4. Keep your pitch, short and sweet and don’t be an egomaniac

Bob Rice, Managing Partner at Tangent Capital

"You need to be able to get you point across within a minute while you've got someone’s attention, before they start to wander. It's almost like a headline in a newspaper. It's the first date. You’re looking at forming some kind of long-term investment. There has to be trust. I better get the impression right away that you're a likeable person, you're going to work well with others, that you’re presentable in front of my partners and that you're not going to be an egomaniac."