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DartBoston gives us a sneak peek into a VC pitch

I’ve always had my  ideas about what pitching to venture capitalists is like; big board rooms, suits, and lots of pressure. DartBoston helped give me a sneak peak into what a VC pitch is really like with their Capitalize event held at Bain Capital Ventures last night.

On the soapbox pitching their idea were the guys behind Demoing, a company that connects companies with online influencers. Demoing lures early adapters with private beta and alpha invites and, in turn, encourages them to give feedback to the companies.

Demoing was pitching in front of Bain Capital Ventures‘ associates, Adam Marchick, Weston Gaddy, and Devesh Senapati.

The presentation was well prepared, Stephen Sprinkle and Mike Schroll from Demoing we’re unbelievably composed and handled every question shot at them with what felt like perfectly executed answers. I was raised on PowerPoint, so I am not a big fan, but I can recognize a good one when I see one. I would have included a little more interaction on the Demoing product during the pitch. The way the info was organized was good, but I needed some more screen shots or videos to keep my attention.

What I dug most about the pitch was the interaction with Bain Capital. Here’s some advice that the associates handed out for all you young entrepreneurs:

1) Don’t be combative.

2) Ask questions of the venture capitalists. The sales-pitch should go both ways. How will their portfolio be helpful to you?

3) It’s cool if you don’t know the answer to a question; actually, it’s really cool. Ask for the VCs’ input from the outset. They like that.

DartBoston’s co-founders, Jake Cacciapaglia, Cort Johnson, and Alexa Scordata (who’s now based in New York) put on quite an event. Between Cort moderating the event, Jake facilitating the online streaming, and Alexa holding it down in the online chat I was very impressed. They’re all professional yet approachable, which is definitely a good mix.

Young students and entrepreneurs looking to get some networking experience and, at the same time learn a thing or two, make sure you check out an upcoming DartBoston event.

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