There are a few reasons why startups struggle... really struggle to raise money. Maybe you are struggling to raise money?

In the last 34 years I've been involved in raising $1.5 Billion into different medtech start-ups and I've learned a few key lessons over that time. (hard lessons)

I'll come to the "Pitch" in a minute - but before that there is a lot of key groundwork that needs to done before you walk into that pitch.

1) If your idea is garbage - you are not raising money. You need third party (or several) that are independent of you to say if your idea is just stupid or has legs. Many ideas can never raise money because they are a stupid idea. Sorry... it happens.

2) Your idea is cool - but it can't be a business. It's not big enough, there is no need, there is no way to make it at a price that makes profit etc etc. The business fundamentals don't work.

3) Your team is not fit for purpose. Investors (especially when you get to professional investors) invest in teams and experience. If you are a bunch of newbies - never having done this before, then it's going to be hard to convince people to give you $10 million.

4) You are talking to the wrong investors. You have a mismatch between the investor - type of investors - size of fund - and where your company is and what you are asking for. A VC that normally invests $20 million into C rounds may have low to no interest in a 200K seed round. Instead you might need an angel or friend - or family office. If you are asking a diagnostics biased fund to do your therapeutic system - it could be a mismatch. Do your frikin homework.

You may have heard lot of "You're too early..." "You're too late" - this is sometimes just an excuse but it's often a mismatch. Do your homework on the funds you want to pitch to. Don;t waste your time or their time if they are clearly not a match. Just throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks is a bad strategy.

5) Your approach emails are just built wrong (your outreach) is just not resonating or getting enough excitement. Cold emails rarely help - use networks.

6) Your pitch is not polished - you seem like a bunch of amateurs asking for money.

7) Your pitch deck is confusing - misaligned - too short - too long - unusual or any mix of the above.

8) You just don't know how to pitch... you or your colleagues are bad at pitching (presenting). It's painful.

9) The investors just really don't like something in your story - as something doesn't add up. Or they just don't like YOU.

10) You haven't kissed enough frogs yet to find that prince. You may need to do 100 to 300 pitches in some rounds. At pitch 5 if you're saying "This isn't working" you don't know what it takes to raise money - effort and time. Kiss more frogs.

So it can be any or all of the above - and even a few other things that I won't go into today. But what I've learned after all these years is you only get one bite at the pitch cherry - so you need to prepare and ensure that you have the best chance of landing the pitch.

And here's the big problem for very early pre-seed companies. No money - no start.

The problem for mid stage companies series B and series C is that if you don't land it - the clock is ticking and you will burn through your remaining cash and run out of money.

You can have the best idea in the world, the best team in the world - but without capital / cash - you have Zero. So as a start up team (who will be raising money every day of every week for the life of the company) you need to get this part of your skillset right. This is not an area to scrimp on. Money = life for the company.

Based on this need, I get asked more than anything - "but what should a pitch deck be? How do you pitch? How do you convince investors?"

Well there is no magic bullet - but there are ways to improve the pitching process. There are things you or your team can do to have a better chance of landing the pitch - because of the pitch, the deck and the way you present that pitch.

I'm going to assume that you've done your homework, your idea is good, your market is actually big, you've done all the right things.

If not you need to actually get to my foundation course on how to Build and Run a successful startup - HERE - https://www.howtostartupinmedtech.com

If the fundamentals of your business are not right - then you are just not going to raise money - sorry to say. Professional investors will see through it in a second.

But If we assume you have got the fundamentals right, a great idea in a big market, with a great team around you, then it's going to come down to a great pitch. Today let me focus on the actual pitch.

The Pitch

The pitch is nothing more than the way you lay your story out. How you take someone on the journey and get them on the same page as you. You have to remember you know everything about your baby - and they know nothing. Yes they may know competitors or the environment - but they know nothing about you and your idea.

Remember you are not the only "Amazing - incredible - world changing - phenomenal - super - innovative - life changing - patient saving" idea they have heard that week. You are number 10.

Human nature is cruel -and the way we don't get eaten by tigers in nature was to be cautious and careful. This traits linger today when investors look for deals. So you need to build confidence and trust. Think about that in your pitch deck - and think that if every single slide (most are done by slides) feels familiar (format) and you speak with confidence (presentation) and authority, then their level of trust will go up. They will listen more to your ask.

Random pitches that are off the path with scatterbrained and confused presenters do not instil that sense of familiarity and trust. That's why I go with standard formats. That's why I only let the best presenters int he company present. If the founder is just shockingly bad - do not let them present - have them sit in the room - but the BEST presenter presents - even if it is the cleaner.

Also - as humans we like images more than words - so the way a pitch deck is beautifully built is critical - it cannot be a science project plan crammed with a thousand acronyms.

The pitch is a story - with a start - a middle and an end. So many times I've seen pitches that are just a long middle part with fifty slides of technical babble. Learn to build your pitches to make them an interesting journey that gets the "audience" nodding and wanting to know what's next. Everyone gets a TED talk - because they follow a story arc format - you need to create that TED talk pitch.

Finally - you actually need to ask for something. Yep - you need to ask "I want your money and you get this this and this and in the future you get your money back and some..."

You will be amazed how many pitches are like clinical podium presentations that end with "And that is why we are great. Thank you."

The pitch is a skilful art - and a core piece to raising money (good money). I can't stress enough that this is one part of most startups - seed or even series C and beyond - where they fail time and time again. And that is why so many run out of money.

"I don't get it... we raised money from friends, they were excited but we can't get a professional investor to bite. It doesn't make sense - we are awesome!"

Yes - but your pitch sucks - and what gets some friends and colleagues to place 100K into you is not what gets a professional level VC to drop $20 million into you.

I have been asked time and time again - "What is your magic that helps you close pitches so successfully?"

Well I've distilled the PITCH part of that into a short course. It's way more than an article can cover - and you need some helpful formats and practice. I've not covered who the investors are - who to contact - I'm assuming you have that part sorted. But I talk the art of the pitch - the content - the best format - the story - the slides (what each one does and why) - how to prepare a pitch - who to pitch - what to pitch and the skill of presenting pitches.

If you need to raise money at a seed round.

If you need to continue raising money from professional investors at an A round or later.

If you are struggling to close rounds - full stop.

Then this course should help you - https://www.howtostartupinmedtech.com/pitch-perfect

Sign up now and at leat get the core of your pitch right !