This guide to fine tuning a good investor pitch by Garage Ventures helps the entrepreneur communicate the unique value his/her product brings to the market. It includes concrete tips to give a compelling investor pitch.

Credit: Garage Venture Technologies

David Merkoski, Partner and COO at Greentstart, returns to give an update version of his 2012 ARPA-E Summit talk on telling better stories. His presentation features a case study with Greenstart alumni Ridepal, and is followed by Q&A with the webinar audience.

Credit: David Merkoski

TEDxEast INTERCONNECTIVITY - 11.11.10: -Nancy Duarte- That Resonates with Me!

Why are some presentations spellbinding and some not? Well, this is the question Nancy Duarte takes on as she shares with the audience the secret of an excellent presentation. In this fascinating talk Nancy Duarte explains the model that she developed for designing transformative presentations. She explains the essential qualities of an excellent presentation by analyzing the speeches of Martin Luther King and Steve Jobs. She reminds us that the only way to spread important ideas is to make sure that one is communicating his or her ideas effectively using strong presentation skills.

Credit: Nancy Duarte

Andy Raskin takes the reader through five crucial elements that, together, help tell a compelling story in your pitch deck, drawing inspiration from Elon Musk's May 2016 presentation in which Tesla unveiled the Powerwall battery unit.

Credit: Andy Raskin

The entrepreneurs behind Venture Hacks download their know-how and advice into this book, Pitching Hacks. It is an extensive, colloquially-written resource of savvy tips and advice on pitching venture capital investors. The initial chapters focus on the importance of demonstrating traction and getting credible introductions to investors to start the discussion off on the right foot. The books goes on to walk though the crucial elements of effectively communicating your idea, based on your audience, through elevator pitches, and pitch decks.The authors close by suggesting that certain elements like detailed business plans and NDAs are not very effective in reality and propose alternatives. This book offers valuable advice in quick short observations, with specific advice shared by prominent venture and entrepreneurial pundits sprinkled throughout.

Credit: Venture Hacks

This thorough run through of important considerations and elements of demo day presentations by YCombinator helps entrepreneurs leverage the short pitch format to quickly communicate their company's value and relay information that would catch the attention of potential investors. Specific advice focuses on tuning your talking points to your audience, how to structure your presentation and what to include, how to use and design your slides, and some common pitfalls to avoid. This resource also lists some other useful sources.

Credit: Geoff Ralston

This Khan Academy series done in collaboration with Pixar animation studios walks through how to tell a good story. The series begins by demonstrating how storytelling is a natural part of how humans communicate and connect. It goes on to demonstrate how to use characters, story structure, visual language to help construct a good story. The last modules focus on teaching the basics of film grammar, to help effectively communicate through film medium. The earlier modules on the value of storytelling in communication are good general resources.

Credit: Khan Academy

In the Mom Test, entrepreneur Rob Fitz provides an honest guide on how to engage customers savvily and meaningfully in the path of Customer Discovery and Customer Development. The title's namesake example, the 'Mom test' highlights a simple situation of conversing with a prospective customer with the goal of focusing on their pain and perceived solutions, to learn about their process and priorities. The book goes on to highlight questions that provide valuable insights and rather than those that simply encourage your interviewee to reinforce your own beliefs about your market and product.

Credit: Rob Fitzpatrick

This one page tip sheet contains quick bullet points of how to target your talking points, and your delivery to effectively connect with your audience.

Elements of an Investor Pitch.

Credit: Sanjay Wagle, The Lightsmith Group

What VCs Are Looking For

Credit: Breakthrough Energy Ventures