8 Minutes or Less!

Welcome!

We are close to wrapping up Day 2 of our last module and wow... has it been a productive day!

Today's focus for our brave Fellows was to present their pitch deck in under 8 minutes.

Yes, 8 minutes or less!

Did that give you anxiety as well?

However, our Fellows aren't pitching to just anyone. We still have the amazing coaching from Chris Shipley and Nathan Gold. While pitching can be extremely stressful for some business owners, the feedback from both Chris and Nathan has proven to be invaluable.

Some of the takeaway points from almost every Fellow's feedback was -

Cut out the fluff.

Tell us about your actual product.

It's best to leave out charts with numbers.

After 2+ minutes, you finally talked about ___.

Leave the audience with room for questions.

Often times, there are so many elements of a pitch that it's hard to figure out what to include and which details to omit. Though it's vital to tell your audience enough, there are ways to make your pitch more effective.

1. Get to the point of your pitch faster by cutting out small details that don't add any context to your pitch. Succinct introductions help you get to the meat of your presentation easier. If your pitch opens up with a story, ensure that each detail has purpose.
2. Don't forget to tell the audience what your product is! Some of our Fellows were told that adding more information about what their product actually does and its life cycle would have been even more effective. Do you have enough information on what your business actually is?
3. Furthermore, Fellows were encouraged to reach the point of their deck sooner than the 2 minute mark. When practicing your pitch, make sure that you are reaching the climax of your story in a timely manner.
4. Lastly, you want to leave the audience with room for questions. Instead of showing them what each number means, let them ask you. Remember, if you add a number chart to your slide deck, there is a great possibility that someone may ask you what that number on Nov. 4th, 2020 means... and you may want to save that brain power for a different type of question. Rather than telling your audience every single detail about your business, find ways to leave them curious throughout your deck!

Today's focus on pitching had our Fellows feeling excited to improve their game. Through peer feedback and the wise words of Chris and Nathan, each person was able to tailor their pitch deck to their own needs.