Crush the Pitch: LSM NewarkMarch 3, 2013

Who am I?

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Brian L. Shields@BrianLeeShields

Investor Entrepreneur Movie Addict

What is a Pitch, Really?

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• A pitch is an interesting story about a boring topic

What Makes a Story Good?

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• Have a beginning, middle and end

What Makes a Story Good?

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• Have a clear theme and message to get across– “We see a great opportunity in the market and here’s why”– “You should partner with us to do business because…”– “We are what we believe we can be”

What Makes a Story Good?

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• Make people feel it

So How Should Our Story Look?

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• The Team (can go here…)• The Problem

– What you see in the market– How big it is– How real it is (personal experiences, etc)

• The Solution– Why its great– How it works

• How to Get Users to It• The Revenue Model• User Acquisition Costs• The Team (…or here)• Traction / Progress

– What have you done so far– What could this mean?

• The Ask

• 7-10 slides max (est. 5 mins / slide)

• Use visual aides whenever possible

• Practice!

Practice Time

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• In your teams, put together a pitch deck outline for the company below• Imagine you were them when they first started

Remember…

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• Tell a story like a story should be told, with a beginning, middle and end

• Have a singular theme you want to get across

• Be concise and clear

• Use the outline & touch all major points

• Make them FEEL it

Thank You

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