How NOT to pitch your startup (1/2)

How NOT to Pitch your startup: a guide to not getting anywhere

I know I didn’t cross the 100 Pitches barrier yet, I know I’m not a Pitch expert or a famous public speaker; but let me tell you this, I’ve rehearsed my pitch more than 1000 times and I’ve pitched my startup 62 times, in local and international Pitch competitions, Infront of investors, I’ve even pitched my startup in a bathroom to an investor.

What I have achieved so far “PITCHING” was being able to be accepted in 4 incubators and accelerators in the MENA region, winning in 6 competitions, we raised our Pre-SEED and SEED round, and we were able to expand to a new market and building a team for it.

See, here you will find “my own point of view” on things you should do to get ZERO interest in your startup when pitching, things I’ve failed at and things that didn’t work “for me”.

1.      Explain your core idea in more than 10 seconds:

That’s the worst thing that could happen, how come you can’t explain your CORE startup Idea in less than 10 seconds, it says that you don’t understand your business or you’re still figuring it out.

THINK NOW: How can I explain my business in 5 words MAX!!!??

 My recommendation: DON’T Take your time explaining your Idea!!!

2.      You don’t have to know your audience:

When you Pitch your Idea, you must make sure you’re delivering a clear message, and when delivering this message, you must know your audience “KYA”, are the audience Investors? Potential customers? Potential partners? Are the audience looking for the social impact of your Idea? A mix of 2 of the above? or all the above?

THINK NOW: How should I Pitch my startup if my audience are looking for the social impact of my startup?

My recommendation: Before Pitching anywhere, KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE AND TAILOR YOUR PITCH!!!!

3.      Always read from your notes or presentation:

Your audience are humans, even investors are humans!! Remember that boring teacher who was only reading from his notes, or reading from his presentation, remember ha? Well DON”T DO THIS TO YOUR AUDIENCE

THINK NOW: How can I pull off a great pitch without looking at my notes or presentation?

My recommendation: Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse, and then Rehearse AGAIN!!! and talk from the heart

4.      it’s not important to have a good design, when using a deck:

You know that saying, Eyes eat before mouth, well it’s the same with Pitch Decks, it should look clean & simple, yet informative.

THINK NOW: What are the 3 pieces “Max” of information should I put in each slide.

My Recommendation: Watch 500 startups Demo days on youtube.

5.      Give detailed explanation/information:

Well it depends on your audience, but please don’t get technical when addressing Investors specially in the first pitch.

THINK NOW: What Information is worth mentioning? (Will it help? Will it add value?

My Recommendation: Create the simplest Pitch and then add information missing.

........TO BE CONTINUED (6 MORE POINTS)