Eight Minutes to Win It

Breaking into the fashion industry can take years of pitching goods to buyers, putting on trunk shows at an entrepreneur’s expense, and hearing a lot of rejections.

But a new one-day conference, slated for December 15, 2010, is shrinking all that hard work into an eight-minute pitch.

FashInvest, formed by a group of venture capitalists, private equity managers, and branded goods and fashion executives, is putting the pitch-fest together to bring budding designers, retailers, and industry technofiles face-to-face with financiers and operating executives who are looking for innovative investments.

Interested entrepreneurs can apply for one of the 12-15 presentation slots on the FashInvest website until November 1, 2010. Those who are selected to present will also benefit from mandatory coaching aimed at helping them perfect their pitch. Panels, discussions and a keynote by Neil Cole, CEO of Iconix Brand Group, which represents clients like Badgley Mischka, Roca Wear, and Ed Hardy, are also part of the package.

The exposure to industry leaders can be priceless to entrepreneurs who are seeking their first round of financing coupled with valuable know-how of those who have done it before and succeeded.

But a speed-pitch format isn’t for everyone. The presenter needs to be dynamic, knowledgable, and calm under pressure. Those skills are crucial when talking to investors. “When considering an investment, I ask myself whether I can see working with this person for a long time,” says Daymond John, founder of fashion brand FuBu, and a serial entrepreneur who’s a panelist on ABC’s Shark Tank.

And while knowing your financials in and out is important, it’s really the “character and drive of the entrepreneur,” that inspires real estate mogul and fellow Shark Tank panelist Barbara Corcoran to invest. “I want to know if the person has the fire in their bellies that I feel when I’m working on a project,” she says.

The best part of the process is teaming up with experience. “The big surprise to entrepreneurs who pitch us on the show is this: they thought they were coming in for money, but what they leave with is a pistol in their pocket,” says Corcoran.