How to Run an Investor Fireside Chat

What is an investor fireside chat? Why have a fireside chat with investors? How do you run a fireside chat with investors?  What tips will make a CEO CFO fireside chat a success? 

Meet the Author: Benjamin Ball

Ben is the founder of Benjamin Ball Associates and leads the presentation coaching and pitch deck creation teams. Formerly a corporate financier in the City of London, for 20+ years he’s helped businesses win with better pitches and presentations, particularly investor pitches. He is a regular speaker and a guest lecturer at Columbia Business School and UCL London.  Follow Ben on LinkedIn or visit the contact page. 

What is an investor fireside chat?

A fireside chat with investors is an informal opportunity to meet investors and to start the process of getting them up to speed with your business. This is a powerful tool when selling or raising money.   

At investor conferences they are becoming more common.  And if you are running a process with your financial adviser, this chat will often be the first stage of the sale process.

How important is an investor fireside chat?

It is very important.  A well-run fireside chat will get the investor excited about your investment opportunity.  They will learn about your business and then have a clear way to describe your business to their colleagues. 

It’s a great way to build a relationship and to help the investor better understand your business.  And at an investor conference, it’s a great way to meet many investors and to sound them out about the appetite for investing in your company.

What do you want to achieve in this meeting?

Assuming this is fireside chat as part of the process of selling your business, you want to achieve a few things:

1. Build a relationship
2. Help the investor understand your business
3. Show that you are a great person to work with
4. Be good at answering questions
5. Show that you are enthusiastic about the future of your business under new owners.

What mistakes do people make with investor fireside chats?

In our experience, and we have been supporting companies to prepare for investor fireside chats for over 15 years, some of the common mistakes we see include:

1. Being unprepared
2. Not having a clear investor narrative
3. Being too scripted or reliant on PowerPoint
4. Not speaking the language of investors
5. Being overly defensive or secretive
6. Being too vague

How to make your next investor fireside chat a success

Fireside chat sessions have become a preferred format for CEOs and CFOs to speak to potential investors and buyers.

Whether you are at an investor conferences or in a private meeting, these sessions give you the opportunity to showcase your business while building relationships with institutional investors and investment professionals.

Here are essential tips to make your next fireside chat work for you.

Let’s review each of these tips in more detail:

1. Prepare a Clear Investor Narrative

Your narrative should immediately capture attention.  That means preparing a powerful elevator pitch.  That pitch will answer some of the key questions an investor will have, for example:

• What problem do you solve?
• Why does it matter now?
• What makes your solution unique?

For example: “While most fintechs chase retail customers, we’re the only ones solving cashflow headaches for SME exporters—a £20bn opportunity.”

2. Build a Personal Relationship

Unlike formal presentations, investor fireside chats should feel natural. Avoid sounding scripted. Aim instead for a relaxed yet authoritative tone that reflects your position as an industry leader.  Have a conversation rather than a presentation.

For example, when discussing early-stage investments, share authentic insights rather than rehearsed pitches. This builds credibility and engagement.

2. Understand Your Investor

Research the people you are speaking to. Are they venture capitalists specialising in early-stage investments? Or institutional investors looking for sustainable growth?  What else have they invested in?

Tailor your messaging accordingly—growth potential for VCs, stability for pension funds.

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3. Help the Investor Understand Your Business

While you are steeped in your business, an investor will only have a vague idea about you and what makes you different.  Aim to be a teacher and help them get to grips with the issues you solve, what makes you successful and why you have achieved so much. 

The better they understand you and your business, the more excited they will become about the opportunity.

4. Talk About the Future

It is tempting to talk extensively about the past and the present when describing your business.  But most of your time should be spent talking about the future and where your business is going.

Investors invest in the future, so a good understanding of what you want to achieve (and how they can help you) will be music to their ears. 

For example: “Now that we are market leader in the UK, we want to roll out to Europe over the next three years and, with sufficient backing, we could start making inroads into the US.”

Why Pick Benjamin Ball Associates for Your Fireside Chat Coaching

At Benjamin Ball Associates, we’ve been coaching business people to improve their business communication skills for over 15 years.  Our coaching is fast and effective.  We work with individuals and with companies, one-to-one and in groups.  Call us today to learn more.

“I honestly thought it was the most valuable 3 hours I’ve spent with anyone in a long time.”

Mick May, CEO, Blue Sky

Our most popular training courses include:

• Presentation Coaching
• Public Speaking Coaching
• Investor Pitch Support and Coaching

Trusted by some of the most successful companies globally

Speak to Louise on +44 20 7018 0922 or email info@benjaminball.com to transform your speeches, pitches and presentations.

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5. Use Messaging and Data Combined to Communicate Clearly

Great communication when speaking about investments with have a smooth combination of broad statements, backed up by precise facts. For example, the CFO could highlight:

• Key metrics investment professionals care about (ARR, burn rate, CAC)
• How you’re mitigating risks
• The roadmap to profitability

The CEO then connects this to wider business development opportunities: “Our Portugal launch proves we can replicate success across Europe with minimal capex.”

6. Master the Investor Q&A

You will get asked questions during an investor fireside chat, and the better you answer, the more impressive you will look.  It’s not good enough to hope for the best.  The best CEOs and CFOs practise their question handling skills so that they impress and get across the image they want.  You’ll need to anticipate tough questions from the investment community:

“How are you addressing churn?”
→ “We’ve reduced it 30% by [X]. Now we’re rolling out [Y] which should halve it again.”

Always pivot to solutions and opportunities.

7. Balance Vision and Execution

Investors want both ambition and pragmatism:

CEO: “We’ll dominate European SME banking within 5 years.”
CFO: “Here’s the capital-efficient market entry strategy that gets us there.”

8. Demonstrate Leadership Fit

Institutional investors back teams first. Share stories that show:

• How you’ve navigated challenges
• Your company culture
• Why your team is uniquely positioned to win

“When COVID hit, we pivoted in 3 weeks to remote underwriting—that agility defines us.”

9. Close with Clear Next Steps

End fireside chat sessions by:

1. Reiterating why you’re a compelling opportunity
2. Proposing specific follow-ups
3. Expressing genuine enthusiasm

“We’d love to walk you through our expansion playbook—when might your team be available?”

10. Be a Professional – Polish Through Practice

Rehearse with a professional or colleagues who understand what investment professionals expect. Refine your most important points until they feel natural yet polished.

Well-executed fireside chat sessions don’t just share information—they build relationships. Master this format, and you’ll stand out in any investment community.

Next Steps

If you’d like support to prepare for your fireside chat, please give us a call.

We’ve been preparing CEOs and CFOs for over 15 years and we’d be delighted to help you. You’ll find that working with our experts is a small investment that can deliver amazingly high returns.

To discuss how you can improve your fireside chat, please call Louise Angus in the UK on +44 20 7018 0922 or email info@benjaminball.com.

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Why Choose Us:
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We can help you present brilliantly. Thousands of people have benefitted from our tailored in-house coaching and advice – and we can help you too.

“I honestly thought it was the most valuable 3 hours I’ve spent with anyone in a long time.”

Mick May, CEO, Blue Sky

For 15+ years we’ve been the trusted choice for leading businesses and executives throughout the UK, Europe and the Middle East. We’ll help you improve corporate presentations through presentation coaching, public speaking training and expert advice on pitching to investors.

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Speak to Louise on +44 20 7018 0922 or email info@benjaminball.com to transform your speeches, pitches and presentations.

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