MedTech + Mindset Newsletter #038

Welcome to the MedTech + Mindset Newsletter!

I'd like to extend a big 'thanks' to each and every one of the 30 new subscribers who attended my "Pitch Deck Mistakes...and How to Fix Them" presentation at the DTx West meeting last Wednesday. Your attention and engagement made it a highly interactive and informative session, and I'm grateful for your participation.

Some Thoughts about Pitch Materials and Pitching Your Company and Product

Insight from Matt Tucker  

As promised, I want to remind you to download the "Ten Medtech Commandments" eBook through the portal. It's an excellent resource that will provide you with useful insights into navigating the complex world of medtech entrepreneurship. 

During our presentation, I touched on several critical concepts related to fundraising for early-stage companies. Here are three additional insights I thought would be beneficial: 

1. The analysis and reflection you do to create a world-class pitch deck will cause you to ask questions about your business that will lead to improved success. When you're creating a pitch deck, you need to be able to tell a compelling story about your product, your market, and your team. This process forces you to think deeply about your business and identify areas where you can improve. 
2.  A more nuanced view of fundraising is not just about the money you raise, but also about the valuation you are able to get. While raising money is essential for early-stage companies, it's also important to consider the valuation you receive. A higher valuation can give you more negotiating power and help you retain more equity in your company. 
3.  When you're pitching, it's your meeting to run, so don't let others, including investors, distract you from telling your story. It's important to stay focused and stay on track during your pitch. Don't let investors derail the conversation by dragging you into rabbit holes like debating the science. If this happens, politely redirect the conversation and promise to follow up after the meeting. 
4.  If you're in front of an investor that says you need to show revenue in 6-12 months and says they are a 'regulated healthcare products' investor remember that both Exempt and Class I devices are considered regulated and have a pathway to revenue in that time-frame.  Any time you hear a statement that doesn't make sense or kicks off your Spidey-sense, ask a question and get curious to understand at a deeper level.    

I hope that these insights will help you as you continue to develop your business and seek funding. Again, thank you for attending our presentation, and I look forward to staying in touch through the Medtech + Mindset Newsletter. 

Here's the framework I covered yesterday. Remember that if you'd like to explore the full Pitch Deck Accelerator course including all the frameworks and exercises to more effectively get to the heart of the answers, then visit here.

Pitch Horror Stories

Insight from Matt Tucker  

There was keen interest in some pitch horror stories.  Sometimes misery loves company.  A few I've experienced. 

• During COVID we did one pitch where non of the VC's would get on camera.  There were about 5 people that joined and no one would turn their camera on so we could see them.  About 20 minutes in we decided to end the call because there was no interaction from them at all.
• One time a number of years ago a VC 'scientific advisor' refused to believe that the mechanism of action for a biologic 'was sound science' and wouldn't let it drop.  Every time we tried to move on he kept coming back to it, completely derailing progression.
• After one pitch, and probably 5 followup conversations and a data room share an investor came back and said, "Your product looks too different from other products in this category" and passed.
• One high net worth individual investor asked so many 'in the weeds questions' during followups it was obvious that he wasn't able to focus on big problems, and was likely to drown us in micro questions and followups if we took his money.  We passed.
• And...one investor got on the line after multiple reschedules at their request and opened the call up by saying...."I don't really know why we are having this call, we're fully committed and have closed our fund." 

Stay positive and be resilient: you'll be the better for it.

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That's it for this week.

 — Your Friends at the M+M Team.

 
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