RWTH Aachen Univeristy M. Ruschmeyer
"It was magnificent! We're doing this again!
Technology & Innovation Manager
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The "OG" Pitching Masterclass workshop - the industry gold standard since 2013 - was previously only available to startup founders who were lucky enough to have their incubator, accelerator, university or startup support program or other institution book me for a live workshop.
I think more startup founders should have access to this knowledge, so I made the Pitching Masterclass also available as an Online Course version that is more affordable to individual founders and more scalable for startup programs and educational institutions.
Now the Online Course does not include individual expert feedback & coaching to get your pitch perfect like the workshop version does -
but both versions cover:
Find out if you are fundable, discover the sources of funding available (and some that are not) for your early-stage startup, complete with their pros and cons.
In no uncertain terms I'll show you where and how to find investors and how to contact them.
Learn the difference between the high-concept pitch, the elevator pitch, and the pitch deck, how they are related, why you need to master them all. Learn how to create a compelling deck to send to investors with a bulletproof template for your slides.
With the Online Course, you'll learn what investors are looking for and how to generate enough interest to close your round in around two hours.
With the live Workshop, not only does it cover the same educational content, you'll also get to iterate on your pitch to perfection with expert feedback & coaching over the course of a whole day.
Like many things in life, pitching gets easier once you have learned how it actually works. And you get there faster and better by iterating with expert candid feedback.
The Pitching Masterclass Online Course condenses all you need to know down to just around two hours of video content, presented as snackable-sized contents, including constantly updated additional in-depth material and resources, all the glorious +370 slides as a download for your convenience, additional suggestions for further reading, a complete introduction to startup metrics and KPI basics, pitch performance tips & tricks, and AirBnB's first successful pitchdeck as a real-life example of a successful pitch deck.
If you prefer to enjoy the Online Course on an iPhone or iPad, there's a free app on the AppStore for that too! Once you're signed up, one of the first things you can do is download the app (instructions in the course) and sign in to continue there instead or in addition to the desktop browser. (Android is coming. Sorry for having to wait.)
If you're not satisfied with my Masterclass Online Course for any reason, I offer a 14 days money-back guarantee! Terms & conditions apply.
The Pitching Masterclass is also (still) available as a live Workshop, online or on-premise, for startup support programs like incubators, accelerators, for universities who offer startup programs or entrepreneurlial education - and as an adapted version for organisations (GOs & NGOs) and companies that emphasises how to secure stakeholder buy-in - getting to "YES" - for employees to get the green light and support they need to execute on new ideas.
More details on the different versions available below on this page.
"It was magnificent! We're doing this again!
Technology & Innovation Manager
"The Masterclass was essential to being accepted to Wearable World. I can't recommend it highly enough!"
Wotch went on to be accepted at Wearable World in San Francisco, the world's leading HW accelerator
"A special thanks to Vidar Andersen for your [pitch] training and for sharing your extensive expertise and years of experience with us. Your clear analysis and practical insights made the training a real enrichment!"
Founder of STRAPTIC™, Pitching Masterclass LIVE @ Gateway Startup Exellence Center, University of Cologne
"Thank you very much for a mind opening Masterclass! I can't remember the last time I learned so much - and I have participated in over sixty other programs of this kind over the years. Interesting, helpful, no boring parts!"
Head of Zentis Research
"The Pitching Masterclass taught me how to present my metrics and look smart to investors. Saved us from making mistakes!"
Became fully financed by business angels and exited to Ceconomy Group
"Taking the Masterclass gave us the confidence to raise a solid round."
Studydrive went on to raise $2.2 million after taking the course and exited to StepStone
"It was fantastic! Thank you!"
Gateway Excellence Startup Center at the University of Cologne uses the Pitching Masterclass to prep their alumni for public and investor pitches
"Pitching Masterclass opened our eyes, made us understand what we needed to be ready to pitch VCs yet, saving time and embarrassing rejections."
