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Build Investor Awareness to Secure Next-Round Financing

Crafting a killer pitch deck, documenting the investor journey, and executing a well-structured awareness campaign to gain next-round financing.

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Thought Model: Build Investor Awareness to Secure Next-Round Financing

Member Challenge

Your startup needs to quickly secure new financing. Leadership looks to the PR head to support their efforts. PR will face the following challenges:

  • A looming deadline where existing financing will end.
  • Missing ideal investor profile (IIP) or who we should be targeting.
  • A lack of targeted documents for investors to review in the due diligence process.
  • A lack of a dedicated virtual secure data room designed for investors.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

Our research shows that as PR starts to implement, they often run into an organizational lack of the following.

  • Proper tools and databases to find, analyze and target potential investors.
  • Knowledge of what investors want in a pitch deck and due diligence documents, so they contain needed content.
  • Key spokespersons prepared to speak with potential investors.

Impact and Result

This SoftwareReviews blueprint provides PR with the guidance and tools to support the CEO in securing additional funding quickly. Use this blueprint to:

  • Identify key investors who invest in companies at your stage in the start-up journey.
  • Craft investor-focused messaging and information placed in the proper locations and channels.
  • Ensure external databases have accurate company information.

Research & Tools

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1. Build Investor Awareness to Secure Next-Round Financing Phases 1-2 – This blueprint shows how using public relations can significantly increase the success of receiving funding from investors.

By following the step-by-step process, the PR lead can fully understand the ideal investor profile, be able to identify specific investors, build documents that meet investor needs and support the necessary virtual data room.

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Build Investor Awareness to Secure Next-Round Financing – Phases 1-2

2. Investor Pitch Deck Template – This detailed template will guide you in building an investor pitch deck with needed information.

This template guides you in determining the information needed by investors as they evaluate a funding decision.

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Investor Pitch Deck Template

3. Investor Interview Insight Guide – This detailed document will guide you as you interview investors to gain feedback.

This guide enables you to record feedback from select investors about their approach to evaluating companies looking for funding.

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Investor Interview Insight Guide

4. Investor Meeting Guide – This template can be used to coach the key spokespeople.

This template guides you in preparing the key spokesperson for investor meetings.

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Investor Meeting Guide

5. Investor Campaign Presentation Template – This template will enable you to show the PR campaign results.

Use this template to document outcomes.

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Investor Campaign Presentation Template

6. Investor Campaign Tracking Templates – These templates make it easy for you to track progress on tasks for the campaign to ensure the funding is a success.

Use these templates to define key responsibilities and tasks to complete, document investor contacts, determine the due diligence documents needed, and verify accuracy of source data websites used by investors.

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RACI and Task Checklist
Key Investor Contacts Template
Due Diligence Document Checklist
Investor Website Data Checklist

Onsite Workshop: Build Investor Awareness to Secure Next-Round Financing

Onsite workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost onsite delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Do-It-Yourself Implementation

The slides in this Best Practice Blueprint will walk you step-by-step through every phase of your project with supporting tools and templates ready for you to use.

Project Accelerator Workshop

You can also use this Best Practice Blueprint to facilitate your own project accelerator workshop within your organization using the workshop slides and facilitation instructions provided in the Appendix.

Module 1: Alignment and Ideal Investor Defined

The Purpose

Gain Alignment, Set Goals, Identify Ideal Investor Profile

Key Benefits Achieved

Plan is Defined and the Ideal Investor is Identified

Activities Outputs
1.1 Download and complete the PR Campaign to Build Awareness to Secure Investor Financing - RACI and Task Checklist to define the responsibilities of each key leader.
1.2 Set goals and timelines.
  • PR funding campaign roles are clearly defined and agreed upon.
1.3 Identify a comprehensive data source to be used to conduct research and identify key investor attributes and conduct research.
  • The investor profile is identified.

Module 2: Master Investor List and Gathering Information

The Purpose

Create Master Investor List, Gather Information to Build Assets

Key Benefits Achieved

Master Investor List Created, Information for Assets has been Collected

Activities Outputs
2.1 Create a master list of investors that align with our current start-up stage and industry.
  • Research on Ideal Investors is complete, and a master list is created.
2.2 Share the master investor list with the CEO and CFO.
  • The CEO/key spokesperson has time to review the master investor list.
2.3 Gather information needed to develop a targeted pitch deck.
2.4 Gather information needed to develop the needed due diligence documents.
  • Information to create custom documents is gathered.

Module 3: Building Assets and Gain Input

The Purpose

Ensure Documents Contain Intel to Meet Investor Needs

Key Benefits Achieved

Final Documents are Confirmed to Meet Investor Needs

Activities Outputs
3.1 Develop the custom targeted pitch deck.
3.2 Develop the due diligence documents.
3.3 Share the documents and gain approval.
  • The pitch deck and due diligence documents are created and approved.
3.4 Identify 2-3 investors and hold “mock” meetings with them to receive feedback on the due diligence documents. Also, ask where these investors conduct research on the companies they fund.
  • Mock investor interviews provide valuable feedback on documents.

Module 4: Verify Data Sources Are Accurate and Interview is Ready

The Purpose

Update Data Sources, PR Campaign is Ready, Interview Room Ready

Key Benefits Achieved

Final Preparations are Completed

Activities Outputs
4.1 Check and update the data sources used by investors for accuracy.
  • Data sources include accurate company data.
4.2 Outline a targeted PR campaign to raise investor awareness.
  • PR Campaign for investors is defined.
4.3 Discuss set-up and cost of the video conference room for virtual meetings.
  • Video room details are defined.

Module 5: Final Prep Completed and Spokesperson Prepared

The Purpose

Prepare Secure Virtual Data Room, Coach the CEO/Spokesperson, Final Prep

Key Benefits Achieved

Confidence that Everything is Ready

Activities Outputs
5.1 Work with Technology to identify a secure virtual data room provider.
5.2 Practice a “mock” upload of the documents to the secure virtual data room.
  • Secure virtual data room is created, and documents are uploaded.
5.3 Hold “mock” training session to coach the CEO/key spokesperson for investor meetings.
  • The CEO/key spokesperson is prepared for investor meetings.
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