Jason Caplain from Southern Capitol Ventures has offered up a second day of his time, this time in Atlanta, for open meetings with entrepreneurs.

Looks like there was a good turn out last time around although, in the spirit of continuous improvement, he issued a few guidelines for the next gathering on May 17.

There are lots of points and posts on how to pitch a VC. A few good places to look are AsktheVC and the local Seattle Alliance of Angels has a good Powerpoint template to follow here. Take what they are telling you to heart as they are providing you a roadmap on how to be successful in fund raising.

Here’s a few pointers that I think are worthwhile:

1. VCs have short attention spans (sorry fellas) so be brief and concise. It is more a function of their job than anything else – quickly tell them why they should care.
2. Start with the problem you solve then describe how you solve it – describing how it works out of the gate misses the biggest piece which is why would anybody care.
3. These are only 15 minute meetings so make them count. Plan on 5 minutes of content and use the balance of the time to field questions and be sized up by your audience. If you can’t get it across in 5 minutes, then you are not ready for this meeting.
4. Use this as a framing statement “It does/performs/provides X and that is important because Y.” You probably know “X” inside and out, but “Y” is actually more important.
5. No NDAs – they won’t sign them and it makes you look silly in a first meeting. You should be an expert at pitching your idea or company to anyone anywhere without fear of giving up your “secret sauce.” How else are you going to get real feedback and ensure you’re not drinking your own Kool Aid.
6. Ideas are cheap and plentiful. Customers, trial users, and even interviews about the problem build your case and make what you are doing tangible – it is all about execution.
7. Research the firm’s portfolio and understand current/previous investments, ones you are similar to, and even which ones may be competitive indicating they have already placed a bet on your opportunity.
8. If you are desperate for a paycheck, this will come through loud and clear. Remember the leverage equation of these meetings – you are asking for their money but you are also selling part of your business (regardless of stage) to get it.

Be prepared to be told in a range of ways that it is not a good idea, not a big enough market, not right for the VC, or that you are not making sense. If you go around pitching your idea and at least one audience doesn’t react this way, be suspect because people may be tuning you out and/or don’t care enough to provide feedback. Counting on this happening will strengthen your resolve and put you in the right frame of mind to think through your business and be prepared for the hard questions.