The Art of the Pitch
Alex Farcet

Alex who…?
Presentations I have created
have won:
• McKinsey business case
competition
(DTU Knowledgebased entrepreneurship)
• Venture Cup 06/07
(CSP.NET which became Axon7)
• E-handelsprisen 2009
(Yellowman.dk)
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Respect
Startups Advisors People
talking

Pitch
• First and foremost:
a sales presentation
• Startup Viagra
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Objective
• Get a one-on-one meeting
• 2nd best: get a business card
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Make them fall in love
With at least one of these…
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the TEAM
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the PRODUCT
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the BUSINESS CASE
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Pitch your strength
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Conditions
• Venue?
• Audience?
• How much time?
• When?
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Building the presentation
• Storyboard
• 1 min. per slide
• First 30 seconds
• Strong finish
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10/20/30 rule
10 slides
20 minutes
30 font size
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Source: Reality Check – Guy Kawasaki

What can you say in 18 minutes?
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Presentation basics
• The audience wants to
hear your story, not read it
• Eye contact
• Speak to the back
of the room
• Hands out
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Don’ts (delivery)
• Screw around with IT stuff
• Run out of time
• Take turns
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Do’s (delivery)
• Practice
• Spell check
• Be natural
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Content = Executive Summary
1. Problem
2. Solution
3. Business model
4. Underlying magic
5. Marketing and sales strategy
6. Competition
7. Projections
8. Team
9. Status and time line
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Source: Reality Check – Guy Kawasaki

Don’ts (content)
• Say you’re going to get 2%
of a 10 billion EUR market
• Claim there’s no competition
• Be inconsistent
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Do’s (content)
• Keep it simple
• Quote customers
• Ask for what you want!
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Material
• Ask what they want see
• Executive summary
• Proof & evidence
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Getting to YES
No No No No No No No No No
No No No No No No No No No
No No No No No No No No No
No No No No No No No No No
No No No No No No No No No
No No No No No No No No No
Yes
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GOOD LUCK!
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