A bunch of the usual Atlanta suspects (Sanjay, Lance, Steven, Scott) have just announced Startup Gauntlet. I love the name. Pitching is like being in a gauntlet.

Your pitch probably sucks — they all do. It takes a lot of going around and around to hone your pitch and most importantly, become confident in what your pitch is. You have too many slides, too much text on each slide, you’re trying to cram 3 hours into 30 minutes. That’s just how it is. Pitching to VCs is much more of a art than a science. It takes lots and lots of practice (read: failures) and a bunch of luck. But most importantly, you have to iterate and get it down to a few key slides that convey your message.

Remember: the goal of the meeting is to get another meeting. And ultimately, you can get a close. Don’t try and answer every question possible in your slides — you’ll fail. Don’t try and cram a bunch of information on the slides for them to read, they can’t.

Slides should act more like an outline of the discussion. They should help you direct the conversation in a flow. But, in most cases, if you’re getting through the slides in an orderly fashion — you’re probably doomed. If they’re REALLY interested, you want be able to get through your deck.

Some of the best pitches I have done were one’s where at the end of the meeting, I was still on the 2nd or 3rd slide.

It’s not about the deck, stupid.

Think less is more when you put your presentation together.

I like to think in these terms:

• Who are we? (The team is 85-90% of the investment)
• What’s the problem? (Why do we need you?)
• What are we doing? (The solution to the problem and how’s it unique)
• The plan (The how and when, what are we doing today and what will we do with the money)

I’d suggest no more than 8-10 slides. You should put very little text on each slide. Instead, frame the topic transition with a bold and short title: “Our Team” Then, 4-5 big bullets. Watch out for the small text, you can’t read it.

Another tip: watch out on the contrast of your presentation. I once was pitching in the valley and was at a really big VC — really well know. I was my first introduction to these guys. They had really really cool offices with big logos of really well known Internet companies. I went into one of their conference rooms - and they were very nice. White everywhere. It was like being in a palace, literally. Then, they pulled down the backdrop (out of the ceiling) for the projector and it was white. And it was a bright and sunny day (even will shades turned).

I pulled up my slide deck, and I had a white background. FAIL. The contrast wasn’t too chipper and my deck was white washed out with everything else in the room. Completely impossible to have predicted this. But, as an entrepreneur, I was able to get around pretty easily by just quickly opening up the master and changing the colors. Lucky for me, I had followed the tips above and had simple text and only 8 slides.

A few other things to consider:

• You like your idea way more than anyone else
• There’s a lot you have even considered. Don’t try and have all the answers, it’s OK.
• A lot of the questions are more about how you react and think about the problems, less about their point of view.
• You’re wrong about the numbers
• You’ll need more money than you think
• You’ll need to hire a lot more people than you believe
• Fundraising will take you a lot longer than you’d like
• Most likely, fundraising will almost destroy you’re business (time, money and distraction)
• It will be emotionally draining — highs and lows
• If you’re traveling to raise money (out of state), and you think you’ll be able to do “regular business” around it, you’re probably fooling yourself. I would also try and do some
• You’re idea might not be that unique
• You need trusted advisors around you that have your vested interest and can help you as a sounding board
  Make sure you take into consideration the people you’re pitching and talk to them on their terms and background — do your research!
• Time is on the VCs side. You need competition, a compelling event (not running out of money!), something to get them off their butts to move. They’ll move fast if they think they’re losing a deal. Don’t push your luck here, though.
• It’s about execution. Results speak much louder than good intentions and plans

And the last and probably key tip I’ll leave you with: DO NOT EVER PITCH OVER THE PHONE. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER. If you can’t meet them in person, you can’t read their body language and build a relationship with them. Sorry, pitching over the phone doesn’t work. You will get hit up on this and let me give you some tips for this. Most likely, they’ll have their analyst want to screen you if you’re not getting a really strong, warm intro to a partner (or you’re getting a cold call). This is a weak sign, but one you may have to deal with. In this case, I would suggest you try and keep it at a very high level, almost act disinterested (but not a dick!). I would tell them you’re really focused on trying to build the business and would love to meet them sometime, but you’d prefer a face-to-face once that time is right. They’ll still try and get a bunch out of you, ask for your pitch deck or other materials, etc. Depending on what you have and at what stage, you can consider sending them some stuff. My recommendation is to never send them your pitch deck ahead of time. If you have a plan (which I would recommend is really very short as well), send that. Push for a face-to-face with a partner. If you can’t, your chance of success (and time suck) is much less. DON’T EVER TRY AND SEND A POWERPOINT AND PITCH OVER THE PHONE. You’ll be sorry you did. Trust me!