This is the second in a series of articles featuring insights from experienced founders and CEOs in Nauta’s portfolio. We've distilled their experiences into easy-to-read chapters to help others navigate the challenges of growing a B2B software startup.

Highlights include:

• Mastering the art of pitching and creating impactful pitch decks
• Finding and honing your voice
• Understanding your audience

In the early stages of a startup, the ability to pitch effectively is crucial. It’s a soft skill that gets better with practice over time. When you don’t have the traction and metrics to back up your vision, having a strong story and pitch can make all the difference. So, how can you improve your pitch?

Preparing and pitching

When you’re pitching your startup, you’re not just showing off your knowledge – you're trying to convince investors to back your business and partner for the long term. A good pitch does more than highlight what makes your venture unique; you’re trying to convince investors that your company could return their fund.  

In the early days, when you are pre-revenue and have little to nothing to show, a great pitch can work wonders, it communicates your vision, builds credibility, and shows professionalism – key for attracting investment. As Roope Heinilä (Haiilo), points out: “You’re not going to have the metrics to back up what you’re saying in the early days so what you pitch and how you pitch it is going to define how people perceive you, and perception is reality”.  

Mustafa Khanwala (Mishipay) further highlights the importance of delivery, noting, “The delivery of the pitch is very important to get yourself heard; then it’s the actual merits of your idea that move you forward.” You have to make sure that your story is believable and “pitching has a lot to do with your credibility” Roope adds.

Pitch decks and how to make them  

Pitch decks / investor presentations obviously play a big role in ensuring your key messages land. It's important your deck tells the story in the best way possible, rather than trying to get across every message and piece of data you have. There are many good examples and pitch deck templates out there, from investors like Sequoia or YCombinator, to successful companies (the original decks of Silicon Valley’s largest companies are often available online) and former operators like Guy Kawasaki.  

Guy and others (YCombinator again) even give design advice and talk through how good visuals can make complex information easier to digest, boost engagement, and ensure your key messages hit home. If you’re intending to build your company over the long term, you need to see your pitch deck as a living document and adapt it as you grow and gain valuable feedback. This is a big reason why spending time listening to, and adapting for, unsuitable investors can be a big distraction.  

Honing your voice

Presenting your thoughts and ideas in a pitch can be nerve-wrecking, with worries about being judged or rejected. But, as cliché as it sounds, you can overcome that fear by being authentic and expressing your passion when you speak.

“They [investors and customers] resonate with authenticity, and they can tell if you’re genuinely and passionately describing something that you want to throw your entire life’s work into”, Dave Holden (Techspert) tells us.

Together, authenticity and passion can transform your pitch into a compelling story, making it far more impactful than simply presenting a list of facts and figures and it helps your audience connect with you. Dave’s tip is to “lean into your own style and strengths. Don’t try and do it in a way that someone else does it and mimic that”. Embracing your unique style is crucial for effective communication.

Mustafa adds that practice is key, recommending family as a test audience: “they are usually the hardest to pitch to”, making it excellent preparation. For those struggling to find their voice, he also suggests taking public speaking classes or workshops “definitely try to get help there [pitching], even if you think you’re already good”.

You might be surprised at how much a few pitch training sessions can improve your abilities! This helps for investor and customer pitches alike. A small investment of time and money could have a big long-term gain on your success.

Tailoring to the audience

Understanding your audience and how you speak to them is crucial because different types of investors will ultimately have different priorities and interests. Earlier stage investors will be more focused on the team and the vision of the company, whilst later stage investors will spend more time scrutinising the product metrics or company financials, given that there will be more data to analyse.

Then there are different types of investors in terms of focus (sector specific or agnostic) and funding (such as strategic industry investors, government funds, high net worths), each of which will have differing investment theses and it's important to tailor your pitch where relevant. The pitch deck doesn’t always need to change but your emphasis on certain slides might.

It’s important to recognise that not all investors will be suitable for your company and therefore, are not worth wasting your time pitching to or adapting your pitch based on their feedback.

Brad van Leeuwan (Cledara) stresses the importance of qualifying investors you pitch to: “When you’re starting out, any conversation feels like a good one, and to some extent, that’s true because you can learn from all of them. But if I were to do it again, I would qualify much more aggressively.” The reason being that “Pitching is a sales process. Except when you’re fundraising because you’re both the seller and the buyer. You’re selling shares in exchange for money, but you’re also buying an eternal relationship, you can never leave.”  

“You have to adjust your pitch based on the audience.” adds Roope. Vedran Cindrić (Treblle), reflected on his early pitching experience: “when I started pitching, I was too technical”. He emphasized the importance of tailoring presentations to the audience, advising founders “to adjust and cater the story to the listener”.  

Tailoring your pitch to different audiences ensures your message hits the right notes and addresses their specific needs and concerns. By aligning your communication style with what your audience expects and prefers, you increase the chances that your pitch will be well-received.  

Key takeaways

Effective pitching is a key skill at any stage of your startup journey, whether you choose to raise venture capital or you’re presenting to new customers and partners. With practise, your pitch can go from a basic presentation to a powerful tool for grabbing attention and securing opportunities.  

• Focus on storytelling to engage your audience, rather than just presenting stats and numbers
• Make sure you're targeting the right investors and don't waste your time with any you know are unsuitable
• Incorporate visual aids to enhance your pitch and make your messages more engaging
• Practice your pitch with family or consider taking classes for additional support and feedback  
• Adjust your tone and content to align the interests of different audiences

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