Pitching Guidelines

If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough. Albert Einstein

Every entrepreneur has to present their business at some point to those who have no idea its existence or purpose; suppliers, customers, networking events, investors and other occasions. When it comes to investors, a presentation (pitch) is necessary to attract their interest and achieve the funding goal.

A basic structure of a pitching presentation is cited below:

Problem – Talk about the problem your customers face tip: start with a story, a quote, a fact or a statistic. If you already have clients share the story how did this client solve his/her problem by using your product/service
Solution & Value Proposition – talk about the solution you want to offer, the business idea that will solve your clients’ problem. You may refer to the competitive advantages/why your product or service is unique/highlight the key elements of your product/service. It may be something simple like the packaging. tip: be specific and clear with the services you provide and the value to your customers
Market/Industry/Target Groups – talk about the market your business is involved/highlight the potential of the market tip: a little google search will help you define the statistics. Example: food industry globally is an industry of $2 trillion. If you cannot manage to find the statistics, limit your speech on highlighting the target groups/personas. Example: 18-35 yo, educated, women that are single mothers or married couples with no children.
Business model – talk about how you are going to make money tip: share an example
Marketing & Promotion – talk about the ways you will promote your product/service (may be Business to Business (B2B), Business to Customer (B2C) or both) tip: share an example (example: name a magazine that you know potential clients read)
Competition – who is out there doing the same thing? tip: name brands or categories (example: if you want to open a pastry shop, name the one that is close the place you are planning to open your shop)
Team – talk about your team/even external partners/suppliers at the moment should be mentioned tip: anyone involved in the business idea should be mentioned, ideally together with their working background + experience. Why this team is ideal to implement your business idea?
Implementation & next steps – talk about the next steps and how you are going to implement your business idea (you may refer to challenges and risks as well) tip: be clear. Example: the next two months I am planning to distribute flyers. The following 6 months I will focus on finding a place to open my business
Financials – talk about the projections of next months-year. How many clients are you expecting, how much is the revenue tip: keep it simple. Example: if a customer pays 10euro for your product and you expect 10 clients in 1 month, how much is the revenue for the next 6 months? Make the calculations
What do I need? – talk about the needs that you have at the specific stage of your business tip: I need contacts in the hotel industry to present my products. I need a marketing expert to discuss how I can build my marketing plan. I need someone to be the manager of my shop etc.
End with something that expresses your business idea or you as a person! tip: use a quote/slogan or the dream you have for your business. Use words phrases like “my dream is”, “help me create a better…for my customers”. Don’t forget to thank the audience.

More tips

Prepare yourself before the Pitching Day! Rehearse in front of the mirror, in front of friends, in front of family!
If you already have a product present it to the audience and if possible, distribute samples before you start presenting!
Deliver the message with passion and excitement!