How do I make an impactful pitch?

Pitching to potential investors may be one of the most important moments in the early stages of your start-up in terms of obtaining finance for your business. There are not only implications for funding but having a great pitch that you can give to consumers and journalists will also generate interest in your start-up in the community and beyond. While there is no one secret method to making a successful pitch, there are a few generally agreed upon features of a pitch that will make it more likely for you to captivate investor interest as well as the funding that you require. These are:

• Start with an “elevator pitch”. Be able to summarise your business in 2 minutes. This allows you to articulate the key elements of your business clearly. This is useful for meeting potential investors at conferences or networking opportunities.

• Keep it simple and engaging

• Tell a story around the problem in society that your start-up seeks to solve

• Tailor pitch to audience. Your pitch to potential investors will be different to the media.

• Slides are not always necessary, instead you could use the product itself

For more advice and information on the best ways to pitch:

• Andrea Barrica, Pitch, Please: 14 Must-Read Pitch Lessons Every Startup Founder Should Know (2015) 500 StartUps <http://500.co/pitch-lessons-founders-andrea-500-must-read/>

• Scott Gerber, 6 Steps to the Perfect Pitch (2009) Entrepreneur <https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/201826>

• Greater detail on how to pitch and questions you should be able to answer: Erica Swallow, How to Pitch Your Startup in 3 minutes (2013) Mashable Australia <http://mashable.com/2013/03/07/robert-scoble-perfect-startup-pitch/#3RCzwphisiq4>

• Erica Swallow, How to Craft a Winning Startup Pitch [Infographic] (2012) Forbes <http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericaswallow/2012/06/27/elevator-pitch/#194424462375>

• Things to avoid when pitching: Areion Azimi, How NOT to pitch your business (2015) Startups Co UK <http://startups.co.uk/how-not-to-pitch-your-business/>

• Examples of outstanding start-up pitches: Megan Rose Dickey, Here Are the Best StartUp Pitches We’ve Ever Seen (2012) Business Insider Australia <http://www.businessinsider.com.au/the-best-startup-pitches-of-all-time-2012-11>

• Basic information on the process of pitching your business idea to angel investors from the initial email, pitch decks or executive summaries to the actual pitch meeting itself: Startups Co, How to Pitch to Angel Investors <https://www.startups.co/articles/how-to-pitch-angel-investors>