The Successful Pitch

What would you do with $100 million?

An investor is always going to probe the amount of money you’re asking them to invest. They want to make sure you’ve correctly gauged what you need to scale your business and that you’re not going to come back to them in six months or a year to ask for…

21 Feb 2023 2 min

Is your market growing or declining?

An increase in the size of the market could present your company with an opportunity to take advantage of favourable market conditions. Conversely, a declining market could pose a serious threat to your business. During your pitch, potential investors will want to see if you are prepared for both scenarios…

14 Feb 2023 1 min

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

In a pitch, you have to be able to communicate your vision for your business to your potential investor. You need to strike a balance between being too aspirational and unrealistic and not having any growth plans at all. Investors always strive to get a good return on their investment…

7 Feb 2023 1 min

What keeps you up at night?

Investors want to make sure you are aware of all the risks that may affect your business – which you may not have mentioned during your actual pitch. They need to know you’ve considered all possible risks and they especially want to know which are the ones that give you…

31 Jan 2023 1 min

Defensive moats and strategies

Dealing with competition is an inevitable part of business. It’s simply a fact that when your business begins to thrive, new competitors will emerge and they will want a piece of the market pie. You need to show your potential investors during your pitch that you have strategies in place…

24 Jan 2023 1 min

Founders are the biggest risk

Do you have a plan in place if anything happens to you, the business founder? This may be an uncomfortable question but one you should definitely be prepared for when you’re pitching to potential investors. Investors will want to know that you have thoroughly thought through how your business will…

17 Jan 2023 1 min

Indirect competitors

When you’re delivering an investor pitch, it’s vital to show your potential investors that you are aware of who your indirect competitors are. These are businesses who may entice your target audience to spend their hard-earned money elsewhere, even if it’s on a different product or service. Knowing your indirect…

10 Jan 2023 1 min

Letters of intent

It’s important for you to be able to show potential investors that parties who are doing business with you have given you some form of commitment. Investors always try to mitigate their risk so if you can produce letters of intent during your pitch, it will increase your chances of…

3 Jan 2023 1 min

Next ten hires

Who would be your first ten staff hires? By asking this question, investors want to establish if you have a thorough understanding of the operational requirements of the various functions in your growing business and the respective roles that must be filled. Listen to episode 44 of The Successful Pitch…

27 Dec 2022 2 min

Attract and retain skills

Attracting and retaining the right calibre of staff is a fundamental component of scaling a business. It’s vital to invest in the right people by hiring top talent with expandable and diverse skill sets. A growing business also needs a staff complement to match its increasing operational demands. Be prepared…

20 Dec 2022 1 min

The mitigants

No company is immune to business risks. They impact your business in several ways and can pose a serious threat to the very existence of your organisation. It’s imperative to address these risks during your pitch and indicate to investors how you plan to mitigate against and minimise them. Investors…

13 Dec 2022 1 min

Minimum viable funding

When starting your business, it’s advisable to raise enough capital to sustain you throughout the growth phase . . . But, in some cases, it’s better to start with less capital. That’s because the growth phase will be a learning curve during which making mistakes will be unavoidable – and…

6 Dec 2022 2 min

Where is more margin?

In business, a return on investment is a by-product of margin profitability. Investors want a business with the potential to achieve increased profitability, a business that can identify areas in their operations that can be leveraged to achieve bigger margins. During your pitch, you need to be prepared to answer…

29 Nov 2022 1 min

What Do You Need The Money For

As an entrepreneur, you should expect investors to pose the following question during your pitch: “What do you need the money for, and how are you going to spend it?” This is a crucial question, and it needs a well-articulated response that clearly outlines your projected expenditure over a specific…

22 Nov 2022 2 min

Best Worst Most Probable

Investors always strive to get the highest possible return on their investment; they want to gauge if their investment will be worthwhile, how lucrative your business is and if it has growth potential. The financial performance of your business will be scrutinised in terms of capital requirements and profitability. You…

15 Nov 2022 2 min

Competition is coming

Every single business known to man has competition and to deny this is a fatal mistake. The question investors want you to answer is “What is your plan for dealing with competitors?” Investor’s want to know that you have thought this answer through in a strategic, realistic way. Join Allon…

8 Nov 2022 1 min

Units are better than revenue

Your break-even threshold is a pivotal point in your pitch. Surprisingly, investors don’t want this number given to them in terms of revenue, they would much prefer this figure in terms of units sold. Listen to Allon explain why in episode 36 of The Successful Pitch.

1 Nov 2022 1 min

The exit opportunity

As much as investors want their return on investment, they also want this return to transpire in a certain timeline – and this timeline varies from investor to investor. In this episode of The Successful Pitch, Allon prepares you for the question, “Who will buy my equity when I am…

25 Oct 2022 1 min

What kind of return will you give us?

Another question to be prepared for is the inevitable, “What’s in it for me?” Your investor isn’t in the investing game to give money away freely. You are one of three or four potential investments. This month. Join Allon in episode 34 of The Successful Pitch to gain some insight…

18 Oct 2022 2 min

Who else is doing something similar?

Join Allon Raiz in episode 33 of The Successful Pitch. Over the next 20 episodes, Allon will take you through some common questions investors ask and what they are looking for in your answers. This week’s question is “who else is doing something similar to you in the world?” Tune…

11 Oct 2022 1 min