Tips for entrepreneurs to polish their pitches for funding

Without funding entrepreneurs can do nothing with their brilliant ideas, but asking for money to make your ideas a reality is not always that easy.

“When I am asked whether entrepreneurs are born or made, I respond that the evidence shows that it is neither. Entrepreneurs have to be quick. One of the conditions that needs to be present for an entrepreneur to precipitate or be quick, is their ability to learn and iterate. In other words, they must be able to apply what they learn in their businesses, particularly in the early stages,” Allon Raiz, founder and CEO of Raizcorp, who is also a judge of the Engen Pitch and Polish for entrepreneurs.

“If I happen to be standing in front of a room full of entrepreneurs when I am asked this question, I have a party trick to really underscore my answer. I ask all those entrepreneurs who are currently in a business to put up their hands and between 95% to 100% usually do that.

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“Then I ask how many of them are running the exact same business with the same business model and the same products and services as when they started out. One hundred per cent of the hands go down. Not one hand to be seen.”

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Adaptability is key

Raiz says that the only reason these entrepreneurs’ businesses are still operating today is because they have constantly changed their business models, pricing and products or services.

“Their ability to read feedback, learn from it and repeat is the mark of a successful entrepreneur. Where do we learn from? There are a number of sources of feedback that are immediately available to us as entrepreneurs and instead of becoming defensive about feedback or criticism, we should relish the opportunity to learn from it and make the deliberate choice to apply the learning in our businesses.”

He says investors and financiers use a particular lens when looking at your business. They tend to be unemotional and are concerned about three main areas:

• the accuracy of your assumptions
• the known and unknown risks and
• the ongoing demand for your product or service.

“Therefore, their questioning will usually focus on these areas and they will highlight any incorrect assumptions you have made in the design of your business case, new risks that you have never even considered and any potential friction from clients when it comes to buying your product or service.”

Raiz says it is important to take their questions and comments seriously and then begin to refine your model, your assumptions and even your products based on their feedback.

“I strongly advise entrepreneurs who are pitching to an investor or financier to always bring along a pen and paper to write down the questions they are asked after the pitch.”

He says some of the questions may not be valid and others may be the function of a misunderstanding (but this is also a learning on how to pitch better) but the remaining questions will be highly valuable in ensuring that you derive the benefit of their years of experience and exposure to multiple businesses.

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Ideas must have substance

When the 2022 winner of Engen Pitch & Polish was announced last year, Riaz said it is not just about the pitch.

“It is also about the substance of the business and whether the entrepreneur will be able to effectively use the prize money to help scale the business to the next level. That means that the judges had to consider more than the actual pitch and spent several hours before the pitches scrutinising a range of documentation submitted by the contestants, including their financials.”

Luvo Gugwana from Durban was named the winner last year for his social enterprise Green Arch Innovations, which adopts smart and sustainable food-production systems, such as aquaponics, to help alleviate poverty and food insecurity in rural and urban settlements.

Gugwana walked away with R650 000 in cash, which will be paid out over two years as he achieves the business milestones he laid out in his pitch, as well as a bursary worth R350 000 for a full two-year Raizcorp incubation programme.

Entrepreneurs can still enter the 2023 Engen Pitch & Polish programme as a wildcard contestant. Wildcard entries open on 8 May 2023 on the website, www.pitchandpolish.com.