Investment Presentations

Spring is in the air! It's that time of year again when Annual General Meetings are the order of the day. In lock step with AGMs seem to be investment presentations - presentations developed to attract investment. I'm in the midst of developing a presentation for a private company to raise in the millions of dollars.

These are important presentations! There's a lot on the line. However, getting a start on one is relatively easy, as the outlines are typically very similar. The hard part is filling in the facts and weighting them appropriately.

So, here's a "generic" outline, realizing that it will change according to the company, industry and situation:

Introductions
Key players in room and roles in presentation - slide with company logo

Brief Overview
Investment opportunity – key benefits (keep to one slide)

Agenda
Tell them what you're going to tell them (keep to one slide)

Company History
Brief (up to today) Here you want to end with a snapshot of the company as it is today.

Management
Absolutely critical slide (particulary in today's economic environment) board of directors/key management (keep to one slide)

So, there you have it - a relatively simplistic outline of an investment presentation that will hopefully get you started. As part of the current presentation we're developing at the moment, video will play a important part. But remember, don't "sell" the company - rather put it in a great light. Investors get "sold" far too much and if you're obvious, this can destroy your credibility. In most presentations, there are also legal implications involved with projections, so make sure that if that's a key element of your presentation that you consult a lawyer.