Get Backed
Craft Your Story, Build the Perfect Pitch Deck, and Launch the Venture of Your Dreams
Overview
“Anyone who comes to pitch on Shark Tank should read this book first!”
—Barbara Corcoran, ABC’s Shark Tank
“I have seen literally thousands of companies trying to raise capital and know that a great pitch deck is critical. This book gives you the playbook for creating yours.”
—Naval Ravikant, cofounder and CEO, AngelList
“I raised twice the amount of money I set out to in a mere five weeks. I’m naming my firstborn child after the Evans.”
—Slava Menn, cofounder and CEO, Fortified Bicycle
HOW DO YOU LAUNCH THE VENTURE OF YOUR DREAMS?
Get Backed isn’t just about startup fundraising. It’s a handbook for anyone who has an idea and needs to build relationships to get it off the ground.
Over the last 3 years, entrepreneurs Evan Loomis and Evan Baehr have raised $45 million for their own ventures, including the second largest round on the fundraising platform AngelList. In Get Backed, they show you exactly what they and dozens of others did to raise money—even the mistakes they made—while sharing the secrets of the world’s best storytellers, fundraisers, and startup accelerators. They’ll also teach you how to use “the friendship loop”, a step-by-step process that can be used to initiate and build relationships with anyone, from investors to potential cofounders. And, most of all, they’ll help you create a pitch deck, building on the real-life examples of 15 ventures that have raised over $150 million.
What’s in the book?
• The original pitch decks and fundraising strategies of 15 ventures that raised over $150 million
• Email scripts that will get you a meeting with angel investors, venture capitalists, and potential board members
• Pitching exercises developed by startup talent beds like Stanford University’s d.school and Techstars
• A breakdown of the 10 essential pitch deck slides, how to create them, and what questions you should answer with each
• An overview of the 5 main funding sources for startups, the pros and cons of each, and who the big players are
• A crash-course in visual and presentation design that will make any deck beautiful
• Templates for 4 stories every entrepreneur should know how to tell
• The story of one entrepreneur who showed up in Silicon Valley with no network and six months later had investments from Fred Anderson, Bono, and Peter Thiel
Get Backed will show you exactly what it takes to get funded and will give you the tools to make any idea a reality.
Editorial Reviews
“That book, I think, does an excellent job of covering a good framework for how to do a presentation,” — Brad Feld, co-founder of Techstars, and managing director of the Foundry Group; as seen in Inc.
ADVANCE PRAISE for Get Backed:
“Telling the right story in a compelling way is the key to connecting with your audience. In Get Backed, Evan Baehr and Evan Loomis show how to craft your message to build the relationships that will sustain your business (and maybe your life too).”
—Nancy Duarte, CEO, Duarte Design; author, slide:ology and HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations
“When entrepreneurs start with just a dream, they need a great story to grab investors’ attention. Get Backed shows how to turn a pitch deck into the stuff of legends.”
—Thomas R. Eisenmann, Howard H. Stevenson Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
“When I gave my first pitch as founder of 3Com, Steve Jobs insisted I buy an Apple II to run VisiCalc to produce my pre-PowerPoint 35mm deck! Needless to say, things have come a long way since then. For the modern era, Get Backed is the definitive guide for crafting your pitch and raising capital for your venture.”
—Bob Metcalfe, cofounder, 3Com
“Get Backed is the essential guide to launching a company—not only raising money, but also raising relationships. If you’re a founder or an entrepreneur, this book has the tools you need to succeed.”
—Adam Grant, Professor of Management, the Wharton School; New York Times bestselling author, Give and Take
“This book delivers completely new and refreshing ideas on how to raise money and build genuine relationships with investors.”
—David Cohen, cofounder and Managing Partner, Techstars
“The best way to solve the world’s most pressing problems is to start a company. This book shows you how.”
—John Mackey, cofounder and Co-CEO, Whole Foods Market; coauthor, Conscious Capitalism
“The ability to get a startup funded is a crucial test for a founder. It pulls together all of the larger requirements of the job—crafting a clear vision, laying out a clear execution path, and cultivating relationships above money. Evan Baehr and Evan Loomis have created a field guide to help the best founders get the funding they deserve for their disruptive ideas.”
—Mike Maples Jr., cofounder and Partner, Floodgate; investor, Twitter
“Even the best business plan will fail if you can’t pitch it well. Read this book to make sure you can.”
—Blake Masters, cofounder, Judicata; coauthor (with Peter Thiel), Zero to One
“Successful companies grow out of strong communities. This guide helps you raise friends, partners, and investors—the ultimate community to make your venture succeed.”
—Tommy Leep, Chief Connector, Rothenberg Ventures
“Founders envision how the world can be different—and invite others to join that vision by telling stories of hope, failure, triumph, and a better future. Get Backed is the definitive primer on how founders ought to tell these stories.”
—James K. A. Smith, Professor of Philosophy, Calvin College; author, Desiring the Kingdom
“Finally, a book by people who have actually done it! Get Backed is a staple for any startup library. It was our handbook for raising capital for our venture—and it will do the same for you!”
—Laura and Ben Harrison, cofounders, Jonas Paul Eyewear
