to answer the questions.

We are all human, even financiers and venture capitalists!! We “judge” people, rightly or wrongly . So, make a good impression.

In summary – practice the delivery. It will pay off.

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