Not all startup pitches are created equal. I just did a quick survey of five local venture capitalists to see which startup pitches from this year stood out the most. Notably, a number of the pitches did lead to investments by the VCs—reinforcing the notion that, while the pitch isn’t everything, it’s certainly a crucial step along the way to a venture deal.
Chris Lynch, Atlas Venture
Best Pitch: LexShares, New York
Investment: Yes
Comment: “(Founder/CEO) Jay Greenberg showed up at a lunch I was having with someone else, and followed me to the bathroom pitching all the way. His pitch led with the punch line, was clear, concise and to the point.”
Alex Finkelstein, Spark Capital
Best Pitch: IEX, New York
Investment: Yes
Comment: IEX was profiled in the Michael Lewis book “Flash Boys,” and Finkelstein cold-called founder Brad Katsuyama to ask for a meeting. “We ended up meeting for a good two hours, and I asked him to come in for a full partner meeting on Monday. He said, ‘We’re not raising money for another number of months.’ I said, ‘Can you come in for a full partner meeting on Monday?’ He agreed and came. All of my partners were in the room waiting, and I was walking in with Brad, and I asked, ‘Do you have a PowerPoint or any material?’ He’s like, ‘I’ve got nothing.’ I thought, ‘This could be a disaster of a meeting.’ He ends up in there with no PowerPoint, and we end up having an amazing meeting for two hours. He just whiteboards the entire company. We were like, ‘What do we need to do to win this deal?’”
Liam Donohue, .406 Ventures
Best Pitch: indico, Olin College in Needham
Investment: Yes
Comment: “Slater and Alec (co-founders) have a complete mind meld in telling the story with passion, humor and brilliance. Super impressive given that they are under 20.”
Jo Tango, Kepha Partners
Pitch #1: Splashscore, Boston (editor’s note: now known as Mavrck)
Investment: No
Comment: “I thought Splashscore had a very good pitch: Very thoughtful entrepreneur with a clear mastery of the business. Many founders are great at pitching ‘products.’ That's great, but Lyle took it a step further and explained the ‘business’ he was building.”
Pitch #2: Kemvi, Cambridge
Investment: Yes (stealth seed project)
Comment: “Two really super-smart data scientists with chips on their shoulders and have something to prove. Incredible energy, insightful and really great folks with whom to work.... High IQ, humility and energy. An interesting combo.”
Kent Bennett, Bessemer Venture Partners
Best Pitch: Scratch, Cambridge
Investment: Yes
Comment: “They put the services of expert shoppers at your fingertips. Initially the idea of an app that used humans to help me shop for pretty much anything I need (gifts, home goods, clothes, etc.) struck me as the opposite of e-commerce… even if they were super-charged by technology. But then I used the service and found amazing presents for everyone on my Christmas list with zero effort. Plus I ended my year long quest for decent bed-sheets. I’m addicted.”
