In business, there are a number of documents that help you find suitable investors. From the One Pager as the first hello to the Teaser as a door opener, to the Read Deck or Pitch Deck, the range of presentation forms for your business idea is extensive. In this article, we would like to introduce you to the crisp & compact One Pager. For information on the other documents, simply click on the following links:
A One Pager is a crisp and compact way to present your business idea. It's your first chance to say hello and introduce yourself and your business concept to potential investors. Accordingly, it is important that you make a strong first impression with your one-pager. To ensure that you succeed, a number of points need to be taken into account, because after all, the aim is to determine whether there is interest in financing. The trick is to get everything you need to know concisely and efficiently onto a single page. We'll show you how you can do that.
The fine art of the one pager or how to get all the essentials onto one page
A one pager is, as the term suggests, a single page on which you present your business idea. You approach potential investors and show them that you and your idea exist. You surely know the saying that there is no second chance for a first impression. This also applies to your one pager. Imagine your one pager ending up in the virtual inbox with all the other emails, documents, PDFs, and so on that investors and entrepreneurs receive every day.
Or your document is one presentation among ten others. What you want in this case is a one pager that stands out from the crowd, that piques curiosity and reveals enough to generate real interest. Ideally, your one pager is so professional and compelling that the investor or entrepreneur will make the effort to look at your contact details and send you a message. To make this possible, the contact details belong in a prominent place, preferably at the top or bottom of the one pager. Why do we mention this explicitly?
Unfortunately, it happens again and again that exactly these "essentials" are overlooked. One invests a lot of time in the design, fine-tunes the short, meaningful formulation of the business idea and…forgets to include the telephone number or e-mail address. To prevent this from happening, we have compiled a list of all the information that needs to be included in the one-pager. A distinction can be made between must-haves and nice-to-haves.
The Must-Haves and Nice-To-Haves of a One Pager
The big challenge of a one pager is to present enough detail so that funders see that your idea is mature and well-founded, but just enough to fit everything clearly on one page.
The Must-Haves of a One Pager
Among the information that absolutely belongs in the one pager, i.e. the must-haves, are:
Company name & logo as well as your own name: After all, it's important that your future investors see who they're dealing with.
Contact information: Include all the channels through which you can be reached. After all, you want to make it as easy as possible for potential business partners to get in touch with you.
Company profile: This is a brief introduction of your company.
Business Idea: In a few words, succinctly describe the idea behind your business.
USP: Include the Unique Selling Proposition to show what is special about your idea.
Roadmap & Timeline: Roadmap and Timeline are used to graphically show what the next steps are and when you will achieve them according to plan.
Investment: Now it gets serious, because now it's about how much investment you're aiming for, in what form you need it (whether as a one-time payment or in several installments), and by when.
Investment Highlights: Here you show in a few words what benefits an investment in your idea will bring.
If you present these details well, experience shows that there is hardly any room left for further information. However, if you think that more information is necessary, you can include some nice-to-haves in the one-pager.
The Nice-To-Haves of the One Pager
In addition to the Must-Haves, there are details that you are welcome to include in the One Pager, if there is still room, to flesh out your business idea. We've called these details the Nice-To-Haves:
Problem: Outline the problem that currently exists in the market, or what the current situation is.
Solution: Describe in a few words how your idea contributes to the solution.
Traction: Behind this keyword is the knowledge that there is a need for your idea on the customer side, and how this need translates into sales figures.
Target group & market: A brief overview of potential customers and the competitive situation is sufficient at this point.
Basically, it depends on your business idea what information needs to be in the one pager. This is an overview that is helpful for most concepts, but that doesn't mean you have to stick to it rigidly.
The layout of the One Pager
To get all this information on one page, it's important to be precise and to the point about your idea. Writing a one pager is a good exercise, in which you first go into depth and then put the relevant points down on paper clearly and without frills. Due to the fact that a lot of information has to be included in the one pager, graphics and images are useful to illustrate the details. By no means should the one pager remind you of Tolstoy's "War and Peace" and the entire info be presented as text in small font size. Rather, it's a graphically well-prepared one pager that can give you the edge you need to stay ahead of your competitors.
Here's what a well-designed one pager can do for you
The business world is hectic, and time is often in short supply. But it is in these constraints where the potential of a good one pager lies. Because of its brevity, even the busiest investors and backers will find a small window of time to take a look at your document. Try to keep this fact in mind when formulating and designing. Your goal is to deliver a one-pager that impresses not only with its content, but also with your business acumen. Accordingly, the biggest plus points of a one pager are that it:
Is crisp and compact, shows the most important details with pinpoint accuracy
Offers a good overview, as all information is presented on one page.
With a well-designed one pager, you show the potential investor that you know what's important: to present yourself and your idea in a crisp and compact way!
But even a one pager has limits
However, a one pager also has some minus points. First and foremost, it can be exactly the brevity that offers an advantage for the business world but becomes a disadvantage for you. Because you are really challenged here to reduce your business idea to the very most important key points. For many, this is a great challenge, as the uniqueness and special nature of your idea must not be lost in the process. In many cases, feedback from the outside is helpful, since you yourself are so involved that it can be difficult for you to present your idea to outsiders on a single page.
Search for investors with a crisp, short one-pager
If you are looking for investors, a one-pager is the best way to find out if there is any interest at all. You introduce yourself and your business concept on a single page and show potential investors that you exist. The art, and at the same time the challenge, of a one pager is to summarize your idea crisply and compactly without going into too much detail, but at the same time to include all the essentials in the presentation.
Ideally, your one-pager will make you stand out from the crowd and inspire potential investors and financiers to contact you! Writing and designing a professional one-pager is time-consuming and labor-intensive. It's not just about working out the quintessence, but also about the graphic design with which you present yourself. We are happy to support you in the realization of your One Pager. Our team of Project Managers, Copy Writers and Designers will provide you with professional and helpful support.
If you need help creating your One Pager, don't hesitate to contact us for an obligation conversation.
For information on the other documents, simply click on the following links: