Pitching your healthcare startup

Here are the 4 pillars of a pitch. Other FAQs in this section go into additional detail about each of them.

1. Tell them a story they want to believe in. Use emotional storytelling to set up a compelling, humanistic reason for your idea to solve for
2. Single-minded focus. From beginning to end, your story should build upon itself in a straight-line with a singular thought throughout.
3. Rehearse. Rehearse. Rehearse. Don’t just practice what you’ll say. Practice setting up your equipment, practice Q&A, practice how you stand or sit when not speaking (body language is important). Steve Jobs left nothing to chance. Neither should you.
4. Expertise & Leadership. Remember, it is a long and winding road from your first moment of inspiration to commercial success. It will take character, vision, leadership, and immense dedication. Investors are inherently nervous about you and your team. Find ways to demonstrate (not tell) that you and your leadership team have what it takes

• What was the inspiration for you starting this company? What emotional and human problem needed to be solved? What sparked your passion and conviction? You need to communicate this as efficiently and quickly as possible. Open with a bang.
• Once you use emotional storytelling to establish the problem or challenge that exists in the marketplace,  let your product be the hero that solves for it
• Remember, in storytelling we want to hear humanistic details, not tech specs (save those for later on in Q&A or the appendix)
• The story of an individual is a compelling way to lead. Support the humanistic challenge with statistics to validate the size of the marketplace
• Seduce them. Fascinate them.

The well-regarded investor, Peter Lynch, once said, “If you’re prepared to invest in a company, then you ought to be able to explain why in simple language that a fifth grader could understand, and quickly enough so the fifth grader won’t get bored.”

Make sure that the problem you are trying to solve is clearly and simply stated on a single slide with no other clutter around it. The same goes for the solution. If you can’t reduce it down to a single, simple thought—perhaps your idea is too complex? Or you haven’t thought it through well enough to clearly articulate it?

There should be a single, unbroken line of thought from the problem, to the solution, to the business plan, and how it will achieve financial success.

Investors are famously risk averse. One major concern is the ability of the leadership team at a startup to put in the hard work, thoughtfulness, and energy required to be successful. And investors have just a few short minutes to evaluate you and your team.

Thorough preparation demonstrates dedication and hard work ahead of time and signals that you might have what it takes for the challenging road ahead.

• Rehearse until you are confident—not bored
• After the first few rounds, rehearse with a stopwatch for time. A crisp presentation demonstrates discipline. Going long demonstrates disorganization and lack of focus.
• Rigorously challenge your own conclusions. How would your competitors attack your ideas?

Much like for Pillar 3—confident, prepared and articulate answers during the Q&A signal that hard work was put into thinking through the idea, and the team has the expertise, energy, leadership, and vision to steer and grow a startup.

Here are some intangible signs investors are looking for:

• Your presentation is crisp, organized, and clearly rehearsed
• The message is clear, focused, and compelling
• The team has clearly anticipated the risks facing the company and can articulate strategies to solve for them
• Honesty around the potential shortcomings
• Team chemistry. It is hard work to launch a company and there will be dark days. Does it appear that you like each other? Will you band together and rally when the going gets tough?
• Energy and leadership from the executives. Will teams follow you?

1. Compelling title slide
2. Personal or humanistic unmet need: Hook them with an emotional (hopefully personal) story about an unmet need in the marketplace
3. Define the problem: Include the root cause and manifestation in society or the marketplace, statistics on the size and cost of the problem, and a stakeholder assessment
4. Problem in a Nutshell: Bring it all together onto a single slide with a single thought. What is the need?
5. Solution: On the very next slide, in just one or two simple sentences explain how you will solve for this problem
6. Business Plan: Outline your path to testing and/or market, targeted first customers, and an overview of a well thought out revenue model.
7. Team Credentials
8. Supplemental Slides: something to pull up in Q&A to support detailed issues such as technology or revenue models

• Clutter destroys emotion
• Leave open space all around your content
• Use color sparingly, as a highlight
• One visual per slide is ideal. Max two
• Create a visual hierarchy. Where do you want your customers to look first?

• Use icons to bring simplicity and clarity to abstract thoughts and business models
  iconmonstr.com
  flaticon.com
  nounproject.com
• Utilize photographs for emotion (try filling the screen if possible)
• Employ screenshots for mobile or desktop application platforms

• Have one topic per slide and one relevant, clear image per slide
• Don’t try to “prove” the topic with details on the slide (A supporting bullet is usually enough to support your key point)
• Save extra details or diagrams for the appendix. They can be pulled up in Q&A if the investors want to know more.

Five easy steps to declutter a slide

1. Duplicate the cluttered slide so you can always go back
2. On the new slide, create a singular, emotional headline
3. Select or create a single image and one bullet that best supports the idea
4. Delete the remaining content
5. Compare the 2 slides. Which one makes the point quickly and clearly?

• The amount of slides you should have is dependent upon the available time as well as the team’s presentation style. When in doubt, rehearse with a stopwatch until you can present effectively in the time available.
• However, a good rule of thumb is:
  For 3 minute presentations: 10-12 slides max
  For 5 minute presentations: 12-13 slides max
  For 10 minute presentations: up to 23 slides
• If you have slides/content that is there “Just in Case™” move it to the appendix

Consider interviewing potential users or customers about your product. When you present your work, the investors you are pitching to will have their guard up.

However, you can sneak past their guard if you share video or audio of your intended target saying how much they love the idea and can’t wait to use it.

Personal stories from real people build credibility and emotionally engage your audience. Plus, it sneaks past their guard.

It is OK if the video or audio is low fidelity. We are all used to videos recorded on mobile phones. There is a certain air of authenticity and unscripted spontaneity associated with homemade media. As long as it is not too bad, a scrappy look and feel may work for you.

“Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it” –Hannah Arendt
In a pitch, you are trying to seduce an investor into believing in your product. A successful presentation will fire up their imagination—and imagination is infectious and collaborative. Don’t take their imagination away! A demo can potentially prematurely define the boundaries of your product, and may derail your presentation.

Hard question: Can they imagine my product?

Demo your product ONLY if:

1. It flows with & makes your story stronger
2. It is truly a “wow!” demo
3. If you anticipate skepticism on your underlying technology

Do NOT demo your product if it is still “glitchy”

Alternatives to demos

1. Screenshots that walk the audience through the primary use-case
2. If a demo is critical, perhaps embed a link to a YouTube video of a demo. It is safe and predictable.

• There is no mercy shown for tech failures during your pitch—If a cable fails, or your computer’s battery dies—it reflects upon you, even if it is their hardware. Be prepared for tech to fail.
• Build a presentation kit with the following backup materials: HDMI cable, VGA cable, remote control with extra batteries, USB memory stick, VGA and HDMI converter cables for Macs (if necessary), a 9’ extension cord, USB powered speakers, and a wi-fi hotspot. Consider bringing your own projector if image quality matters for your product or if you are unsure about where you are meeting. Don’t lose a million dollars in funding because you forgot a $10 cable.
• Long cables can be a lifesaver in larger meeting rooms
• Rehearse your setup so you aren’t fumbling around in front of the investors
• What happens if there is no internet/wifi?
• What happens if there is no cell signal and/or their conference phone isn’t working? Please see the next question in this section, “Who should attend the pitch?”

• Expertise > Titles
• If your idea is dependent upon a certain expertise, bring your resident expert to the meeting rather than having them dial in. The experts must nail the expert-level question—and they can’t do that if the cell or skype connection cuts out.
• VCs invest in teams with chemistry. They are afraid that your team doesn’t have the ability to build and grow a company. Demonstrate through your actions and professionalism that you are a good team.
• Each attendee must have a contributing role to the presentation. This doesn’t mean everybody needs to present. You can introduce somebody with no speaking role as a technical expert who is attending specifically to address questions around their area of expertise.

• Rehearse until you are confident—not bored—and finish under your allotted time frame
• If a key investor/client joins the meeting late, pause, look at your main contact, and ask if you should start over, or continue. If you are asked to start over, assume that you will NOT be given more time at the end. Be prepared to give an expedited presentation.
• Respect their time. Do not run long without permission.
• If there are delays not related to your team, and it looks as if you will run over, pause the meeting and say, “It looks like we are nearing the end of our time. Should we wrap things up? Or do we have a few extra minutes?” Be prepared to respond accordingly.

