In today’s world of back-to-back Zoom calls, it can be tough for founders to cut through the clutter and genuinely pique an investor's interest in the first meeting. Especially when you only have the typical 30 minutes. As if that weren’t challenging enough, now founders are under greater pressure to raise in a tighter capital landscape. 

Pitching is more art than science — it’s about creating a strong connection with investors. Meeting in person makes it far easier for founders to read the room and observe body language, but the process can be less efficient than virtual calls. Now that Zoom is the primary pitching medium, founders are able to meet with more investors, but being virtual only exacerbates certain pitching challenges.

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You’ve probably read advice about pitching VCs — best practices for pitch deck layout, core content to include, warm introductions, etc. But as our founding partner, John Vrionis explains, the presentation itself is practically useless without the voice-over. “Investors want to work with a founder who has clear command of the business and strategy. Slides are your props, but the main attraction must always be you! A good investor knows that a successful entrepreneur must compel investors, customers, and future employees — part of the evaluation is showing how well you do it.”

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As a repeat founder who’s raised more than $100M in venture capital across multiple companies — and now as a VC “on the other side of the table” — I’ve reflected on what I think makes an effective first pitch in today’s market. While chemistry often is more important than anything else, there are tactics a founder can use to optimize success. After listening to hundreds of founders, there is sometimes a subtle but critical factor that can separate the good from great pitches: pacing.

Effective pacing is often overlooked because it’s among the least discussed aspects of pitching. So many talented founders don’t even know if their rhythm resonates with investors — here are some tips to get it right. 

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Ace the pace of your pitch

Whatever you do, don’t rush your narrative. While it seems simple, nailing the right pace of your pitch is one of the most important things to practice relentlessly before meeting with your top targeted investors. Tell your story in a measured meter — it's far better to land your key points in a clear and compelling manner than hit every detail in your pitch deck. 

Speak succinctly, use shorter sentences, and get to the point. Pause briefly after key points to let them marinate and allow space for investors to chime in with questions. If investors ask questions during your presentation, that’s a positive sign that they are engaged. In fact, carve out ample time to take questions, and ideally give yourself the opportunity to ask questions to the investors at the end of your pitch.

If you can tell that you’re running short on time, don’t rush to cover all your slides. Think on your feet and prioritize — then say something like, “I can see we’re coming close on time, so I’ll skip ahead to this next point to make sure we cover it." 

In my early days as a founder, I didn’t ace the pace from the get-go. It took me many meetings to reach what I considered to be my ideal pace. This is thanks to investors who heard my early pitch — they said I rushed certain sections and jammed in too much content for shorter meetings. 

There’s no standard rule for pacing, but the more you practice, the better you’ll get. 

Key takeaway: Don’t make investors work too hard. Make it easy for them to listen and digest your story. 

Limit founder background info to 3–5 minutes

First impressions are everything, which is why your introduction is critical. Think of your opening gambit and founder background as the trailer for your pitch — it’s the hook that makes an investor lean forward and think, “I’m curious to learn more from this team.” 

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Investors want to know why you’re passionate about your business. To do this, talk briefly about the genesis of your idea and highlight relevant career experiences that support your unique founder insight. Cover the high points of your career; skip unnecessary details, such as unrelated skills or work experience. 

Going too deep on unrelated career experience is a common issue when founding teams of three or more are on a call. Be selective about highlighting the most stellar points of your experience, and experiment with positioning your background in different ways. That’s where practice comes into play. 

Key takeaway: Don’t burn too much time on founder introductions and don’t cover every experience on your resume. Focus on experience related to your business idea. You’ll need to make the most of every second remaining of your precious 30 minutes.

Pick the right players to pitch

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Any more than three presenters during an initial call stifles the flow. If an investor wants to meet more of your team, you can arrange that later. The CEO is expected to do most of the talking, but all presenters should be aligned on their specific speaking role and time allotment.

While each speaker doesn’t necessarily need equal air time, it’s important that they present on a topic they’re well-versed in. If they say very little or nothing at all, an investor will wonder, “Why are they here?” 

Key takeaway: Get the right cooks in the kitchen. 

Avoid detail overload and prepare to answer questions

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Focus your energy on quality over quantity and making impactful points instead of all the points. Don’t get too into the weeds about the intricacies of your product, platform, or technology before you have set the right foundation. Illustrating knowledge and depth is critical, but it also can be confusing if you jump right in without a logical build up. Remember: the goal is to pique the investors’ interest and provide enough time during the conversation and at the end for investors to ask follow-up questions.

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If you’re able to answer questions efficiently on the spot, you’ll create a dialogue that helps to connect with investors. Be mindful of the amount of time you spend answering questions — be succinct so that you can move on to the rest of your slides. You never want an investor thinking, “they really nailed that one question, but I still don't understand the business…” If you feel like you need to go long on your answer, try answering as efficiently as you can and say, “I’m happy to set up time to talk more about this.”

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Think of your presentation as chapters of a book — edit the narrative of each chapter to keep the audience engaged. You always have to be able to think quickly on your feet in a pitch, but don’t rely on that alone— create your own FAQs in advance and practice answering questions that you think investors might ask. 

Key takeaway: Avoid information overload! Think like an editor and focus on the “headlines”' that trigger investors to become hungry for more information.

Practice makes pitch-perfect

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Practicing your pace can make the difference between a multimillion-dollar check and a polite pass. Your storytelling skills will become second nature over time, but when you’re starting out, time each section and record your presentation at least a few times.  

Most people learn best by doing, so get out there and practice giving your pitch in person and virtually with different constituents. Colleagues, fellow founders, even friends and family, can give you constructive feedback.

Practicing with a “test audience” is also a good way to help you prepare to answer questions on the spot. 

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As we talk about in the Field Guide, don’t start by pitching to your most hopeful firms. Instead, start by pitching to your “third tier.”

• Tier 1: The top five to 10 firms and partners you’d ideally work with
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• Tier 2: The second, slightly less ideal list of 10 firms and partners you’d ideally work with
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• Tier 3: The firms you and your co-founders would consider, but not optimize for

Key takeaway: Finish strong — wrap your pitch on a high note by answering questions from investors or asking them questions. If you didn’t allow enough time for dialogue, you might have to end the call abruptly, without really knowing if you connected with the investor or what the next step is in the process. 

If you practice enough to make your pitch intentional and intriguing for investors, you’ll build the bridge to the next step — your second meeting.

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