The Elevator Pitch: What, Why, Who, Where, and How

It is frustrating, it is exhausting, it is… Trying to think about a pitch sometimes make you feel this way. How can you convince people about your project in 30 seconds? Especially to those who can give you money. Last week I talked about the process that I use to think about new social ventures; this week I will describe how I reduce tense feelings during the process.

The elevator pitch is the way you describe your venture and its value. Therefore you need to be strongly confident about it, and optimistic about its impact. If you can drive this passion into another person, a possible investor, you will succeed in bringing capital to the venture. For this reason, the first step will be to think how can you attract, or hypnotize a person in a few sentences. That is the hook. Think about a simple question that your venture answers, and rephrase it into an analogy, that will make your listener to pay attention and think about your question.

For example, if your project is about bringing water to a community, ask something related to the feelings of people when they are thirsty. Immediately give a strong statistic, or solution that people use. Such as number of children without fresh water, or how they find water. Then, tell them who you are and which is your solution to that issue. If you can manage it in less than 10 seconds, definitely, you will have their attention.

By doing this, you will be answering what, why, and who in just a few sentences. Then, you will have enough time to explain where and how this project will be done. So, focus your project into a specific region, or group of people, but always think about the scalability of it. People like to think about the potential impact of your venture. Then, give a general explanation of how the project will work; something about the business model. But, remember that should be general, to avoid exceeding the 30 seconds; if you succeed in doing this, your listener will continue asking for more details and will give you more time. And remember to always say thanks to your listener. You do not know if he or she could be your future investor.

Finally, practice your pitch at all levels, with your family, your friends, classmates, co-workers, everyone. By practicing it, you will be reducing the time that takes you to tell the story, and you will perfect it by listening to the questions of all your listeners. And, then, you will be more confident about your project.