Distribuddy used the Masterclass to find out when and how to raise money from VCs
"A cornerstone of our program for over eight years - a testament to its unparalleled excellent quality. Both we as organizers and our participants rely on the exceptional high quality results it consistently delivers!"
Senior Director Strategy Campus
I’m Vidar Andersen and I don’t talk about myself in the third person. I have +30 years of professional experience with pitching for money and attention.
"[...] one of the most important people in the German startup scene."
From time to time I found tech startups to scratch my own itches, and in between I'm doing my part to educate founders and students how to build startups faster and better, drastically improving their chances of survival.
And because corporations, organisations, startup programs, and educational institutions keep asking me to help with their education, innovation, and digital development I also founded +ANDERSEN & ASSOCIATES to serve their needs.
I created the origninal "OG" in-person Pitching Masterclass in 2013 as a co-founder of Germany's largest startup pitch competition - the "Rheinland Pitch", because our mission was (and still is) to help regional founders become better at convincing investors and compete internationally for funding from top tier venture capital - and it has been evolving ever since.
I know first hand that as a startup, you have a million problems - and not knowing how to get funded shouldn't be one of them. My Pitching Masterclass contains all the stuff I wish I would have known back when I was starting out. It would have saved me precious time, countless headaches and embarassments.
Over the last +10 years I've helped over 3.000 startups pitch investors successfully - as a co-founder, pitch trainer, and moderator (MC) of the monthly Rheinland Pitch, Germany's (and maybe even Europe's) largest startup pitch event, and through my in-person Pitching Masterclasses booked and offered by Corporations, Startup Support Programs (incubators, accelerators, etc), Universities, and Events.
To date, I've helped over 10.000 people in-person with innovation and founding startups since 2007.
My next goal is helping +100.000 founders
I created this online Pitching Masterclass to spread the knowledge of how to pitch investors to as many startup founders around the world as possible.
On my entrepreneurial journeys so far, I've had the fortune to pitch some of the most famous and well-respected - and some infamous - startup investors and tech journalists out there and I've been invited to pitch publicly on stage around the world. It's been a roller coaster ride that has taken me from the frontpage of The New York Times, CNN and TechCrunch to being invited to Stanford by the father of the Lean Startup Movement, Steve Blank, to speak about my educational work in the local startup community and receive official training as a Lean Launchpad Educator, to helping other founders succeed faster worldwide.
Because one of the things I learned from my Silicon Valley mentors is the importance of helping others like you. So I'm sharing from my pitching experience to help you understand what investors are looking for, master your pitch and successfully raise that round - so you can move on to the more important things of building a great product and growing your business.
My entrepreneurial work has been featured and recognised around the world. E.g. my presentations on startups and pitching have been featured multiple times as LinkedIn SlideShare "Slide of the Day", Germany's largest business publication "Wirtschafts Woche" named me "one of the most important people in the German startup scene", and one of Spain's oldest and most prestigious business universities, Deusto Business School in Bilbao, honored me with a scholarship for my entrepreneurial work.
If you're a startup in or around Germany - you should also apply for the next round of the Rheinland Pitch (Germany's largest startup pitch event)!
A lot of self-titled "pitch coaches" and "pitching experts" out there have never founded a startup nor pitched investors themselves; Would you take their advice? As a founder myself, I know I sure as heck wouldn't.
