2. Just because someone tells you to jump
off a cliff doesn’t always mean you
should do it.
This presentation will inform you about
improving your pitch message, style and
delivery.
However – listen to your gut
and what you think is important. No one
knows your story better than you do.
3. WHAT IS AN ELEVATOR PITCH?
A short, simple description of your
business idea that anyone could
understand by the time you ride
up three floors in a typical
elevator.
4. You have to be
more
interesting
than a fidget
spinner
5. MAKE A
If your audience doesn’t understand what you’re offering, you’ve failed.
Every word you speak should work to explain and clarify that purpose —
that’s why your audience is there in the first place.
7. “those guys were killing it – rocket ship trajectory
growth”
“they had a really clever solution to a vexing
problem”
“I don’t remember what they did, but the team was
bankable– A-players all the way”
Question: What makes you exceptional?
WHAT’S YOUR ‘ONE THING’?
9. Personal Story
Pivot/Off-shoot
Evolution Next - Crystal ball /
converging trends
Painting the Future
Service at Scale
ALTERNATIVES
PITCH TYPES
Wouldn’t it be cool if…
Insane and/or breakthrough technology
Dream team
Consumerification of enterprise
New business model
10. HOOK
A question or a statement that
really entices the audience to
stay with you for the full pitch
11. THE OPPORTUNITY
• What problem or opportunity have you identified?
• What is your solution to this problem or how do you
plan to capture the opportunity?
• Which customer pain will you alleviate?
• What is your vision of the business and why do you
care?
CORE STRUCTURE
1
12. THE MARKET
• Which group of customers will you target?
• How big is the potential market and how fast
is it growing?
• Who is your competition and why will your
start-up prevail?
2
CORE STRUCTURE
13. THE BUSINESS MODEL
[HOW WILL YOU MAKE $$$?]
• How much will you charge customers for your product
and why will they pay the price?
• What are the variable and fixed costs of your start-up
and how much profit will it generate?
• How many customers can you win over time and why
do you think they will come on board?
3
CORE STRUCTURE
14. 3 KEY TALKING POINTS
•What is it that you’re doing & why does it
matter?
•How is it better?
•Why are you doing what you’re doing?
15. WHAT PEOPLE
SHOULD BE THINKING
I didn’t know that
I’m glad I do now
I’d like to know more
17. “No word was ever as effective
as a rightly timed pause”
- MARK
TWAIN
18. Interesting story with a compelling call to action
Strong, succinct problem-solution statement
Clear description of how your solution is innovative
TIPS FOR YOUR PITCH
Don’t cram in buzz words – focus on what matters
19. Know your market and how you’ll tap into it
Why is your solution urgent? What impact will it have?
Know your customers & your users
Who are your competitors? What is your competitive
differentiation and how will you get market share?
Don’t bash your competition.
What traction do you already have (trials, users)?
21. 1. ONE MINUTE IS TOO LONG
In the real world, you basically have 20 seconds to get someone engaged
or you might as well go home
2. DON’T LINGER ON THE OBVIOUS
Rehashing facts seasoned investors have seen hundreds of times is wasted
oxygen
3. CREATE A STORY AROUND YOUR INNOVATION
Even friendly audiences need to be won over
Don’t expect everyone to get it
4. TEMPLATES ARE BORING
Starting point – but modify because it won’t be perfectly suited
MORETIPS
23. DO NOT GET BOGGED DOWN
Present a (nagging) problem &
(massive potential for success)
solution
Keep it clean & simple, make
sure they understand the value
proposition
Highlight customer benefits, not
technical benefits
24. The KISS of Death
INEFFECTIVE
Our medical technology is the first automatic anesthetic gas scavenging system
that will scan patients using an anesthetic vaporizer thus providing analytical,
diagnostic and therapeutic techniques similar to those used by National
Laboratories in 2007, but that were updated in 2011 to include the new
immunology reports
EFFECTIVE
We provide the most accurate medical diagnostic equipment available on the
market.
…too much detail
25. GEEK SPEAK
INEFFECTIVE
We provide non-penetrable debridement medical
equipment technologies for lymph node excision by
integrating with our 485I-bit encryption algorithm that
is integrated with the newest 245-bit Dorland
operators.
EFFECTIVE
We allow medical professionals to operate on cancer
patients using the least invasive equipment on the
market.
