We’re regularly asked, "What should we show investors?" While there’s no single right answer, we’d suggest having:
1. One page executive summary. Download an example summary here.
2. Short Power Point that tells the story. Guy Kawasaki does a great job talking to his 10/20/30 rule: ten slides, no more than twenty minutes, and no font smaller than thirty-point. Well said Guy!
3. Detailed bottoms-up (vs. a “there’s a billion people in the addressable market and we can get 0.5%, so...”) financial model in excel. Please don’t ever send anyone a PDF of a model—it defeats the purpose of being able to see the assumptions, etc.
4. OPTIONAL (and more for your use than investors in our opinion): Detailed business plan in word format. Keep it under 30 pages, including the summary of financials. Make it the place to play out all your details and assumptions. Often, it’s a way a founder can see the gaps in their own plan that might not be obvious in a shorter Power Point.
