You have a kickass product or idea. Your idea is revolutionary, cutting-edge and contagious. Now you need seed, startup, early-stage or expansion capital. What do you do? Where do you start? How do you go about pitching your idea proficiently? How do you sharpen your presentation to hold someone's interest long enough to fund you (or at least schedule you for a follow-up meeting)?

Raising capital (especially from a Silicon Valley venture capital) is not an easy task. You probably are already in the phase of writing your business plan and creating excellent presentation or slides. You want to pitch at Xuture LLC for venture or Xuture Capital. Here are a few tips from our founder Mr. Misra that can give you a competitive edge during this daunting process:

• It goes without saying, but keep your first pitch simple and free of tech jargon.
• Highlight your Competitive Advantage (if any).
• Highlight your unique earth-shattering opportunity (we love to hear this).
• Highlight your First-mover Advantage or "Fast second" Leap Frog competitive advantage.
• Highlight the pain you will be alleviating when people use your product or idea.
• Highlight the research that went behind your product or idea (if any).
• Highlight your FAB's - Features Advantages Benefits - The links between a product description, its advantage over others, and the gain derived by the customer from using it. One of the central, if now rather predictable, techniques used in the presentation stage of the selling process.
• Highlight your USP - Unique Selling Point or Proposition - This is what makes the product offer competitively strong and without direct comparison.
• Highlight your UPB - Unique Perceived Benefit - This is now one of the central strongest mechanisms in the modern selling process, an extension and refinement of the product offer, based on detailed understanding of the prospect's personal and organizational needs. A UPB is your USP from the customer's perspective, in other words, what your USP means to your customer, which is a very different way of approaching selling than from the traditional angle of seller-oriented USPs.
• Have a general idea about the Marketing Mix or 4 P's of Marketing: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.
• Remember (and distinguish between) your 3 C's of Marketing: Customers, Company, and Competition.
• Have you read our quick marketing primer? Read it here now.

Unauthorized use or duplication of this material is prohibited. Read our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions here.