You likely need funding to grow your business beyond where you are today. For example, you may have already received some capital from banks, friends, family, or even government loans along the way. Now that you’ve had a bit of warm-up in describing your business venture and proving its value to others, it's time to pitch investors for venture capital (VC) and scale to new heights.

Enter the business pitch.

A business pitch is a convincing argument used to persuade an investor to fund your business (usually for equity in return). Investors can include other business owners, venture capitalists or angel investors. Pitching involves presenting your business, providing facts and figures that show where you are today, and painting a picture of future success. Once you’ve found an opportunity to get in front of investors, you need to know how to pitch your business successfully (without letting those dang nerves get in the way).

We’ve interviewed two experts to help you pitch so you can get funded. 

Meet the experts:

Radha Kapoor (RK) - Radha Kapoor works on the venture ecosystem for Clearco. Previously, she led partnerships for First Republic Bank's tech and venture efforts, worked with Techstars, and founded a consumer tech startup in the fashion space. She started as a corporate lawyer at Skadden, Arps in New York.

Nicole Verkindt (NV) - Nicole Verkindt is an entrepreneur in residence at Clearco, helping founders to sell their businesses through ClearX. She is the founder of OMX, a global procurement platform specialized in driving socio-economic returns. Nicole is on the Board of the Canadian Crown Corporation, which has over $1B in revenue performing government-to-government contracts between Canada and other countries worldwide. She’s a technology commentator on CBC and a technology columnist. She was also a “Dragon” on CBC’s Next Gen Dragon’s Den, dedicated to early-stage technology businesses, an investor on Gimlet media’s podcast show “The Pitch”, and is an angel investor. In 2019, she was named StartUp Canada’s Woman Ambassador of the year and previously named one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40.

What do the best pitches have in common?

NV: First and foremost, all good pitches are extremely clear. The presenters clearly articulate the problem they solve and thoroughly explain their offer. Ideally, I’ve personally had—or know someone with—the problem they are solving, so the offer’s relatable to me.

Passion shines through when you care about solving a pain point. Any presenter can fiddle around with wording but you can never replace the “feeling” you give off in a pitch. If you stir up positive emotions in those you are pitching to, they are bound to come on board and help somehow.

 If the listeners start to light up, interrupt you, offer their own insight, it's a really really good sign!