Luckilly, I've put my money where my mouth is all my life, inluding pitching for multimillion contracts and my own startups around the world. Here - pics or it didn't happen - I'm pithcing my startup on the main stage of LeWeb in Paris:
Some of the people I've pitched in person include Gary "Vee" Vaynerchuk (IYKYK, Investor), Don Dodge (Microsoft Ventures, Google Ventures), Steve Blank (father of the Lean Startup, Angel Investor), Robert Scoble (Tech Blogger Legend), Lori Greiner (Investor, Shark Tank), Yossi Vardi (Mensch, Legendary Israeli Investor), Mike Butcher (Mr. TechCrunch Europe), Zach Klein (Founder Vimeo, Investor), Ben Parr (Ex Mashable), Robin Wouters (TNW, Tech.eu), John Bradford (TechStars London), Daisuke Minamide (Investor, NTT DoCoMo, CyberAgent Ventures), Lars Hinrichs (Founder XING, Investor), Christian Thaler Wolsky (Investor, Wellington Partners, Paua Ventures), Christoph Janz (Mr. SaaS Metrics, Managing Partner Point Nine Capital), Daniel Waterhouse (Partner, Balderton), Kurt Müller (Partner, Target Partners), Philipp Möhring (SeedCamp, Angel List), Gilad Novik (Investor, Horizon Ventures) and many more.
Some of the places I've been invited to pitch my own startups on stage include South By Southwest (SxSW) in Austin TX, the Web Summit in London, Le Web in Paris, Tech Cocktail in Austin, C'n'B in Cologne, Pirate Summit Cologne, Campus Party Berlin and more.
I've also won several awards for my pitches (but that's more of a vanity theatre thing and doesn't really count).
Because of my +30 years of experience also pitching global corporations and GOs for millions in projects, contracts, and grants - I also get hired to help with winning high-stakes development projects and grant proposals to insure that the pitch deck, the read deck, and the pitch performance get them over the winning line. If that's the kind of thing you came here looking for, send me an email and let's talk.
Colorful visuals paired with coloful language: Who said education can't be entertaining?
If your experience is like mine, you probably have a million problems right now - and wondering about how to find investors and how to successfully pitch them shouldn't be one of them. I should know. I've been there too.
This is the Online Course for individual founders. See, my Pitching Masterclass was previously only available exclusively to startup founders who were privileged enough to have a startup program or institution book me for the Live Workshop version. I think everybody should have access to it, not just a precious few privileged startups. That's why I made the Pitching Masterclass available as an affordable online course directly for founders too.
The Pitching Masterclass for Startups Online Course version arms startup founders looking to raise a round of financing from startup investors - for pre-seed, seed, to series A funding rounds with the knowledge and confidence to close their rounds - at the valuation they wanted and with terms they can live with.
The Pitching Masterclass consists all you need to know condensed down to around two hours of easy to follow videos split in to snackable sizes - plus a comprehensive companion slide deck for more details (and so you don't have to take notes).
Remember, you can watch the first *13* topics for FREE so you can make up your own mind before you sign up.
Here's the table of contents of what it covers:
The Pitching Masterclass Online Course is for early-stage startup founders who wants to successfully raise money so they can get on with building their vision. Watch anywhere, pick up where you left off at any time, watch as many times you need, free updates forever, +370 slides included. Get smart, get funded.
For startup founders
Previously unavailable to individual founders, now with affordable and immediate access to the Pitching Masterclass Online Course with over 2 hours of video content and all slides as download. Learn on your own terms.
Affordable single payment with no recurring costs for individuals and includes free updates for life.
*19% German VAT included
For startup support programs like accelerators or incubators, universities, companies, organisations, and corporate innovation programs.
The Online Course to cover pitching & fundraising, scalable educational content on demand for all your cohorts, for as many users as you need, subscriptions recurring annually, with free updates, cancel at any time. Options available.
**Pricing depends on scope and options.
For startup support programs like accelerators or incubators, universities, companies, organisations, corporate innovation programs, events and pitch competitions
The "OG" live workshop - the industry gold standard - since 2013 with Vidar Andersen in-person or online. One whole interactive day getting to pitch perfect: 20% theory, 80% hands-on & feedback. Add-ons available.
***Pricing depends on version and add-ons.
The bare basics, download the +370 slides as a PDF: Just the Slides, plz
Maximum peer feedback on your pitch: Attend a Peer Pitch Review
Exclusive feedback in private: Get feedback on your pitch in private