• Do. Your. Research.
• Do you know the problem you are trying to solve, why it’s a problem, and are you sure there isn’t already a solution? If there are other solutions, why is your’s better?
• Do you really, really know the marketplace? Don’t assume that your personal healthcare experience matches that of others. Ask colleagues, make phone calls, interview potential customers. Do much much more than look up to the second page of google
• Do you understand how the current political climate might affect your business model? What changes will the AHCA bring (if passed)? What if ACA remains the law?
• Have you thoroughly identified and evaluated the risks to your idea? Do you have a strategy for each of them?
• Is your idea too ambitious? There are a lot of very large problems in healthcare. Don’t try to boil the ocean in the beginning. Keep your product limited and focused in its initial scope. It can always grow down the road.

Once you have clearly and succinctly defined your startup’s purpose, what comes next?

Think of your idea as a map. It needs to have boundaries and definition. To state the obvious—a map of Chicago needs to end at the townships and suburbs that define the boundaries of the city.

The same goes for your idea. Where does it end? What defines it? What are its limitations? What is included in the idea? What is excluded? Does the current state of technology define the boundaries of your idea? (e.g., Right now we can accomplish X, but in five years when technology is better we can do Y?) Or perhaps your idea is defined by user’s mindset? Or the administrative environment of hospitals?

Whatever defines the boundaries of your idea, make sure you are aware of them and can articulate them during Q&A. If the boundaries are particularly critical to the revenue model or the speed at which it can be adopted, bring them into focus during the presentation itself

Sometimes the user of your product and the customer aren’t the same. However, it is critical that you understand, and are able to simply articulate the needs of both.

• How many users are there?
• What are their current (official and unoffficial) options for solving this problem?
• What is the financial cost of those options? What is the delta between that cost and what you are proposing to charge for your product/service?
• If your product or service is related to a procedure covered by insurance or medicare/medicaid, how does that factor into the equation?

• Consider what you will do while not speaking. Find and practice (yes practice) a neutral pose. Practice being still and keeping an interested expression upon your face while your colleagues present. Body language matters!
• Speak slightly louder than you are comfortable. During rehearsals, have somebody sit in the back of the room to ensure they can easily hear you. A strong voice (without screaming) is a sign of confidence and brings energy to your presentation.
• Agree beforehand how to handle interruptions

• Arrive early and be ready to go on time
• If there is a late arrival, ask your host if you should start over or continue
• No matter the reason for delays, ask for permission to go over on time

• Here are some intangible signs investors are looking for:
  • Your presentation is crisp, organized, and clearly rehearsed
  • The message is clear, focused, and compelling
  • The team has clearly anticipated the risks facing the company and can articulate strategies to solve for them
  • Honesty around the potential shortcomings
  • Team chemistry. It is hard work to launch a company and there will be dark days. Does it appear that you like each other? Will you band together and rally when the going gets tough?
  • Energy and leadership from the executives. Will teams follow you?

• Carve out time for the team to get together and ask each other, “What questions are we really afraid they will ask?” Rehearse answers to these difficult questions ahead of time and decide whom will handle them.
• Devise an unspoken set of signals for deciding who will handle which types of questions
• The expert in a specific category must nail the expert-level questions
• Do not contradict each other in Q&A. It gives the appearance that you don’t trust each other. Even if somebody answers incorrectly. Period.
• Be bold and confident—but not argumentative

• Make two lists (and consider presenting them): “Reasons to Invest” and “Reasons NOT to Invest.” Present both, or if you’ve got an amazing product, maybe just the latter?
• Layout the core challenges and a proposed strategy for addressing.
• Honesty is the best policy. If you have a plan for taking on a challenge, but haven’t executed yet, be up front about it.
• Naturally, there is a limit to how many barriers you have not solved for. At a certain point the investors will push for more concrete solutions before they are willing to consider supporting your startup. It is better to recognize this before the presentation rather than burn a contact or opportunity by coming in without solutions…