Every startup’s worst nightmare is that pitch presentation to investors to raise funds for the business. How does one prepare, distill the essential elements, craft the deck, tell the story, pitch with authority and successfully handle the Q&A? Then there’s the valuation of the business and due diligence, where most pitches falter. Thanks to this new playbook, these real struggles can be put to bed.
In partnership with National Bookstore and Shangri-La Plaza, serial entrepreneur and best-selling author John Aguilar recently held the Philippine launch of his internationally published book, “The Art and Science of the Pitch: The Ultimate Playbook for Pitching to Partners, Investors, and Reality TV Shows” during a well-attended event at Shangri-La Plaza, Mandaluyong City.
On hand at the event were members of the Philippine startup community, aspiring entrepreneurs, students and followers of his TV show “The Final Pitch” on CNN Philippines who interacted with Aguilar during the Q&A and book signing session. Other guests, including investors and startups from The Final Pitch, business leaders, media, and startup ecosystem stakeholders were also in attendance.
Based on interviews of world-renowned investors and venture capitalists, successful startup leaders, communications and pitch deck experts, “The Art and Science of the Pitch” outlines the components of an effective pitch that creates an impact with its intended audience. The playbook explores key insights from Aguilar’s travels, virtual engagements and face to face encounters with the world’s biggest tech companies and ecosystems from Silicon Valley, Israel to rising tech hubs in Southeast Asia.
“We are ecstatic to officially launch the book in the Philippines. I hope that through this book, we will be able to expand our impact to help more entrepreneurs and people with brilliant ideas and companies to get the funding and support that they need to take their endeavors to the next level,” Aguilar said.
“My personal motivation for writing this book is to distill the best practices in the world so we can increase our chances of success in the endeavors we will take on in the coming years. On a broader level, I also wanted this book to be a way that my readers can pitch effectively—with whoever they are pitching to, for whatever purpose or whatever stage of an idea or business,” he added.
“The Art and Science of the Pitch” has already gained momentum prior to the Philippine launch. Published by the world’s biggest publishing company, Penguin Random House, Aguilar’s book is now an international best seller in Kinokuniya in Singapore and a best seller in Fully Booked in the Philippines.
“It is a good thing that the book has done well in Singapore because John is from the Philippines, so it does prove that if you publish a book about a topic that resonates across all societies, everyone will want to read it no matter which country the reader is from,” said Nora Abu Bakar, associate publisher of Penguin Random House, Southeast Asia, in a video message.
Aguilar is the founder and host of the business reality show The Final Pitch, and is the CEO of Dragon’s Nest, a Manila-based startup ecosystem enabler. The Final Pitch has successfully funded millions of dollars into Filipino entrepreneurs and the startup ecosystem, and has been a source of education and inspiration for future startups.
“When I first started out doing research for The Final Pitch I had to go to a lot of these investor events where I was the new guy trying to learn the ecosystem and meet people; I literally had zero knowledge of the goings-on in the startup ecosystem,” said Aguilar. “Eventually, I got to understand, at a deeper level, the pain points that a lot of the startups had.”
A seasoned business and motivational speaker, Aguilar shares in his book his entrepreneurial journey, and the valuable lessons, tips and techniques he picked up from the minds of founders who pitched their way to million-dollar valuations. More than 50 individuals composed of founders, venture partners, strategists, corporate executives, broadcast executives, industry leaders and the like were interviewed by Aguilar for this book, mostly during the height of the pandemic. The result is what the best-selling author calls “his love letter to the Philippine startup community.”
According to Aguilar, the book also bares the challenges and triumphs of startups from the Philippines, which he describes as “a perfect case study of a country with an emerging startup community with boundless opportunities and a plethora of problems it is now poised to solve.”
“There is a lot of talent out there that in the past were not getting much financial support until recently; because of the influx of capital into the local startup ecosystem, the support is now being seen,” heightened Aguilar. “The danger is that with the support also comes the responsibility to make sure the investment gets somewhere, to be used for the things that matter – which may not necessarily be what you would normally see in terms of the traditional metrics, but looking more long term at how we are best going to use this money to make profitable companies.”
Himself an entrepreneur, Aguilar is also gearing up for his ultimate pitch.
“I am currently preparing to give the biggest pitch of my life so far—that is, to pitch our reality TV show “The Final Pitch” to strategic investors—so that we can grow the impact of our show exponentially. After growing our impact in the Philippines, we are set to scale the show across Southeast Asia and beyond,” Aguilar shared.
The Art and Science of the Pitch is available globally through Amazon and Kindle, and in the Philippines through National Bookstore, Fully Booked, Shopee and Lazada.