According to Seedrs, investors spend an average of 3 minutes and 44 seconds reviewing a pitch deck so clearly, it’s crucial to create one that is sufficiently brief yet still conveys your business proposition to your target audience.

In this episode, I hear from Venetia Archer, founder & CEO of Ruuby, the UK's leading at-home beauty & wellness service founded in 2015. After identifying a gap in the London market for an on-demand beauty app, Ruuby has grown to become the fashion set’s beloved digital beauty concierge.

Venetia shares her advice on what a pitch deck should include, how long it should be and the pitfalls to avoid when putting yours together.

Venetia’s advice:

• You must outline the product and the mission of the company
• Concentrate on the story & make it make sense
• But the three vital components must be: the financials: what you want to raise, and on what terms / your team (or the team you hope to acquire when you have the investment) / the market environment and your competitiveness within it
• You may need to use an advisor to help you with the financial modelling
• You obviously can’t expect your modelling to be accurate as there are so many unknowns, it just needs to be plausible
• You can’t expect to tailor the pitch deck to each individual. You could try a three tiered approach - start with a “teaser deck” just showcasing the main highlights. Then if someone shows interest follow up with more detailed metrics, and finally if someone is seriously interested give them a thorough financial breakdown
• You may want to invest in some design help to make it look slick
• Always write it yourself, because you know the subject best and it’s a good exercise for you; if necessary you can bounce your ideas off a colleague
• You will get more expert at doing this, and it’s good to practise on potential investors as much as you can
• Always have all materials and information ready to draw upon
• Know in advance which investors you want and set out your intentions, making it clear how much time you expect from them and how much time you are prepared to give them in turn
• General good advice: it’s crucial to have a strong, experienced team as early as you can
• Finally, have the courage of your convictions

FF&M enables you to own your own PR. Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2023 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason. Email us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason.

Let us know how your start up journey is going or if you have any questions you would like us to discuss in future episodes.

FF&M recommends:

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.
• For contracts check out Law Depot.

MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod. Link & Licence

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