Seminar: Pitches critiqued. Check it out:
(Press-Enterprise, The (Riverside, CA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Sep. 22--For entrepreneurs, raising enough money to turn their ideas into productive businesses can be a formidable task.
Navigating the road to profitability is often winding and hard to follow, and without sizable personal wealth or a rich uncle willing to invest, start ups usually have only one option: Present the plan to venture capitalists.
In an effort to help Inland entrepreneurs win funding to launch their businesses, the TriTech Small Business Development Center, which provides training and consulting to high-tech start ups in the area, held a daylong seminar Thursday to help the would-be executives polish their communication and presentation skills.
The center, which is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and Cal State Fullerton, recently moved from Irvine and is now administered by the Riverside Community College District. The center gives assistance to start ups, including helping them find venture capitalists.
Mark Mitchell, TriTech's director, said one of the group's goals is to prepare entrepreneurs for the process of seeking venture funding.
"It's a difficult maze out there for start ups -- where to go, who to talk to, what to say," Mitchell said.
More than 100 entrepreneurs attended the seminars, which were held at the Mission Inn in Riverside.
After a morning of tips from business consultants and TriTech specialists on presenting pitches to venture capitalists, several start up business people made presentations that were critiqued by a group of five investors.
Zaia Youkhanna presented a growth plan for his software company, Iress, which develops programs for real-estate transactions.
"You need a lot of practice," one of the investors, Frank Peters, told Youkhanna after his presentation.
Peters is president of the Orange County chapter of the investment group Tech Coast Angels, a group of about 270 investors who fund and advise technology companies throughout Southern California. Peters said the hours spent at workshops are well worth it for start up operators.
"But that's the beauty of the TriTech experience," Peters said. "If you were to come into Tech Coast Angels and you blow it, it's over."
Another Angels investor, Sid Mohasseb, said he still didn't understand the purpose of Youkhanna's company after the presentation.
"Very early on, you need to explain what you are and how you make money," Mohasseb said.
Youkhanna, of Irvine, said the practice run helped, and he appreciated the investors' suggestions.
In a few months, he said he will make real pitches to investors.
"What really matters is to come up with simple words that communicate what we do," he said. "We need to explain it in the ways the investors want to hear it."
SEMINAR TIPS: How to pitch your business to investors:
--Tell a story to investors.
--Use examples.
--Be honest about the company.
--Practice giving the presentation.
--Dress properly.
--Give short answers for follow-up questions.
SOURCE: TriTech Small Business Development Center
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Copyright (c) 2006, The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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