2. 1"
Your job is to capture
their attention."
!Donʼt tell your life story. Focus on memorable highlights.!
Brendan Baker!
3. 2"
Youʼre in a market for early
stage funding."
Stand out. !
Donʼt take is personally. !
Nobody cares about your problems.!
Brendan Baker!
4. 3"
The best info, as concisely
as possible."
Be focused. !
Second draft = first draft – 25%. !
Third draft = second draft – 25%.!
Brendan Baker!
5. 4"
80/20: 80% what youʼve done,
20% where youʼre going."
Investors will extrapolate your past success to predict your future
progress. This is different in other pitching contexts.!
Brendan Baker!
6. 5"
Evidence trumps potential."
Every time you call yourself a ʻvisionary,ʼ a puppy dies. Youʼre
not a gamechanger, seasoned professional, innovative, next
generation, or any other overused catchphrase.!
Brendan Baker!
7. 6"
Conviction convinces."
Use present tense and strong wording. !
Avoid weak shit like ʻweʼre planning to…ʼ!
Brendan Baker!
8. 7"
Associate yourself with
success."
Capture the gold dust from your investors, past employers or
startups, customers, etc.!
9. 8"
ASM: Always Show
Momentum."
Venture investors invest in momentum. !
Set expectations: ʻweʼre still in private beta but…ʼ !
Use absolute and growth numbers.!
Brendan Baker!
10. 9"
Geeks rule."
AngelList is a technical community. Broadcast your geeks.!
Brendan Baker!
11. 10"
Give them something to
touch right away."
Provide a demo with login details or failing that, screenshots.
Donʼt rely on a 2 minute demo video. Busy investors wonʼt
watch it.!
Brendan Baker!
12. 11"
Get Help."
Ask your advisors, investors and supporters to share your profile,
leave comments, vote it up, etc. Social proof is important, and
everyone likes a winning team.!
Brendan Baker!
13. 12"
Be Honest. Always."
Misrepresenting information will damage your chances of
getting funding. And itʼs wrong.!
Brendan Baker!
14. Thank you. "
Thank you for building kick-ass companies.!
brendan@ox1.co!
Brendan Baker!
