The Perfect PitchMSU Entrepreneurship Center

What is this?

• This PowerPoint is provided as a guideline for crafting a business model pitch.

• It should be molded to fit the type, state, and strategy of each business.

• DO feel free to use anything from this document

• DON’T just copy and paste into the slides.

Main Objectives of Pitch

• Succinctly paint a picture• What you want to (are) do(ing)

• Who in the world cares• In terms of persona profile and $$’s

• How it makes money

• Attract support and resources

• Build additional two-way discussions

Painting a Picture

• Your pitch should be one continuous story arc.

“There’s this massive

problem or opportunity.”

“We’ve built the perfect

solution…”

“...and here’s how it

works.”

“..that has some

competitors, but here’s

why we shine.”

“There’s a massive market –

worth $Xbn…”

“We make money by charging

these folks for…”

“…and we plan to reach

them by doing X.”

“Here’s the all-star team

to make it happen.”

(if applicable) “So far our

success have been…”

“…and our next steps with your

help are…”

What Investors Want

Fear

Greed Fear

Greed

• Your job is to reduce skepticism, and incite greed.

Slide Tips

• Keep words on each slide to a minimum• 4x6 rule – 4 bullets, six words or 6 bullets, four words

• Pictures & diagrams say more than words• Remember, you’re describing a story to create wealth

• Less is usually more with slides

• No reference slide – use footnotes

Presentation Tips

• Wear business natural• If suits make you up-tight, don’t wear a suit!

• Rehearse presentation length to 10 minutes max

• Don’t rush to answer questions. Listen.

• Be a self-critic. What questions would YOU ask?

• Practice, Practice, Practice!

Start-up Grant Specifics

• Come prepared to pitch in no certain order

• Total time pitch and Q&A allotment is 15 min• Maximum pitch time is 10 min; remainder for Q&A

• Bring your presentation on USB flash drive• We have internet access and sound, but don’t rely on it!

• You can ask E-Center Advisory Board for advice, but be specific in your request.

• Bring a notepad or recorder to jot down feedback.

Getting Help

• Practice Pitches• The MSU Entrepreneurship Center holds practice pitch

sessions every Friday afternoon from 3-5pm

• By Appointment• Contact the E-Center at info@ecenter.msstate.edu or

(662) 325-3521.

• Walk-in Help• Our office is in McCool Hall, Suite 210

Intentionally left blank.

NewCo, LLCNewCo’s business in one sentence.

Presenter, Title

Date of Presentation

Problem / Opportunity

• Set the context for the picture

• What is are you working to solve?

• Where is the want in the market?

e.g. Every year, more than 1 in 4 domestic traveler will miss

his/her flight due to late arriving connections.

Solution

• Talk about your product or service

• Highest level – describe technology

– Features

– Feasibility or stage of development

– Any IP considerations or work?

E.g. Our patent-pending software is designed to help airlines

re-route passengers as soon as a missed connection is

predicted.

How it Works

• You get one slide to talk technical details!

• Walk us through what the customer uses.

• Don’t bore with lingo, show how it ties into the big picture.

• The audience should think, “Oh I get it!”

E.g. We integrate directly with the airlines’ API and passenger itinerary database to pull flight connections and overlay it with flight status data from multiple sources…

Revenue Model

• Clearly explain how the business makes

money

– Direct sales, user access, transactional fees?

• Make sure the How It Works slide gives us

enough understanding of your concept!

Sales & Marketing Strategy

• Just because you build it does not mean

‘they’ will come…

• How do/will customers know about you?

• How do you plan to reach them?

– And if it’s brand new tech, educate them?

• Strategic relationships?

• Current or potential customers?

The Market

• Who is the target customer

– Be specific – who pays you money.

– Differentiate if there are users that differ from

buyers. (e.g. For Google: Customers are

advertisers, but it requires an active user base.)

• What is the $ size of the market? Growth?

• Which segment are you targeting first?

Competitive Advantage

• Who is (or could be) working on the same

thing?

• What makes you shine above them?

• Be specific; from an outsider’s perspective

• Don’t bash competitors; talk about areas

you’re exceptional instead.

Our Team

• Who’s working to build this start-up?

– List how their skills contribute to success, not

just titles/resumes.

• List supporting advisors, mentors, or board

members.

• This slide is one of the most important –

use it to convince that you have the dream

team assembled.

Where We Are

• List everything important you’ve done up

to this point.

E.g. So far we have built a MVP of the software and are

demoing it with Silver Airways in Tupelo, MS. We also have

protected the code with a copyright.

Next Steps

• List what you plan to do immediately

– Show how it ties into the next big goal.

• This where you lay on the greed…

E.g. Moving forward, we plan to do X, Y, and Z. That will

help us get to 1,000 airports using us by end of 2017 and to

an annual revenue of $9.8M.

What We Need (if applicable)

• Tell what the urgent needs are (capital,

people, etc.)

• Be specific. Don’t embellish.

Summary

• Tell us what you’re doing again

• Sell us on the market potential ( greed)

• Emphasize competitive advantages ( fear)

• Reiterate the team’s abilities ( fear)

• Restate next steps & need

• Leave this slide up during Q&A!

Appendices

• If you have a very technical project or areas

with lack of clarity, you can retain other

slides that might be useful to reference

during Q&A

• Only go to these if it is asked in Q&A.

• Try to rework main slides for better clarity

if you find you need a lot of appendices…