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Business Pitch

First and foremost, remember that you live with your idea in your head 24/7. You have developed mental shorthand, along with the jargon and
assumptions/concepts of your field. But, your audience probably doesn’t know any of those things. You need to be sure to break down complex concepts into “disarmingly simple” situations and ideas.
● Business elevator pitches: 30-90 seconds.
● Presentations: 3-7 minutes.

Audience: Keep in mind who your audience is and craft your pitch to that audience.
● Will they be a tech savvy group? Customers or investors? Older or younger? Make sure your wording is appropriate for them. If you don’t know, take an educated guess and aim lower/simpler.
● If you get an outline, follow it—be sure to address the topics they are asking for (investors, competitors, and events).
● Also be aware of your situation; is this a large “demo day” event or a conversation with a small number of investors? Scale appropriately.

Design: Use a consistent design throughout your presentation.
● Two different fonts TOPS. Create a color palette that matches your brand and make sure it’s used in a consistent way. Editing templates is an easy way to make a presentation look cohesive.
● Images are good, but don’t overdo it. One per slide. Make it relevant. Your images should ideally add an emotional element to what you are communicating.
● Have some whitespace—don’t overwhelm your slides. But don’t have too much whitespace. Your text should be no smaller than 20 pt. font (30 pt. is usually better). A larger font size will also prevent you from putting too much text on your slides.

Context: Tell a story.
● Hit the high points in the text on your slides. Know your pitch (no reading off your slides!)
● Start strong—an engaging, relatable story about the problem you intend to solve is best. Have a hook or attention getter! Start off with a question or story.
● You want your audience to FEEL the pain and the relief when you explain your solution.
● Use a call to action for your audience. What do you want them to do? Use action words.
● Bring and display a sample product or props for your pitch or presentation! Hold it up or demonstrate when you talk about your product or service.

Bottom line: Drive home your main value proposition points:
● The problem that your customers have (that your competitors aren’t solving).
● The solution that you have and why your solution is better.
● What makes you different; why you, why now?

Business Elevator Pitch Guide

1. Hook / Attention Grabber and the Problem
   1. Question, story, phrase 
   2. 91��Ƭ�� the problem your business is solving
2. Introduce Yourself
   1. Greeting
   2. Name
   3. Role(s) in business
3. Introduce Your Business
   1. Business Name
   2. Business Description
   3. Summary: what is your business, what do you offer
   4. Talk about product / service and keep it simple
4. The Solution
   1. What is the solution to your problem? Why is it better or different?
5. Tie it Back to Your Hook / Story
   1. 91��Ƭ�� your "Why" factor using emotion
6. Call to Action
   1. What do you want your audience to do? Use action words.