If you’re on Start-up Essentials, and you’ve volunteered to practice with some experts and getting feedback, then pitch day is coming for you.
But putting a pitch together might be a daunting and confusing task if it’s the first time you’ve done it, so here are some resources to get you started.
If you think crowdfunding might be the way to go for you, your pitch should focus on the problem you’re solving and the benefits you’re providing for your customers. Crowdcube has an excellent post on how to make a pitch for crowdfunding: https://www.crowdcube.com/pg/creating-a-successful-pitch-1373, and Indiegogo has a list of pitch video examples that might be worth taking a look at: https://go.indiegogo.com/blog/2015/12/crowdfunding-pitch-videos-2015.html
If you’d like to have a pitch deck tailored to investors, you will need lots of details (especially in the financial department). In that case, I would recommend you taking a look at this blog post from Y Combinator http://blog.ycombinator.com/guide-to-demo-day-pitches/ as it has many good recommendations and a very good list of further resources.
The truth is that everyone and their dog will have different recommendations, suggested structures and tips, and when I write everyone, I truly do mean it. From Guy Kawasaki (https://guykawasaki.com/the-only-10-slides-you-need-in-your-pitch/) to American express (https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/how-to-structure-the-perfect-elevator-pitch/), to Forbes and Hollywood (http://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2016/01/22/copy-hollywoods-3-act-structure-to-make-your-pitch-irresistible/#71906e75399c), everyone is a pitch expert these days.)
If all you want is to have a general pitch that you can use as a foundation to build upon and adapt to different situations as you need, then go with something that covers what you think is important but isn’t too long.
Ultimately, maybe read all of the above, or some, or none. The important thing is that your pitch makes sense and that you communicate what your idea is, its potential to turn into a good business and what do you need (from that audience) to make it happen.
If you do that, you will be fine. And if you’re not, at least you got practice, experience and valuable feedback for the next time you pitch!
