269. Inside the Mind of an Investor When There's Too Much Text on the Slide Artwork

VC Minute

Quick advice to help startup founders fundraise better. Founders, do you feel like you're fundraising on an uneven playing field? You are. The VC minute is here to help you level up. Venture capitalists navigate pitches and negotiate investments every day. They know the ins and outs and are up-to-date on the current funding environment. But as a founder, it may be your first foray into fundraising, and no matter how much success you've had in other areas nothing truly prepares you for the fundraising journey. The VC Minute was created to help founders close this gap. While it may seem like securing an investment at the seed stage is mostly driven by luck, there are steps founders can take to increase the odds of successfully raising a round. And that's what we're going to cover on the VC Minute through a series of short episodes. I'm going to share with you insights to help navigate the seed stage financing dynamics. I'm Rich Maloy, Managing Partner at SpringTime Ventures with 25 years business experience a dozen years in the startup ecosystem. I've applied my experience from sales, finance, and venture investing, to help startup founders fundraise better.

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VC Minute

269. Inside the Mind of an Investor When There's Too Much Text on the Slide

October 24, 2024 • Rich Maloy • Season 4 • Episode 269

Text your thoughts directly to Rich.

Let's peer into the spooky world inside a VC's brain when you're pitching with a wall-of-text slide.

About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Finance and Accounting firm supporting organizations in pivoting from growth to scale. AVL brings an experienced team of CFOs, Controllers, and Accountants to your organization, delivering transparent, strategic actions for short and long-term success. Transform your financial approach affordably with AVL, supporting companies coast to coast - get to know AVL Growth Partners at avlgrowth.com. (Sponsored)

About SpringTime Ventures
SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech & insurtech, and logistics & supply chain. We look for founders with domain expertise, forging a path with a truly transformative technology. We only invest in software-based businesses in the USA. We bring a people-focused approach, work quickly, and reach conviction independently. Our initial check size is $600k. You can learn more about us and our approach.

Rich: 0:01

It's awesome to get data-driven advice on pitch decks. I especially love how Justin talked about snappy decks. He was also driving the point home about getting feedback from someone with critical distance from your business. Keep that in mind. It makes me think about a recent pitch from a founder that did not have a snappy pitch deck. In fact, the second slide was a wall of text. It was even neatly organized into little boxes all in about nine point font. And since it's the Halloween season, let's peer into the scary world of Rich's brain, and what happens when a founder pitches from a wall of text slide. Oh my. So much text. Uh, okay. Don't read the text. Don't read the text. Don't read the text. Listen to what he's saying. Listen to what he's saying. Okay. Is. And then. And, uh, and oh shit. I'm reading the text. Okay. Wait, wait, stop, stop. Stop reading the text. Stop reading the text. Don't read. Listen, listen, listen. Um, I don't even know what he's talking about. Where do we go? What is he saying? Oh, there, maybe he's talking about that point right there. Let me read that right now. Shit. What did he say? Huh? Oh my God. I just can't. I just can't. I tried so hard to not read the text that I ended up fighting myself in my own head and putting just as much effort towards reminding myself to listen as it was trying to listen. I was neither able to read the text nor was I able to listen intently to what the founder was saying. You just can't ask your audience to multitask in this way. Take Justin's advice, send your slides over to a friend with critical distance and ask them."Hey, is there too much text on here?" And if you're asking the answer is probably yes.

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Rich Maloy

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