The Art of the Pitch

January 20, 2013

Forget “I think, therefore I am.”

For entrepreneurs, the salient phrase is “I pitch, therefore I am.”

- Guy Kawasaki “The Art of the Start”

A Pitch is a Story

Do Your Homework

Get Organized

Start Strong

End with an Ask• Ask for the Money

• Ask for the Sale

• Ask for the Job

• Ask for Advice/Mentorship

• Make an Ask

Finish Early

Own the Stage• 2 minutes before you go “on”

• Smile

• Breathe

• Make Eye Contact

• Pace Yourself

• Be Authentic

• After: Ask for Feedback

Practice, Practice, Practice

• Practice EVERYWHERE

• Practice the Q&A

• Put together a Pitch “Gauntlet”

• Find a Simon

• Video tape yourself & review

• Visualize Yourself NAILING the PITCH!

Stupid Stuff Matters• A Picture is worth 1000 words

• Font size minimum = 30

• Watch font color versus background

• Just say no to animations

• Exception to animations: bullets

• One level of bullets

3 minutes - The Format3 minute pitch – timed

5 Slides• Slide 1: Who You Are• Slide 2: The Problem• Slide 3: The Solution• Slide 4: How You Make Money• Slide 5: The Ask

5 minutes - The Format5 minute pitch – timed

8 Slides• Slide 1: Who You Are• Slide 2: The Problem• Slide 3: The Solution• Slide 4: The “Magic”• Slide 5: The Market• Slide 6: How You Make Money• Slide 7: The Team• Slide 8: The Ask

Other SlidesOther Slides you might add for Investors:

• Competition• Financial Projections & Key Metrics• Accomplishments to Date

Sales/Partners Pitch:• Slide 1: Who You Are• Slide 2: The Problem• Slide 3: The Solution• Slide 4: The “Magic”• Slide 5: Sales Model / Current Customers• Slide 6: Competitive Analysis• Slide 7: The Team• Slide 8: Demo• Slide 9: The Ask

Resources•“The Art of the Start” – G. Kawasaki• The Canaan Pitch Deck (slideshare)•Andrew Stanton TED Talk

The End

Questions???