January 25, 2018
How to start your presentation, how to end it, and everything in between was covered at Pitch Strong – A Workshop Geared to Help You Pitch to Investors.
Hosted by Elevate Ventures and Elevate Northeast Indiana, Pitch Strong was geared to the special needs of entrepreneurs seeking to raise money. The chilly January morning did not keep eager attendees from the event held at Start Fort Wayne at The Atrium, as 13 different Fort Wayne-area startups were represented.
This highly interactive workshop engaged Sara Norris and Rhonda Tamulonis from When You Leave the Room, a business presentation skills consultancy. Topics covered included tips on preparing compelling content, PowerPoint design, techniques of presenting technical information, coaching on presentation skills, ways to control nerves and more.
“Your audience chokes on information unless you give it to them in bite-size chunks,” said Norris, when explaining how to present highly technical information in a readily understandable manner.
As part of the workshop, a few companies were selected to practice their company pitch to receive on-the-spot feedback and coaching to improve both their individual presentation skills as well as their slide decks. Pitches were recorded and played back so the presenters could see what everyone else saw, including how their nervous tendencies detracted from their pitch.
The workshop covered a lot of information, but if nothing else, attendees should remember that practicing for a pitch is vital to success. The presentation is only as strong as the presenter, and as America’s top fear is public speaking, most people must practice in an effort to minimize nerves and any nervous tics that may arise. Practice, practice, practice!
“The Pitch Strong event was a way to provide true value to entrepreneurs in Northeast Indiana,” said Robert Clark, Elevate Ventures’ Northeast Indiana Entrepreneur-in-Residence. “Many of them will be faced with pitching their company to potential investors and having a good presentation foundation is critical to getting funded.”
Pitch Strong was one of the events planned for Northeast Indiana as a result of the partnership between Elevate Ventures and Elevate Northeast Indiana. This partnership, announced in October 2017, is working to encourage entrepreneurs and nurture emerging and existing businesses and develop them into high-performing companies in Northeast Indiana. Look for more events to come, including an SBIR workshop in March, and others.
For a full list of state-wide entrepreneurial events, please visit the Elevate Ventures Events page.
