Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Pitching 101 for Creative Projects






As independent creative project owners start tapping professional investors and newer sources of funding, they will need to look beyond a creative outline of their projects

Here is a basic outline that could help you reach out to the prospective investor, many of whom would be looking to invest in a creative project for the first time:



  • About the team

    • Background of the team

    • Past projects and key successes

    • IMDB ranking, press coverage, awards etc.

    • A video introduction of the key team members is always a great draw

  • About the specific project

    • The concept and the storyline

    • Add a short video (for films/ documentaries, TV Series) to show treatment

    • How did you think about this subject, what was the filtering process

    • What audience do you wish to target

    • Why do you think you are best people to make it

    • Possible cast and crew

  • The Market Overview for your project genre

    • Some examples of similar projects

    • How much money put; how much made

    • Team/ Writer behind these shows

    • Target markets for such projects


  • What are the steps in the entire project cycle

    • Clear steps outline in a single slide with investment required at each stage

    • Who will put in the money in each stage

    • Where is the project currently

    • How much money is required at this point



    • Are you investing some funds? Do you have funds tied up?

  • Revenue and Profitability plan

    • What is the distribution plan?

    • What is the marketing and promotion plan?

    • How will you go about identifying the correct partners?

    • What is your plan for the alternative distribution?

    • Estimate of Pessimistic, Realistic and Optimistic revenue numbers



  • How will the money be used? What can be expected?

    • What exactly will the money be used for? Breakup in heads

    • Is there a letter with expression of interest from anyone



  • The investment structure

    • What are you offering the investor?

    • What are the soft rewards we can offer apart from equity and returns?

    • When do the investors get their principal back?

    • What do they get in terms of returns?

    • When are they expected to get their returns?


Treat this as a basic outline for projects across mediums and genres. The specific pitch of course will vary based on whether you are pitching a film, documentary, TV Series, Theatre, Live event etc.



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