5 founders who raised venture capital give their tips for a winning pitch

Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins,Alexandra YorkDec 9, 2022, 23:51 IST

From left to right: Osahon Ojeaga, Ali Kaminetsky, and Olamide Olowe.Courtesy Nourie, Modern Picnic, Topicals

It takes a convincing pitch to win investors over if you want to raise venture capital in 2023.
Investors and experts said to keep your pitch short and show how your business is different.

It takes a convincing pitch to win investors over if you want to raise venture capital for your business in 2023.

In 2021, VC investment nearly doubled year-over-year, with a record $128.3 billion funneled into startups, according to PitchBook data. Investment dollars dropped this year as economic uncertainty brews and a potential upcoming recession in the US looms, but funding is still available.

A perfect pitch should establish you as an expert in your field, connect investors to your story, and provide a clear sense of your business model. That's according to Alison Wyatt, an angel investor who invested in the working-mothers community HeyMama.

She also suggested founders tailor their pitch to the investors they're addressing. "Lean into the things that they think about, that keep them up at night, and the problems that they want to solve," Wyatt previously told Insider.

When creating your pitch deck, a short, simple presentation is most effective, data from the document-sharing platform DocSend found. Clearly stating what sets your business apart works best for founders seeking pre-seed and seed funding.

Insider spoke to five founders who have raised venture capital — three of whom closed their funding rounds this year. Here are their tips for a winning pitch.

The founder of Modern Picnic uses her customer base to show demand for her product

Ali Kaminetsky is the founder of Modern Picnic, a brand that makes fashionable lunch bags.Kristen Walker

Ali Kaminetsky launched Modern Picnic in 2018 to create fashionable and functional lunch boxes for women. They look just like handbags, are made from vegan leather, and have insulated interiors for storing food and drinks.

Modern Picnic closed a $900,000 round of pre-seed funding in April 2021 that Michael Cline, the founder of the ticketing company Fandango, led.

In her pitch deck, which she shared with Insider, Kaminetsky explained to investors that her top customers are women living in cities between the ages of 18 and 54 who have mid-to-high discretionary incomes. But to take it beyond the stats and the graphs, she highlighted her broad customer base, which includes everyone from doctors and teachers to moms and college students.

One slide in particular showcased Modern Picnic's 22% returning-customer rate, which Kaminetsky said answers a question investors often ask: "How many of these bags do people need?"

To that, she said, "She might not need more, but she wants more. She's going back for more."

Modern Picnic closed a $900,000 round of pre-seed funding in April 2021 that Michael Cline, the founder of the ticketing company Fandango, led.

One slide in particular showcased Modern Picnic's 22% returning-customer rate, which Kaminetsky said answers a question investors often ask: How many of these bags do people need?

To that, she said, She might not need more, but she wants more. She's going back for more.

The founder of Topicals colors data in her pitch with culture

Olamide Olowe, the founder and CEO of Topicals.Olamide Olowe

Olamide Olowe started her skincare brand, Topicals, after growing up with chronic skin conditions. Her company creates skincare products for problems like dark spots, dryness, and ingrown hairs, which Olowe said can be difficult to treat.

In November, Topicals raised a $10 million Series A round that the venture-capital firm CAVU, which invests in consumer-product brands such as Beyond Meat and Oatly, led. This brings Topicals' total funding to $14.8 million.

Olowe previously told Insider that it took her two years and nearly a hundred pitches to get funding. Through the process, her knowledge about skincare gained investors' trust, she said. Olowe used data to explain why her products are necessary, profitable, and influential. Then, she added context to give a deeper understanding of the market, especially among communities of color, which investors often overlook.

"It's always driven by data, and then we color that data with culture," she said.

It's always driven by data, and then we color that data with culture, she said.

The founders of Afrocenchix demonstrated market value with data

Rachael Twumasi-Corson and Joycelyn Mate, the cofounders of Afrocenchix.Afrocenchix

Rachael Twumasi-Corson and Joycelyn Mate launched their hair brand Afrocenchix in 2011 to help with their alopecia, a condition that causes bald spots to appear on the scalp. In June 2021, the founders closed a $1.2 million seed round that Google for Startups' Black Founders Fund led.

Twumasi-Corson previously told Insider that investors peppered them with questions that belittled their expertise in the beauty industry and the market for Black hair products. To combat this, the founders included data in the second slide of their pitch deck to provide context that would educate investors.

"When you're talking about white investors, they might not care about Black stories," Twumasi-Corson said. "So you have to give them this data."

When you're talking about white investors, they might not care about Black stories, Twumasi-Corson said. So you have to give them this data.

The founder of Impossible Kicks says showing investors their financial stakes is key

John Mocadlo, a cofounder and the COO of Impossible Kicks.Impossible Kicks

John Mocadlo and his brother, Wayne, founded Impossible Kicks. The two combined John's experience in sales and Wayne's obsession with sneakers to create the sneaker-resale store in 2020.

Impossible Kicks closed a $3 million Series A round in September 2022, bringing its total funding to $7 million.

The most important part of any pitch is explaining to investors how much they'll get from a prospective deal through investment payouts, Mocadlo previously told Insider. He uses charts of market trends to explain those predictions.

"We're looking at what their potential return on investment can be," he said, adding that while investors can love an idea, their main goal is to make money from it.

"It was very important for me to tell the whole story: Tell them what our revenue is, how sustainable it is, how we can keep growing," he said. "But then say, 'This is what your investment will be worth after we get it to scale.'"

John Mocadlo and his brother, Wayne, founded Impossible Kicks. The two combined John's experience in sales and Wayne's obsession with sneakers to create the sneaker-resale store in 2020.

Impossible Kicks closed a $3 million Series A round in September 2022, bringing its total funding to $7 million.

We're looking at what their potential return on investment can be, he said, adding that while investors can love an idea, their main goal is to make money from it.

It was very important for me to tell the whole story: Tell them what our revenue is, how sustainable it is, how we can keep growing, he said. But then say, 'This is what your investment will be worth after we get it to scale.'

The founder of Nourie uses imagery to explain the problem and her solution

Osahon Ojeaga, the founder of Nourie.Nourie

Osahon Ojeaga is the founder of Nourie, a brand of hair extensions that delivers nutrients to the scalp.

In September 2022, Nourie closed a $2.5 million seed round to fund the brand's launch, which Impact America Fund, Better Ventures, and the accelerator arm of SOSV, IndieBio, led.

The 14-page pitch deck includes images to bring investors' attention to current market issues and how Nourie can solve them. Ojeaga suggested all founders make the problem and solution front-and-center in their pitches.

For instance, she includes images of scalp irritation and plastic waste, showing the severity of the industry's current health and sustainability problems. She also includes images of her team and products in action to show the versatility and functionality of her product in practice.