When you’re doing a stage pitch, a demo can really liven up your connection with the audience. Plus, being able to explain what the product is and does while showing it in action is a great way to make a story visually interesting as well. That makes a lot of sense when you’re pitching in TechCrunch’s Battlefield, for example: If we had to sit through 200 back-to-back pitches where people were only using pitch decks, we’d all be comatose by the end of the first day.

However, when you’re pitching to VCs to raise money, there’s more to it. Before you start planning how you’ll demonstrate your product, you first need to consider whether you need a demo at all. The answer may very well turn out to be no.

The Problem with Demos

Demos are high-risk, low-return activities when you’re trying to convince someone to invest in your company, and there could be many reasons for that. Demos take time to set up (are you connected to the Wi-Fi? Is there a firewall?). For privacy reasons, you can’t use live customer data, so you need demo data. And some things simply can’t be easily demonstrated. For example, with one of my past companies, a virtual events platform, the magic didn’t really happen unless there were at least a few hundred people live on the platform.

There’s a lot that can go wrong during a demo: They usually go longer than anticipated, and if you have to troubleshoot something on the fly, your nerves will eat you alive. And all for what? Unless you are building a very specific type of product that can be demoed in a boardroom or over a Zoom call, it doesn’t actually help all that much.

Your investors are unlikely to be the target audience for your product, and they almost certainly aren’t domain experts to the point where they’ll know why your product is head and shoulders above the competition just by watching a demo. Think about why you are sitting in that room in the first place. You’re there to raise money.

What Investors Really Care About

To convince someone to invest in your company, you do need to summarize what you’ve done to date, sure, but the vast majority of your pitch should be about the future: what you are going to build, markets you’ll enter, customers you’ll woo, and all the wonderful ways you’ll change the world and make buckets and buckets of money along the way.

Investors barely care about your product the way it is today, which is what you’d be demoing. What they care about is whether you have a clear vision for how to grow your business in the future.

When to Use a Demo

So when should you use a demo? If you’re launching a new product that’s particularly relevant and exciting to the investors you’re pitching, then using a demo can be a good way to showcase what it does. But if you’re just trying to get money for an existing business, then a demo is probably not going to help.

In fact, in many cases, a demo can actually hurt your chances of getting investment. If you try to demonstrate something that’s complex or requires a lot of setup, you’ll only end up confusing the investors and making it harder for them to understand what your product does.

Alternatives to Demos

If you don’t want to do a demo, there are plenty of other ways to showcase what your product does. You could create a video or animation that shows how it works, for example. Or you could use props and graphics to illustrate the key features.

In fact, one of the most effective ways to demonstrate what your product does is simply to tell a story about it. If you can find a way to make your product seem exciting and relevant to the investors, then you’ll be much more likely to get their attention and win their investment.

Conclusion

When it comes to using demos in your pitch, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on what kind of product you’re launching and what kind of investors you’re trying to attract. But if you do decide to use a demo, make sure that it’s not just a dry recitation of features – find a way to make it exciting and engaging, and don’t be afraid to tell stories about your product.

Additional Tips

• Keep it simple: Don’t try to cram too many features into your demo. Focus on the most important ones.
• Practice beforehand: Make sure you’ve rehearsed your demo several times before presenting it to investors.
• Use props and graphics: If you can’t demonstrate something directly, use props and graphics to illustrate what it does.
• Tell a story: Find a way to make your product seem exciting and relevant to the investors.

By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to creating an effective demo that will help you win investment for your company.