!Alexander Jarvis - Partner

DTAC Accelerator - 8th August, 2014

• Partner at Jungle Ventures • Invest and support companies across APAC !

• Helped build some big companies: !!!

• Succeeded in learning a lot by failing and being poor: !!!

• Also used to be a banker in another life (where I learnt a lot but definitely wasn’t poor)

Me (Alexander Jarvis)

Stuff you didn't hear about

Follow and connect with me

• @ADJBlog !

!• https://angel.co/alexander-jarvis !

!

!• sg.linkedin.com/in/alexanderdjarvis/

• You can find this presentation here: !

http://www.slideshare.net/AlexanderJarvis/ !

• This is written as both a presentation and reading material

• Do not think this is best practice for your deck! • I talk fast and cover a lot of material to put info

into your brain • You will start dreaming of an IPO and stop paying

attention, I know that, so read it after

Relevant notes

• Objective of ‘Demo Day’ • Your deck • Presentation preparation • During presentation • Preparation for after the pitch • At event • After demo day • Secrets

We are going to cover (fast)

Objective of “DemoDay”

Get the investor to…

But wait, you totally have it twisted

• This is not your pitch, this is to get a meeting • Only need to show investors enough that they

want to meet you to learn more • Do not force a meeting, it doesn't lead anywhere..

Get a meeting, not $

• This means: • Will make $: Big market. Have

a business model (not a business plan) !

• People will buy: Real pain !

• It is useful: Solution is going to solve the pain !

• Able to write cheque: Asking for money for amount they write and category they will cover

Give enough to get investors to meet you

JUST GET THE MEETING, THAT IS IT

Key learning

• It only feels like it is important as it is a milestone !

• If you can say you have already started raising your round it is impressive !

• Some people have closed round before demoday…. !

• This isn’t a big deal so get over it

Demoday is a huge letdown

Your Deck

• Be the star • Focus has to be on you, you don’t want them staring

at screen • Investors invest in YOU not the deck

• Keep it simple • Do not have multiple bullets per slide, have a header

and a picture • If people are reading you are failing

Slides support the story… YOU are telling

• You could do the presentation without a deck (but better to have one)!

• What - We are uber for carrots (Put company in a box)

• Vision - We have a big vision to revolutionalise carrots by x

• Problem - Vegetarians have a huge problem with carrots. I couldn't make my son eat them

• Solution - We have listened to the people and made a unique app to make them love carrots. Our tie up with the national grocers creates barrier to entry

Key parts (1 of 2)

• Market size - There are 230m vegetarians in our 4 targeted markets that spend lots of cash. Our focus is on 5% of these

• Team - We are the best possible team for the job because we have done it before etc

• Traction - What this team has executed so far, key milestones (We get things done)

• Product/tech - Our product is beautiful and it works, have a try! (Quality UI/X matters now)

• The ask - We want $521k to get to these milestones when we will raise S-A in 13 months. We want investors who have regional expertise and focused on healthcare

Key parts (2 of 2)

• For market size I want stats, and referenced (other wise, yawn)

• These must actually make sense. If they are BS you lose credibility

• Put a footnote of where the support for market size numbers come from • Many VCs were bankers and this is an inside credibility

thing only bankers get • I don’t trust you, and whilst I don’t trust Euromonitor, I

trust them more. The fact you found them also says something positive

Market size means stats and reference

Source: Some really important company, year

This is a source

• Almost no one goes viral and it is simply bloody luck

• How you ‘scale’ is absolutely key • Even if it is through boring ways, that’s better than

saying something dumb like a make a viral video • Read my presentation on this topic

• http://www.slideshare.net/AlexanderJarvis/growth-hacking-conference-presentation-how-to-get-creative-with-marketing-when-paid-channels-are-too-expensive-or-customers-arent-looking-for-you

How you will grow matters, do not say viral

• You are not 12 • Keep it simple

NO transitions and animations

Presentation preparation

• Jobs was great because he made it look simple, but was obsessive about rehearsing • Compare Apple to Microsoft…

• Get a camera and record yourself (everyone selfies these days anyway) • I am not joking. Get your camera

and a friend to do this now • Get people who don’t like you to

review your performance • Better now than later

Practice till perfect

• Have a backup on USB • Have printouts

• These can potentially be more detailed and ideally unique and engaging

• Bring your own laptop and ensure you have connectors for AVG and HDMI

• Someone else on the team as an understudy • If the speaker gets ill, someone

else has to step up

Be prepared for the fact things go wrong

• I like and hate stories, many go too far and don’t get to the point

• Stories help investors relate • Stories help people relate to real issues they have and your

solution, or to problems they don’t have but ideally lots of people do

• You want to spark an emotional connection to what you are doing so people relate to the size of the problem

• Keep to the point! Make it a short story • These can work if the stories are light AND apply to your

business model • Sometimes they are bedtime stories and put me to sleep

• A good ~story is “My dad was using this software for work and use to swear how much he hated it. Lot’s of other people hated it too, so one day I fixed it”

Be careful with ‘stories’

• I care about product and results • Show me product, demo it or screenshot • It shows you actually build stuff even if it sucks

• Put yourself in a box, because I will and its faster if you do it first • Once I get what you are doing I can spend time

listening, so you being ‘uber for carrots’ helps • State your enemy, who are you going to make

angry (Do not say you don’t have competition) • Nothing is new under the sun, everyone has

competition • Who is your goliath and why are you going to slay

them?

Other tips: results, box, enemy!

