The Teaser

Let's assume you have created a business plan that's both viable and readable (one hell of an assumption; 99% of the one's I see are a mass of colored pie charts, meaningless statistics, and so lengthy even your mother wouldn't read them).

Now what? How do you get a VC or Angel to read it?

Conventional wisdom says to send a pitch deck. The reality is VCs and Angels are flooded with unsolicited decks. USE A TEASER!

If you're a startup, post traction, or early/mid stage firm going for a round, the Teaser, the 1 page summary with a singular function, to immediately stimulate interest, may be the most critical component of your approach.

Remember, VCs and Angels, globally, are flooded with pitch decks and full BPs, all vying for attention!

While I know some firms, and bankers, send the pitch deck initially, I have an experientially given conviction that submitting a properly constructed Teaser 1st, dramatically increases the probability of being read.

It should have several characteristics: 1. Your brand, the logo you've carefully crafted that's a visual manifestation of your firm, should be embedded in the document. Do this and the impact is immediate! 2. The 1st paragraph should clearly summarize, without melodrama, your value proposition, mission statement, or market. 3. The next several paragraphs, short, terse, cogent, easy to assimilate...outline why your solution is more effective than any existing. 4. The final paragraph outlines what the funding will accomplish.

If the Teaser does it's 'job,' they'll call for your deck & BP. Screw it up, and you're dead in the water.