Page 360 - James Caan - The Real Deal

The Real Deal

over in five minutes). That’s a lot of scrutiny to withstand from
five experienced questioners, so being prepared for that level of
examination can increase your chances of success. In the fifth
series, Theo invested £200k in an online poker company; now I
don’t know much about online gambling, but it was such an
impressive presentation that I was tempted to invest, too. I
remember asking something fairly obscure about the margin – if
they’d miscalculated the speed of uptake. This was about half an
hour into the pitch and the woman making the presentation – who
had already taken quite a grilling – came up with the figure I was
looking for!
‘How did you know that?’ I asked.
‘I was expecting you to ask it so I memorised it.’
Now that was impressive. Was she just naturally that brilliant?
Probably not. In all likelihood she had just rehearsed more than
anyone else and had gone over her presentation in front of lots of
friends all asking her questions they thought she’d come up
against. Consequently, she had every angle covered. It was clear
that she had watched past series and was very well prepared. And
with that level of preparation I’m not surprised she got £200k,
which I’m pretty sure is the biggest individual investment of the
series to date.
Before I went into the Den, I too watched past series to
understand what I was letting myself in for, and I think anyone
wanting to get investment should do the same thing. With constant
repeats on cable and satellite and highlights available online, it’s
easy to see the kinds of questions we all ask, the stumbling blocks
that other presentations can’t get over, and to pick up tips on what
works and what doesn’t. Whether you’re raising finance for your
business in the Den or elsewhere, the first thing to get right is your
research. Just ask yourself what an investor needs to hear, and then
tell them that as simply and concisely as possible.

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