During Presentation

• Relax and be confident • Smile! • Have energy and passion • Look respectful, but don’t wear a suit

(i’m not) • Know what you are saying, don’t have

notes • It is better to be talked about than not

at all, so be bold and take (moderate) risks

• Have a sense of humor, particularly when things go wrong • Roll with the punches. You get respect

for dealing with adversity well

Be the kind of person girls like to talk to

• Nothing is personal, have think skin • Never get annoyed at questions. Everything is a data

point • This is a game. You need to ‘pick up a girl at a bar’

• The stage is your first impression, your ‘entrance’ • This is also a numbers game. If she says no you find

another • Ask for what you want

• If you want money ask for it • You don’t get what you don’t ask for

• Dont talk her to death! Keep to your [6] minutes • Give a next step

• “Meet us outside. We are wearing pink t-shirts”

Be the kind of guy that is actually successful

• Speak English - I need to understand! • Better to have non-ceo speak if English is

bad • Start by specifically saying what you do

• I have given ‘feedback’ that “I have no idea what it is that you do after your whole pitch!”

• Keep to the point and be succinct • You do not need to give details • High level, leave ‘em wanting more

• Don’t run out of time, you don’t need all the time you think you need • Running over time means you are

unprepared • Don’t write essays on slides, just

headline and picture

How to not fail (Hygene factors)

Preparation for after the pitch

• Have business cards • Hustle and get a group discount together! • No excuse. Can get the next day • Don’t buy fancy ones, don’t get cheap

crap ones • Keep simple (I use evernote to photo them

with OCR) • Get the attendee list before the event

• Ask for the list • Know who you are pitching to. Research

what they invest in- not everyone is interested. Why are they your ideal investor?

• Make a check list to prioritise who you want to talk

Get business cards and the attendance list

• Know what your objective is and be clear about where you are • Do you want to raise money? How much and

when? You will be asked so you need a clear answer

• If you don’t need money do you want intros or advise? Who specifically? What advise on what?

• Do you know your key milestones? If you are live do you know your numbers

• Be ready 2 days before the event • Sleep the night before well and work out so you

have energy • You will fail if you are tired and not passionate • This is more important than messing with slides • Day before should be spent working not

preparing pitching, you are still building and traction matters more than powerpoint

Know thy self and be ready 2 days before

At Event

• You only have limited time, people leave • Spend enough time to build a ‘friend’. Contacts are

people in linkedin. A friend will actually reply to your email and help

• Leave them wanting more • Try get a definite ‘next step’ • Do not spend too much time, that you miss other

people • Bring your whole team

• Everyone has cards, everyone’s job is to raise money • The more people you have creating ops the more ops

you have • Your geeky dev needs to suck it up and contribute

Divide and conquer

• Be the energizer bunny • Passion sells. If you aren’t excited

no one else will be. Your energy can be infectious

• Work the room don’t be a wallflower • This is awesome opportunity to

meet people, so don’t miss out • Meet everyone, you know them

now. That will help you get to meet other people

Be a social butterfly

• Check off who you talk to • When you talk to the investor knowledge is power

• Have something I want to talk about, like my portfolio companies

• Ask for one of my portfolio companies to talk to (again more network building)

• Try give value before you take it. Pay it forward. People don’t do that enough and you will be notable

• Make notes of the discussion • Write on the back of the card

• Date met • Key takeaway

Use your checklist and your research

• Smile and shake hand (firmly) • Put index finger on their pulse

• Get their name and use it 3 times • People love their own name, so “Say my

name, say my name..” • Make friends not contacts • Exchange cards

• Get email if they don’t have (or ran out of cards)

• Ask if ok to add them to your update list • to periodically send updates on your

traction • Ask if this is something they can or

would invest in • If not why (Do NOT be defensive)

Key things to do when meeting people

No suit though

After demo day

• Follow up before the sun sets • Read how to win friends and influence

people • Send a simple email with your deck

referencing your chat. No essay! • Can use a dropbox link to aid download

speed • Use evernote for business cards, photo

and dispose (auto add to linkedin) • http://blog.evernote.com/blog/2014/05/07/

evernote-linkedin-perfect-business-card/ • Get feedback, if no, get a meeting if

you didn’t already • Follow up… nicely. People are busy

Use your contacts!

Secrets

• VCs are more interested in the person sitting next to them than you • They like to talk to each other and have fun • You are NOT important until you are • If you don’t get attention you lose it

• Will not pay attention if your hygiene factors are fails

• Personality sells more than anything else, particularly if everyone else sucks • I gave a prize to someone because he was

funny and his idea was crazy big • Also, we didn’t like everyone else… • He made the whole audience laugh so

much everyone loved him. Popularity matters

Get attention, investors don’t care about you

Investors on phones

• I will look for you if you are good • You only look for me if I am not interested

• If you look for me and are eager for feedback I am more interested • Genuine interest in learning is hallmark of great founder • Ask real questions to learn to get better and will get

feedback • Do not take things personally

• What gets people excited? 1. Traction, exponentially rising metrics 2. Revenue 3. Product awesomeness 4. Technology – unique and defensible 5. Design excellence

Get excitement and interest up

• Make contacts, don’t ignore those who say no (now) • Your network makes the world go round. Make friends with

everyone… be cool • Don’t waste time with people that clearly aren’t interested

• Some people wont be interested for many reasons • Be polite and move on

• I don’t want to get into the details now • If you meet me just give me the key points and get a meeting if I

am interested • Lots of people are talking and I am not going to remember

everything • You also need to spend your time working the room to get more

meetings and feedback • If you say “I know it’s crazy now and it’s not the best time to get

into details”, I will have more respect for you, you seem to ‘get it’

Make friends, network , act like you are in the know

• We don’t know who you are • We have done no research • There are only ever 1-3

extroverts that will ask questions in the audience

• Often people ask questions because no one else will and we want to make you feel good • If no one asks you are either

very good or irrelevant, normally it is the latter

VCs do not prepare for events

Remember this is hard, go to war!