Workshop FAQs

ZERO TO PITCH DECK

A 2 DAY WORKSHOP INTENSIVE

February 11th - 12th 2017

pitch deck courses

The information, tools, and hands on expert advice to complete your pitch deck in one weekend

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

ZERO TO PITCH DECK : A 2 Day Workshop Intensive

Common questions we hear about the workshop event. Have a question, comment or request that is not in the FAQs? Scroll to the bottom of this page and contact us directly.

How does this workshop speed up the pitch deck creation process?

Good question! This is really where our workshop stands out against others. We provide a very detailed yet flexible process to guide you through modules of pitch deck creation. From years of experience building professional pitch decks we’ve honed tools and techniques for identifying and enabling the pitch to tell a compelling story, documentation to kick start your deck content collection, cheat sheets with tips and tricks for all modules, links and resources to help you with design, slide samples, and a bank icons for your use. The course is comprised of a series of detailed modules conveying relevant information, free work time with hands on assistance from the pitch deck expert, open Q&A sessions, speckled with energizing and information-assimilating group activities.

Do I have to have an operating business?

No, your business does not need to be currently in operation, nor does the business need to be at any particular stage (ie: pre or post revenue, with or without completed product, seeking or not seeking funding, etc.). If you do not have a currently operating business, you should have a well defined business idea, an understanding of what you will provide, what customers you will be selling to, and why you think that will be successful in your industry.

Will this session prepare me for (XYZ) event?

Yes! It most certainly will. This workshop is designed to prepare you for your next event or pitch deck need. Pitch deck fire clients have won local Denver area events like TroutTank, and large non local events like the Launch festival in San Francisco.

I've started my pitch deck, is this event for me?

Certainly! Most of our attendees have at least attempted putting together their pitch deck on their own. It is very likely that you may have missed key content or are not creating the pitch in such a way that is clear and engaging to your audience. This course will uncover topics you missed, ensure your story is deeply engaging, and that you have the backup slides necessary to continue to wow your investors throughout your interactions. Drive the conversation and clearly show your company’s true value to your potential investors or next pitch event audience.

Additionally, many of our clients have found that the act of putting togther their pitch deck following our process is helpful for fine-tuning the business strategy. Throughout our course you will be diving deeper into key areas of your business model, market, customers, competitors, and long term plans. This effort will help you to knowing your own company better and possibly uncover holes in your business strategy and understanding of your market. Knowing your business inside and out prepares you for the questions you don’t know are coming.

I am looking to get crowdfunding, is this event for me?

When companies seek funding, there are many ways to find that funding including but not limited to friends, family and angel investors, VC firms, banks and lending organizations, and crowdfunding. Usually crowdfunding is marked by a public page on a site like Kickstarter or Indigogo, which can include detailed information about your company, and visuals or a video. Generally they do not have a forum for a traditional funding pitch deck. Though putting together a pitch deck can have many benefits for understanding your company and your business model better, and we recommend the process to any upcoming company.

Will you give warm leads to potential investors? Do you know any?

While we do have relationships with local and non local investors, we do not offer or guarantee introductions to them. We value our relationships, with everyone in the startup community, and would never promise or offer anything not previously agreed to. We do on occasion introduce startups with investors where we see a particular fit for their specific investing strategy and targeted deal type. We do not take a commission, we are not a broker, and we will do nothing except provide information to the investor, and if warranted an written introduction.

Will you answer questions about investment, equity, types of asks, amount seeking?

While we cover some of the basic information that you will need to know about the funding space and types of investors, we do not dive deeply into investment or ask structuring, or financial projection creation. That is content for another workshop. In the interest of time and attaining our goal of a completed pitch deck by the end of the workshop, we do not fully cover these topics at this time. If you are worried about your financials or would like an expert opinion, we have a very knowledgeable financial expert on our team with whom we can set up a detailed financial review. To find out more send us a note below.

What can I do to get the most out of the session?

We will be sending you an email a few weeks before the event with additional information and recommendations on how you can best prepare for the event. If you feel like you may be lacking basic skills in design and PowerPoint usage, visit Microsoft’s website to view a deep set of tutorial videos. If you feel like you are unprepared from a business information standpoint, gather the documentation and research you have conducted or conduct research on your industry, your competitors, your target customers, and think deeply about your company, how you intend to make money and why it matters for your customers.

How can I be sure that the fellow participants do not steal my idea?

To preserve the integrity of every attendees’ sensitive business information, we have instituted an event wide NDA. By purchasing a ticket to this event, you agree to this NDA, and will not utilize or share information hear or overheard by any of the events other participants.

That said, you will not be forced or required to share any information about your company that you do not wish to. Generally free work is on your own, event attendees may choose to collaborate or ask questions of each other throughout the course, but are not required to. The only module activity which includes an opportunity to speak openly about your company is the elevator pitch module. You may choose to sit out of the exercise if you are worried about sharing sensitive information.