Listeners tune out what they don’t
understand
26. You need to get into the nitty gritty for
key things like:
DIVE IN
• business model
• how your product works and why it’s
unique
• competitive landscape
• the makeup of your management team
• key metrics
27. Identify problem solved or need addressed in 1-2
sentences:
‘We allow x-ray free real-time imaging for surgical
guidance’
If possible, mention a customer who uses your product
or that has expressed interest:
‘Australian Immigration has determined that we are
the only system that can quickly screen people at
security checkpoints for highly communicable
diseases’
TARGET MARKET DESCRIPTION
RELATE TO A NEED
29. When discussing your business
model, the most important thing
to get across to your audience is
how you’re going to make
money
If you have a revolutionary
business model, make sure it
doesn’t sound scary
REVENUE MODEL
30. BE CONCRETE
Don’t be vague – have
concrete details (but don’t
make them up).
Show you have thought
about the details of your
opportunity and you
understand what you are
asking for.
32. The less you have to sell yourself,
the better.
Reputation establishes credibility
without wasting too much time in
your pitch telling your life story.
3 biggest relevant accomplishments
that will earn audience’s respect?
33. Too many entrepreneurs cross over the line between
passionate enthusiasm & fraudulent misrepresentation
Common lies:
• “Our projections are conservative”
• “Boeing will sign our contract next week”
• “Key employees will join us as soon as we get funded”
• “Gartner says our market will be $50B by 2020”
• “No one else is doing what we do”
• “Several firms are doing due diligence”
• “Patents make our business defensible”
• “All we have to do is get 1% of the market”
DON’T LIE (You would think this goes without saying)
34. TAILOR THE MESSAGE
Knowing your audience is more than reading their bios.
Learn as much as you can about how they think and what they find
interesting or don’t. Do they share where they go or what they do
through social media? Have they written books or do they share
thoughts on a blog or in articles?
The more you know, the more you can effectively tailor your
message and pitch to be interesting for them.
35. KNOW YOUR CONTENT
Nerves are normal, but it is difficult to convey passion when reading from
cheat cards (cheat cards are a recipe for disaster)
This isn’t a recital – don’t regurgitate memorized lines because if nerves
get the best of you and you lose your place, you’re a sitting duck
If you know your content so well that you can have a no-stress casual
conversation off-stage about it all day long, you'll be much more
comfortable on stage
36. TELL A STORY
Stories connect with an audience on a much deeper level than
facts
Even if you're presenting on something technical, try to weave
personal stories into your entire speech to relate back to the
audience and keep them engaged
Let the story show your passion
38. END WITH A MEMORY CUE
You are up against lots of competitors in a short timeframe
It can be almost impossible for judges to remember the details
about everyone who pitched
Offer some type of memory cue to make your presentation
stand out
39. Pitch to people outside of your team and get a fresh
pair of ears
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
• Reality Check station
• Rapid Fire Round
• Other teams
40. WAYS TO PREP FOR YOUR PITCH
Preview of the awesome venue
Read up on product development mentors
Practice on friends & family
As painful as it is, video yourself …and
WATCH!
4
41. 1
2
3
Phonetic pronunciation of all team members’
names
Interesting and SHORT bio
Interesting, relevant and informative project title
42. STAND OUT
But be sure to include the basics:
• Current job, business, experience
• Degree achieved or working on
• Relevant, current professional
memberships
• Awards, honours & certifications
43. • Written in 3rd person
• Keep as short as possible (aim for 3 sentences)
• Make it unique – include something memorable, silly or interesting from
your early years
• We get it that your jobs were x, y, and z – focus instead on what that
experience brought for you (teamwork, introduced to a global network)
BIO TIPS
46. Idea girl, artist and founder of Silver Square, Raquel Richardson is an urban wannabe,
lover of wine and mother of two cupcake-eating boys.
She can be found gracing the pages of the Woman Magazine (March 2015), enjoying
yet another community project with her volunteer work or with her Square crew
thinking up something fabulous with her colleagues and clients.
These roles introduced her to new people, big ideas and global concepts that helped
shape the person she is today.
Raquel’s not really limited to the marketing business; she was a Coca-Cola Junior
Championship Bowler at age 10.
BIO EXAMPLES
47. • It should be easy to see in small sizes (100-200px)
• It should look like you
• It should stand out
PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOT
NO! Yes!
48. WASTED SPACE
Resizing means you’ll have a pinhead,
or you might look like this:
CLOSER IS BETTER
vs
WARDROBE
ISSUES
49. You're asking for real money for your idea over
someone else’s idea
Show the judges you're up to the task of running a
company that will be huge one day
While many founders can get away with wearing
jeans, you should still look put-together
That means you should dress professionally, and
whatever you do, don't chew gum on stage
ONE LAST PIECE OF ADVICE
LOOK THE PART!
