In this episode of the Dear BAMf podcast, we speak with Justin Helmig, CEO at IMPLAN.Justin Helmig has over 20 years of executive marketing, product, and general management experience with both public and private software companies. In this episode, Justin answers tough marketing and PR questions from our listeners, including this one about what investors want to see in a deck.
Dear BAMf,
My startup is about to go for its next round of funding — which will be our Series C. As the head of comms, I want to make sure we make the strongest splash to all the potential investors, particularly as our market is crowded. The good news is we have great numbers and a handful of excellent thoughtful pieces of media coverage. Running a report on our top competitors, we've certainly been leading in sharing voice. What should I suggest to show in our investor deck? Do investors want to see pie charts, volume of coverage, headlines, and top outlets? — All of the above, please advise.
Listen now to hear how Justin advises this writer to move forward.
JH: I've been incredibly proud of my team. We've stayed focused through COVID and lots of external distractions. But the team's done a great job of balancing their contributions with their obligations, which have changed dramatically from a family perspective. We've continued to march forward and haven't missed a beat. We continue to grow the business and continue to grow the team — all during a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
JH: I've always liked empathy-oriented stories. Any way that you can relate to customers, investors, reporters, or an ecosystem as a whole, creates that genuine story and that genuine relationship.
Investors are looking for great entrepreneurial stories. Our founder has one, he is a smart Midwest guy who's got a lot of ambition. He was able to create three companies and two IPO's prior so we understand the challenges that investors face across all of their portfolio companies every day. It's a great way to show we're human, that we're aimed in the right direction and that we're making progress, but not without fault.
What should I suggest to show in our investor deck? Do investors want to see pie charts and volume of coverage, headlines, and top outlets?
JH: From a board presentation perspective and investor presentation, I don't do a share of voice unless there's a compelling connection to something outcome oriented. For example, if you can show a correlation between share of voice and leads, then it's worth putting in your deck. Ultimately, journalists are storytellers and good journalists tell amazing stories. What I've traditionally done is use logos and excerpts from media articles that convey the excitement that media is seeing and the excitement that you're ginning up in terms of the overall media landscape.We are all BAMfs (badass motherf*ckers), but sometimes even BAMfs need help. Dear BAMf is an advice column-style podcast that lets you anonymously hit us with your hardest marketing and PR questions hosted by Founder & CEO of BAM Communications, Beck Bamberger.
Have a difficult PR or marketing situation you can't figure out? Drop us a line at Dear BAMf. Your submission will be entirely anonymous.
Catch our next episode November 8 and subscribe to Dear BAMf on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts.