How to Give a Successful Pitch That Helps You Start Business in China

A great business pitch is among the first of many hurdles a foreign startup must jump to start business in China. For every 1,000 pitches an investor hears, he or she will fund only 100 of them. Statistically, the odds for success are not great. You can beat the statistics, however, by crafting a pitch that that turns heads and gets funded. Sometimes you only get 10 minutes to pitch your business opportunity to the investors, and below is a format have been successfully used by most contestants from IPIEC Global, an international innovation & entrepreneurship contest organized by WTOIP.

1. Problem: Show a problem to solve, ideally one that investors will understand immediately, and relate to. This is very important to start business in China as, if presented well, sparks the interest of the investors. Angels and VCs are looking for disruptors and if you present them with an idea that tackles an important problem you will have their attention.
2. Solution: Share what’s unique about your product and how it will solve the issue you shared in the previous slide. Keep it short, concise, and easy for the investor to explain to others. Ideally, the solution is something investors will also understand and relate to, but avoid using buzz words unless your investors are very familiar with your industry.
3. Market Opportunity: How many people or buyers have the problem and how much is the solution worth? Here is where you'll talk about the real addressable market for your product and what percentage of the market you're looking to dominate.
4. Secret Sauce: Why should your target customers use your product or service over your competition? Your product may have a feature no one else does, or maybe it’s just easier to use. Whatever your key differentiator is, you need to show it.
5. The Team: Investors invest in people first and ideas second, so be sure to share details about your professional team and why they are the right people to start business in China. Also be sure to share what skill-sets you may be missing on your team. Most start-up teams are missing some key talent – be it marketing, management expertise, programmers, sales, operations, financial management, etc.
6. Traction: Take some time to share the relevant traction you’ve had. This is your opportunity to blow your own horn. Impress the investors with what you and your team have accomplished to date. Show milestones achieved, momentum, traffic, anything you can to make your story – and the opportunity – presentable.

Remember, as long as you well prepared and successfully deliver on what an investor wants, you will have a truly irresistible pitch that investors couldn’t turn down.

WTOIP, as a sharing service platform with a focus on IP, provides comprehensive entrepreneurial and legal services to help foreign tech startups start business in China with no legal hurdles. Services include potential business partner pitching. If you are interested in starting business in China, contact us and follow these tips will win you half the battle.