PITCH

A pitch typically serves 4 purposes:

1. To grab investors’attention with a “sneak preview” of your company.
2. To explain to the audience in a clear and simple way what it is that you actually do.
3. To create the WOW factor! To inspire people to become your supporters.
4. To help you gain the confidence to talk about your company in front of large scale audiences.

Keep in mind that the blocks are not slides.
Instead they are identifiable areas that later on can be broken down in
various slides according to the script flow you build.

BLOCKS

Intro | Product Demo | Investment + Milestones
Problem | Market | Competition
Why | Business Model + Rollout Plan | Team + Advisory Board
Solution + USP | Traction + Validation (Partnerships, Customers, etc.) | Call to Action

Intro

Purpose

• Set expectation
• Strong impression
  This is where you briefly explain who you are and what you do. Although you may not use all of this information in your pitch, you’ll still need a short description for websites, one-pagers, etc.

Example

Amber Mobility is creating the first feasible alternative to car ownership. Through the combination of our mobile app and our ultra-efficient, modular electric car designed specifically to be shared, Amber provides you with the ulfimate freedom : mobility, guaranteed.

Ways

• Direct introduction + A nice product picture
• One sentence
• A story

Problem

Purpose

This is where you can make the strongest argument for the existence of your product. Investors want to see that you are addressing a real and current need in the market.
Don’t talk about broad industry problems here. Think about the pain points of the individuals in your target market.
How big is your problem, quantified in money and time?

Example

Currently, 60% of 3D printers go unused. That’s 150,000 printers, resulting in about 2,000 tons of waste per year.

Ways

• Give a shocking numbers
• Invlove audience in your story, put them into shoes

Why

Purpose

This is where you can explain your authentic connection to the problem, connecting to your audience based on values and emotions. This is what makes your story a story! WHY can be a hook & bait.
Why you? Why now? Why this?
为什么你要去解决？你对这个问题有什么特殊的背景故事, 或者是关联吗？使命感从哪里来?
But be BRIEF.

Example

A few years ago, I lost my sister to [terrible disease]. Ever since then, I’ve been working tirelessly to find a cure for this disease…

Ways

• Provide a vision
• What if …?

Solution + USP

Purpose

This is where you simply and concisely explain what your solution is to the problem you’ve described and why it’s great.
Some questions you can answer:

• What is it?
• What does it do?
• How does my solution solve my early adopter target market’s problem?
• What’s our USP (unique selling proposition)?

Example

Amber Mobility combines Guaranteed Mobility with the Amber One. Guaranteed Mobility is a unique app-based service that guarantees the availability of a car at all times and within walking distance. The Amber One is our efficient, modular, and customizable electric car designed specifically for car sharing.
USPs
More convenient, affordable, and environmentally friendly than any other mobility service currently available.

Product Demo

Purpose

This story block is especially relevant for hardware startups, but it can also be useful for web- and app-based startups.
In this section, you would show your product (either on a slide, in real-life, or both) and describe some of its most relevant features.

Example

You can check out Usono’s Co-founder and COO Victor Donker present his product on stage at XL Day in September, 2016 via this youtube link: …

Call to Action

Purpose

What do you want the audience to remember or do? This can be a more direct call to action or something more subtle.

Example

You can see the Co-founder of the Finance Navigator WoutBobbink’s inspiring call to action at the end of his presentation at XL Day, September 2016 via this link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJoMbdNxCbA

Ways

• Sign up to succeed

Tips

Check Stage

Before

1. Know your audience
2. What’s in it for me? What’s in it for the audience?
3. Create emotional connection with the audience: unlerability, storytelling
4. Beginning & ending of your presentation: What is the most impact? How do they connect?

Content

4 key elements in your pitch:

1. Hooking intro
2. Clear problem (numbers, shocking effect)
3. Concise solution
4. WOW! call to action
   Plus, how will you delivery them
   Identify and write down how you will build para-verbal and non-verbal focus during these points. When you drop your solution, will you slow down for dramatic effect? For your CTA, will you step towards the crowd to engage them?

Delivery

• Pauses
• Eye contact
• Smiling
• Speak loud
• Speak slow and steady

Form & Body Language

Be self-aware and focus on giving each other advice on the following points:

• Straight back
• Owning the territory
• Head up
• Face the crowd

Script

Do’s

• Simplify! Cut it down to the most essential details that will enhance your story.
• Create a basic outline of your story and pitch it to a few people to get initial comments and feedback before you dive into the actual design (does it make sense to them?)
• Enhance the emotional aspect of the presentation by using a personal story (create an emotional connection)
• Use quantifiable data (example: we are 30% faster; we are 80% more energy efficient).
• Be aware of the intent-impact gap (we judge ourselves and the messagewe produce based on our intent, but our audience judges us based on what they experience).
• Empower the presentation with quotes from international acclaimed organizations / institutions / academics etc,
• When the presentation is almost ready, write down your script in the comments section of every slide. When you do that you will realize the actual gaps and contradictions, if any on your story line

Don’ts

• Don’t talk about things that are not on your slides. The audience needs to see and hear the same message in consistency.
• Don’t make vague statements. Support with facts!
• Don’t forget to connect all the story blocks together in a logical flow.
• Don’t underestimate the size of the intent-impact gap, and don’t blame your audience for the impact they experience.

Design

Do’s

• Know your brand assets and how to use them.
• Decide on the general aesthetic of your presentation (colors / fonts / sizes / image or graphic oriented)
• Always keep a duplicated copy of the presentation on the drive or an external hard disk just in case
• Use the minimum amount of text on the slides (it’s a pitch - NOT a presentation).
• Maximize visual contrast on your slides (usually projectors fade colors)
• Have a fun slide (a good joke always connects you and engages the audience more)
• Bigger is almost always better :)
• Aim in consistency.
• A carefully selected image can substitute a lot of text.
• When you use unsafe or custom fonts be sure that they are installed on the source you are presenting from.

Don’ts

• Don’t use your logo and page numbering on all the slides
• Don’t use small or handwritten fonts / asterisks with small text explanations (except if needed for specific purposes)
• Don’t place readable light colored text on dark background (always dothe opposite)
• Don’t use too much text / too many different elements / too many numbers (keep it clean, lean and consistent throughout)
• Don’t use detailed graphs (find a different, cleaner way to show this information)
• Don’t create templates with master slides (many software and hardware conflict and might mess-up your slides)
• Avoid using too obvious, generic images (shutterstock). Be creative
• Avoid using too many animations and clicks on your slides. (something might go wrong on the event or you can get “clicker happy” and mess up your presentation) use only if there’s added value for the slide or storyline
• Don’t shadow black or dark colored fonts (makes the text fuzzy)
• Don’t overbrand everything. It’s the era of de-branding.