Entrepreneurs frequently say too much or don't say enough. When the presentation is too long, it puts investors to sleep, indicates the entrepreneur is unsophisticated about the rules of engagement and is uncertain about what information is important. When the presentation is too short, the entrepreneur appears to be unwilling to share information. Blitshtein says that after much trial and error, he and Boymel found the optimal length of time to get across the history and potential of Future Graph is 30 minutes. Weak live demonstrations.
Live demonstrations are almost always a failure, particularly for technology products.
Blitshtein says he demonstrates his product upon request, but it's not part of his normal half-hour pitch to investors. Adduci says he's seen deals expire on the spot due to live demonstrations that flop. At one conference, an entrepreneur attempted a live Internet demonstration. But when the software his company developed couldn't connect to cyberspace, it no longer looked like such a good investment. The potential drawbacks of corporate videos notwithstanding, Adduci says that for product demonstrations, which can be extremely effective sales tools, use a video for a perfect pitch every time.