

Ask HN: How many hours did you spend on investor pitch? - another_accel


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newhaircutco
To set the stage, it's been rumored that when Steve Jobs was preparing for
press events he'd rehearse his presentation approximately 72 hours. So
whomever suggests that you can over-prepare is giving you bad advice.

As for the pitch deck itself, if you have the ability to tell stories and
design good looking slides, I'd give yourself 1 week on the first draft and
then begin pitching to lower tier investors -- ask them for their take on the
presentation and advice. Your deck is a living artifact so you may find
yourself throwing out the first version and starting over or just simply
iterating on it with each subsequent investor meeting. Regardless, use a
template to get yourself out of the gate -- [http://newhaircut.com/pitch-deck-
design](http://newhaircut.com/pitch-deck-design).

If all you can manage to put together is a snoozer that will have your
investor questioning your ability to breathe, let alone run a business, get
some outside help. This process shouldn't take more than 7-10 days.

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Shofo
I'm of the opinion that it's possible to over think these things and be over
prepared, so limit yourself to a time.

I'd spend the majority of your time prepping what an investor really cares
about. That is, "how big is the market oppurtunity?" and "How do you generate
revenue?". If those two things are compelling enough and you articulate them
well, they will want to know more.

Overall I'd say 4-5 hours on the pitch deck and then 1-3 practicing (depending
on how confident a public speaker you are). Best of luck!

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JSeymourATL
Depends -- how well you know the subject matter & details. Have you thought
through how to handle potential objections and areas of concern? Suggest
reading Oren Klaff's Pitch Anything! >
[http://salestipaday.com/2011/10/19/oren-klaff-pitch-
anything...](http://salestipaday.com/2011/10/19/oren-klaff-pitch-anything-how-
to-prepare-for-a-meeting/)

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27182818284
The first one that got a tiny bit of seed money? under 10.

