Espire – Final Presentation

1. Espire – Final Presentation ESPIRE Group ID:

2. Characteristics of a good plan • Authoring & Validation • Written by management team (support of experts) • Validated & run through with knowledgeable advisors • References to quality research (primary & secondary) • Structural • Crisp (16-20 slides) • Logically sequenced and de-jargonized

3. Characteristics of a good plan (contd..) • Approach • Relevance to audience (pointedly address key concerns & avoid analysis paralysis syndrome) • Simple business orientation (not too techie) • Realistic projections; promise the moon only if you can deliver it • Financial prudence; high sensitivity towards cash burn • Maturity & self-awareness (competition, returns, risk & gaps assessment) • Fair valuation expectation • Content • Deliver a 360 degree perspective; don’t tell only part of relevant story • Fact-based; avoid fluffy adjectives • Industry insights Vs industry information (domain expertise) • Demonstration of excellent ability to execute per operating plan • Exit opportunities if audience is investor; understand VC perspective on fund level returns

4. Structure • Elevator Pitch • Vision and Mission Statement • Market and Industry Environment • Value Proposition, Key Products/Services and Differentiation • Competitive Scenario and Entry Barriers • Business Model and Sales/Marketing Strategy • Market Traction • Management Team • Organization • Financials • Exit • Capital • Risks and Gaps

5. Elevator Pitch • What does the Company do? • What new benefits do you provide and/or what pain points are addressed? • How are you differentiated from competitors on a sustainable basis?

6. Vision and Mission Statement • Powerful and realistic enough to rally all stakeholders • Should reveal core focus area of the company • Avoid verbose and very generic statements • No jargon • True well thought through guiding principle for the company • Investors back current and potential market leaders

7. Market and Industry Environment • Details about target segment and industry such as • Market definition • Key segments (size and growth rates) • Market trends (challenges & opportunities) • Critical success factors • Visual illustration of eco-system • Competition • Vendors • Distributors • Customers

8. Value Proposition, Key Products/Services and Differentiation • Convince the audience that very large number of customers will pay good amount of money for your offering on a regular basis • List of key products and services being offered & future roadmap; one-trick ponies can be a challenge • Target customer profile; try to please all and you may please none • Importantly do not kid yourself about differentiation; competition is global

9. Competitive Scenario and Entry Barriers • ‘No competition’ is almost never a reality; acknowledge potential competition if no head-to-head player exists • Existence of some competition can serve for crucial market validation • Audience is sure to do its own competitive analysis; you might as well assist the process with matrix of • Competitor name • Business line • Geography • Relative key strengths and weakness of each • Entry barriers for the new entrants are critical

10. Business Model and Sales/Marketing Strategy • Revenue drivers • Cost drivers • Sales/marketing strategy including • Overall product/brand positioning • Sales & distribution strategy • Key business development alliances & partnerships • Pricing approach

11. Market Traction • A key clincher slide • Provide information on customer wins and historical traction with key accounts • Include applicable metrics such as • Key accounts • Repeat business • Customers won over from competition • Number of unique users • Distribution partners • Average revenue per account/user

12. Management Team • A very crucial clincher slide- good teams rarer than good plans • Provide information about management team including factors such as • Ex-employer/venture names • Past role descriptions and timelines • Key strengths • Achievements • Roles & high level responsibilities in this Company • Audience will look for indication of • Integrity • Domain expertise • Proven chemistry amongst core team • Established credibility in industry especially in case of large cos • Perseverance especially in case of start-ups

13. Organization • Ability to attract good talent across organization is also credible validation of company prospects • High level on BoD and BoA if applicable • Give a sense for the structure and size of the company ex. • Business division break-up and approach used • Human resource structure • No of employees in various functions/departments • Locations

14. Financials • Audited annual high level Profit and Loss & Cash Flow statement for the last three years (if applicable) • High level Profit & Loss & Cash Flow projections for the following three years • List key underlying assumptions for the top & bottom line projections • Breakdown the revenue per lines of business • Important hygiene factor: mention & maintain consistency in currency & denomination

15. Exit • Investors have definite intention of exit • Understand perspective on fund level return expectation • Think through and share specific exit scenarios ex. • Time frame and revenue scale for IPO or • Potential acquirers and specific reasons for their potential interest • Research & provide information on relevant & recent exit/valuation events in the market

16. Capital • If raising money specify how much & timelines for same • Provide breakdown of capital allocation • Calculate by when you will burn money being raised (if applicable) • If further rounds of funding are required then specify the plan • Raising too much is as dangerous as raising too little • Specify current capital shareholding structure • Share history of earlier funding (if any) • Dates of such transactions • Amounts raised • Pre-money valuations • Equity stake allotted

17. Risks and Gaps • Excellent opportunity to demonstrate maturity of management team • Mention specific risks that your venture and market/industry face • What are the likely reasons that would cause your Company to under-achieve its targets? • What steps are being taken to mitigate these risks? • Current gaps can pan for ex. • Strategy • Business model • Customer traction • Talent • Technology • Operations • What are the priorities & consequent plan around filling in these gaps?

18. Thank-you