How many people can come on my ticket? Can I bring a co-founder? How much will their ticket cost?

One person per ticket. If you would like to bring a co-founder or team member, please contact us through the form below, and let us know your request. We will decide on the attendance / cost of additional team members’ ticket on an case by case basis.

Can I come late or leave early for either day of the workshop?

You may do so if your schedule demands it, but we highly recommend that you attend the workshop in it’s entirety. Each modules builds on the last, and missing modules may be detrimental to your pitch deck progress and overall success in the course.

When is the next session going to be scheduled?

At this time we do not have a specific date set for the next workshop. We are targeting May 2017. If you would like to hear about the next workshop, sign up to be alerted [ninja-popup ID=537] HERE [/ninja-popup]

Can I travel for this event? Where is a good hotel?

Yes! You certainly can travel to Denver for the event if you wish. Denver is a great city to visit, and assuming it’s a good year for snow, the the February workshop could easily be tacked on to a skiing trip. While we do not have any discounted tickets or hotel blocks set aside, the area of the workshop venue is close to downtown and has many wonderful hotels and restaurants.

Will you host this in my city?

Maybe! Let us know in the contact us form below which city you are located in and we will consider it as a location for a future workshop.

Why am I on a waitlist? I want to attend!

In order to ensure that our workshop participants get the most out of the 2 day intensive, we cap the number of attendees. For the February 2017 session the maximum attendees has been capped at 45 people. Once we have 45 attendees, the event is closed and you will be navigated to a waitlist. If anyone cancels before the event, we will let the next person in the waitlist know the space is available via email immediately. The spot will be available to you to claim for 24 hours.

What is the One-on-One Coaching? When will it be scheduled?

Along with the workshop itself, we are offering discounted one on one pitch practice and reviews sessions. You may choose to add this to your purchase at any time. The discounted rate will only be honored for workshop attendees. That One on One session is a detailed pitch practice session in which a pitch deck expert will work with you to go through your planned pitch, provide a detailed report card, feedback and suggested improvements on the story, the design, the deck content covered, and the execution of the pitch presentation itself. For more information visit pitchdeckfire.com/pitch-practice. The one on one session will be scheduled in-person or remotely (your choice) within one month of the attended workshop.

I have special dietary restrictions. Will you have food for me?

We will have catering being brought in from local restaurants for breakfast and lunch for both days of the workshop. Coffee and tea will also be available. We will have regular and vegetarian options, but will not be able to guarantee accommodations for any additional dietary restrictions (ie: dairy free, gluten free, vegan, paleo, etc.). The venue does have a refrigerator that will be available to you and you are allowed to bring in any outside food or drinks that you wish.

What do I need to bring?

  1. Bring yourself and your energy and enthusiasm for your startup,
  2. your laptop and a charger, any additional tech you may need to work for 2 days (ie: a mouse, keyboard, stand, whatever else floats your boat),
  3. files or access to files on any research or documentation that you have on your company, business model, industry, competitors, customers, financial analysis, etc, and
  4. design files or access to files that you may have of your logo, branding elements, photography used or purchased, head-shots of your team etc.

How do I get there? Where do I park?

There are multiple routes to Thrive – Ballpark. IMPORTANT: When googleing the address: 1415 Park Ave. West, Denver CO 80205, keep in mind that it is Park Ave. WEST; if you leave off “West”, you’ll go to the wrong place.

(https://www.google.com/maps/place/1415+Park+Ave+W,+Denver,+CO+80205)

Most of the street parking has a 2-hour limit even on the weekends. The enticing parking lot next door is only for the Church of Scientology. There is a Denver public parking lot across the street at the corner of Park Ave West and Blake Street, and there is also a bus stop on Park that runs lines 8 and 38.

I see you do client decks, will you be helping client deck needs during this session?

We do create client pitch decks, which are presentations that you pitch to potential clients on your company and services when seeking their business. This generally applies to B2B businesses. While we would love to help you put one together this presentation will be geared more towards the pitch event, investor pitch, and general company overview pitch rather than the client sales pitch. If that is a workshop that you would like to see, please let us know if the contact form below.

Help! I can't make it to the event anymore. Can I get a refund?

We understand that things come up, especially in early stage and growth businesses. If for some reason you need to cancel your ticket to this event, you may receive a full refund for your ticket up for any cancellation up to one week before the event start date. Cancellations received later than that, we will not be able to refund your ticket.

DIDN'T FIND THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION?

Still don’t have an answer to your question? Have a comment, suggestion or request? Would you like to discuss event details and team tickets? We’d be happy to hear from you. Please contact us below!