How I build million dollar pitches in 2 hours

In case you haven’t heard, I’m putting together a small working group of early-stage growth companies looking to raise $1 - $10m in Q2.

Yesterday, I did a private session with one of the members of our April Cohort. She’s raising $3m+ TODAY from 60 potential investors …

Every in one meeting, for one hour, for one chance at raising her entire round in a day.

It’s a high stakes, high pressure, high reward bet to run her campaign this way… and her pitch wasn’t ready.

The consequences for not getting this right? Another 3-6 months of grinding it out raising money $10k - $25k at a time.

So I jumped in using all the pitch-creation technology in my studio …

And even though she’s on the east coast, I’m here in California, we spent two intense hours together, and she told me something I’ve heard over and over again…

“You just pitched my own deal better than I can, off the top of your head, and you barely know anything about it.”

How is this possible?

Because every single one of my successful pitches follows the same formula.

I call it the F.A.S.T. Funding Method. It has four parts:

• Frame the Macros: Before you talk about your company, you have to talk about your industry as it is today, how it’s rapidly changing, and why that creates a money making opportunity. Until you and the investor can agree on a worldview where the big, strong and well-financed companies are becoming irrelevant, your deal cannot move forward.
  

• Answer the Financial Questions in Advance: If you get to the end of your pitch, but still have to explain “the numbers” to the investors satisfaction, you’ve screwed up royally. Your worldview (above) must also be confirmed by your numbers, and presented in financial language the investor understands.

• Show The Deal: People may love your products and your company, but your investment thesis might be bad. Make it easy for them to understand what investment they are buying. Is it equity? debt? A convertible? What kind of returns are you offering 18%, 30%, 1X, 5X? What’s the hold period? These types of questions need to be answered right before you ask for the check.

• Tough Luck Time Frame: No matter how much someone loves your deal, it’s very likely you need the money faster than they want to allocate it. How do you get them to operate on your time frame? It’s called a “tough luck timeframe” and no deal closes without one.

If you’re raising money in Q2, and you’d like to hear more about how this process works…

All you need to do is join me on this free webinar I’m hosting this Thursday @ 9am PDT for “prospective members” of West Coast Finance.

But first, can you do me a favor and answer the survey below so I can see if I’ve got anyone on my end that might be interested in your deal?

Alright, now that you’ve let me know how much you’re looking for, here’s how you can get into a room like this.

All you need to do is join me on this free webinar I’m hosting this Thursday @ 9am PDT for “prospective members” of West Coast Finance.

-Oren

Upcoming Events @ West Coast Finance

Interested in becoming a member of West Coast Finance – my entrepreneurial ecosystem of business builders working together to launch enduring American companies?

If so, we have membership opportunities for:

• Early Stage Growth Companies: Must be a US-based operating company raising capital from US-based investors under US-based securities laws. We don’t typically work with “pre-seed” companies with no product and no revenue.
  

• Early Stage Investors: If you have allocation for early-stage growth companies (minimum $2,500 position size) and would like access to our ecosystem of companies, we’ve got a special community for retail investors, high net worth individuals, and family offices.
  

• Financial Sponsors: If you have portfolio companies you are working with on their capital-raising syndication program, we have great options for sponsors interested in running a retail equity + institutional debt side by side.
  

• Professional Service Providers: For all the consultants who help their clients raise capital, we’ve got tons of tools and training programs designed for anyone in an advisory role.

Go here to sign up for our upcoming information session for prospective members.

It’s free to attend the session, but membership is by application only. We like to welcome new members in cohorts of 12 people in order to provide all our new applicants with the best chance of succeeding in their capital raise.

This week is our last week to sign up for the April cohort. We have 8 spots filled.