In Chapter 4 of 16 in his 2010 Capture Your Flag interview, Slava Rubin answers "Based on Your Experiences as an Entrepreneur, as Someone Involved in Film and Someone Involved in Philanthropy, What are the Most Important Elements When Making a Good Pitch for Financing?" Rubin shares fundraising pitch lessons learned from his work financing films, starting a charitable foundation, and securing startup investors. Rubin's recipe begins by being honest and passionate and continues with being clear and concise, taking no more than 3-5 minutes to communicate the idea. Regardless of whether it is a movie, a business venture, or a philanthropy, Rubin advises need to present a team with an ability to execute and plan to apply financing to specific milestones and accomplishments.
Slava Rubin is CEO and co-founder of Indiegogo, the world's largest crowdfunding platform. Indiegogo empowers anyone, anywhere, anytime to raise funds for any idea—creative, cause-related or entrepreneurial. Prior to Indiegogo, Rubin worked as a management consultant. He earned his BSE degree from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Transcription:
Erik Michielsen: So based on your experience in the film world, the entrepreneurial field, and the philanthropic world, raising money, what is your advice to others on the most important elements to include when making a pitch?
Slava Rubin: I think the most important thing is to really be honest about what your pitch is and you can`t really fake a good pitch. You have to be passionate about what you`re trying to offer and you have to also make it real. Just because you can say real quickly three sentences doesn't make it a good pitch. The idea has to be clear and you have to be able to say it within five minutes, hopefully within three minutes, but definitely within five. As soon as you start stumbling explaining away what your idea is, it`s because you don`t understand the idea yourself. So it`s really important to make the idea feel real, be passionate about the idea, because someone who wants to invest in an idea, whether it`s philanthropy, a movie or a venture, they`re investing for the long term. You can`t fake passion, you can fake a pitch, but people can read through people faking passion, so you have to be realistic. Plus, the ability to execute has to be there, on your team, in your partners, in your [pause] whoever it is you`re lining up with, it has to be known that the money will go toward accomplishing something as opposed to pie in the sky visions.