How do you pitch your startup?
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
Pitching your product is something that, as a founder, you’ll do so much you’re likely to dream about it. Whether it’s to beta users, other potential customers, or investors, it’s something that’s very important to get right.
Essentially, it’s a chance to show your audience how your product can solve their problems. There’s not a one size fits all by any means; you’ll have to tailor your delivery depending on who you’re pitching to.
That being said, there most certainly are best practices to follow. Our CEO, Sara Green Brodersen has outlined her own pitching structure for us, including some interesting tips for you to try yourself next time you’re in front of an audience.
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Sara
“Structure wise, I put some seconds here which adds up to 60 seconds. But even if you did a ten minute pitch or a 60 minute pitch, this is the structure of what you can do. Or, what I prefer to do at least.
With introductions, get them engaged from the get go.
So, the intro. I prefer to do something that grabs attention. So, usually you will see pitches that start with, ‘Hi my name is... and I am... and we do…’ but sometimes it’s better to grab attention by saying, ‘how many of you have done this..?’ or ‘did you know that XYZ?’. Make them engaged from the get go.
Then you can always say, 20 seconds in, say, ‘my name is... and I’m here to tell you about this’. So, play around with the intro and don’t be scared of experimenting a bit to grab the attention of whoever is listening.
For the demo - what problem is it that you’re solving?
Now then, moving on to the demo part - or that could also be a product or problem product solution - bit of your pitch. If you have the opportunity to demo your product or whatever that might be, then that’s great.
But it’s really about explaining what problem you’re solving, and what the solution is, and why you’re different. So, that can be really difficult to get into thirty seconds, but that’s something that you have to practice and iterate.
The proof is in the pudding. Or in this case, your metrics.
And then, moving on to the business stuff. It’s more about the company. So, where are you on your journey? Do you have any really cool metrics that you want to share?
So, if you’re pitching to an investor, it might be, ‘this is our revenue metrics’, or ‘we have these and these clients’. So really, any type of stuff that will give you backing and proof of what you’re building.
Stand out with a confident landing.
Finally, the landing. So, in a sixty second pitch I would definitely use it to say ‘vote for us, go to this link, or visit our website’, but it depends on the situation.
So, if it’s an investor pitch, your goal is just to get the next meeting. But think: what do you actually want to get out of this pitch? And then you can end big as well, right?
You can say, ‘thank you for your attention. We’re here to take over the world and I’m excited that you’re joining us on that journey.’ Something like that, depending on the audience.
But again, don’t be afraid to stand out from the crowd. And I think especially... so I’m of Danish origin. And I think Nordic people, especially compared to Americans, are much more humble in their way of presenting things, but don’t be scared of trying to get through.
Especially when you’re recording a video. You have to get through to that audience. So, don’t be scared of showing off.”
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As we said, a pitch to customers and a pitch to investors is likely going to be quite different. However, the structure you follow will probably remain quite consistent.
Introduce yourself in an engaging way, opening up a discussion from the floor. Then, showcase your product, and explain how it is going to solve real life problems.
For the business section, it’s a chance to prove what you’re saying is true. Whether it’s revenue metrics or testimonials from a high profile client, it’s time to talk about them.
With the landing, it’s the final chance to convince them of your idea. Again, an engaging close with a call to action or an inspiring final line will help to imprint a positive image in the audiences mind.
This was originally created for the Arctic Future Challenge Webinar Series. We will have more content with insights into different aspects of entrepreneurship coming soon, to answer as many founder queries as we can.
If you’d like to know more about pitching for investors and improving general communication with stakeholders, check out our blog post on the topic. .
If you want to generate some interesting metrics to share with your audiences, then why not sign up for Canaree and create your own financial model ?