A workshop on how to pitch your startup idea in a pitch competition. Tailored to the Pitch Originator program, run by 'the GENERATOR', Monash University's entrepreneurship support initiative.

1. pitch
Howto

2. What
Focus
Who
Pitchoriginator
startup pitch competition
any pre-profit startup in any
industry sector
must be led by a Monash
student, faculty, staff

3. Keydates
18Aug application deadline
5Sept Rapid Fire Round
29sept ELEVATOR AWARDS

4. How
to
Pitch

5. Just because someone tells you to jump
off a cliff doesn’t always mean you
should do it.
This presentation will inform you about
improving your pitch message, style
and delivery.
However – listen to your gut
and what you think is important. No
one knows your story better than you
do.

6. What is an Elevator Pitch?
A short, simple description of your
business idea that anyone could
understand by the time you ride
up three floors in a typical
elevator.

7. You have
to be more
interesting
than angry
birds

8. MAKE A
If your audience doesn’t understand what you’re offering, you’ve
failed. Every word you speak should work to explain and clarify that
purpose — that’s why your audience is there in the first place.

9. LESSIS MORE
[More or Less]

10. “those guys were killing it – rocket ship
trajectory growth”
“they had a really clever solution to a vexing
problem”
“I don’t remember what they did, but the team
was bankable– A-players all the way”
Question: What makes you exceptional?
What’sYour‘OneThing’?

11. Problem/Solution
PitchTypes
Classic
Traction story (pitching the numbers – growth rate)
X for Y (applying proven model to a new market or
application; can be combined with
problem/solution)
Alternatives

12. Personal Story
Pivot/Off-shoot
Evolution Next - Crystal ball /
converging trends
Painting the Future
Service at Scale
Alternatives
PitchTypes
Wouldn’t it be cool if…
Insane and/or breakthrough technology
Dream team
Consumerification of enterprise
New business model

13. Hook
A question or a statement that
really entices the audience to
stay with you for the full pitch

14. The Opportunity
•What problem or opportunity have you
identified?
•What is your solution to this problem or how
do you plan to capture the opportunity?
•Which customer pain will you alleviate?
•What is your vision of the business and why
do you care?
Core Structure
1

15. The Market
•Which group of customers will you target?
•How big is the potential market and how fast
is it growing?
•Who is your competition and why will your
start-up prevail?
Core Structure
2

16. The Business Model (How
will you make money?
• How much will you charge customers for your
product and why will they pay the price?
• What are the variable and fixed costs of your start-
up and how much profit will it generate?
• How many customers can you win over time and
why do you think they will come on board?
Core Structure
3

17. 3 key talking points
•What is it that you’re doing & why does it
matter?
•How is it better?
•Why are you doing what you’re doing?

18. What people
should be thinking
I didn’t know that
I’m glad I do now
I’d like to know more

19. Don’t be salesy
How to Say It

20. “No word was ever as effective
as a rightly timed pause”
Mark Twain

21. Interesting story with a compelling call to action
Strong, succinct problem-solution statement
Clear description of how your solution is innovative
Tips for your Pitch
Don’t cram in buzz words – focus on what matters

22. Know your market and how you’ll tap into it
Why is your solution urgent? What impact will it
have?
Know your customers & your users
Who are your competitors? What is your competitive
differentiation and how will you get market share?
Don’t bash your competition.
What traction do you already have (trials, users)?

23. Let your passion shine through
Remember the “A-Ha” moment
What technical steps need to be achieved?
How much money do you need to make this work?
What will you do with this money?
Management team and/or advisors with relevant
experience?
IP & other forms of defensibility for your business
(patents, licenses, exclusive relationships, etc.)

24. 1. A Minute is Too Long
In the real world, you basically have 20 seconds to get someone
engaged or you might as well go home
2. Don’t Linger on the Obvious
Rehashing facts seasoned investors have seen hundreds of times is
wasted oxygen
3. Create a Story Around Your Innovation
Even friendly audiences need to be won over
Don’t expect everyone to get it
3. Templates are Boring
Starting point – but modify because it won’t be perfectly suited

25. (Boring but Useful)
Template
Hook
Brief product/service description
Brief target market description
Competitive landscape
How you will make money
Resources needed (e.g. $, expertise)
Returns/payback to investors
Memorable tagline/pitch closing

26. Do Not Get Bogged Down
Present a (nagging) problem
& (massive potential for
success) solution
Keep it clean & simple, make
sure they understand the
value proposition
Highlight customer benefits,
not technical benefits

27. The KISS of Death
INEFFECTIVE
Our medical technology is the first automatic anesthetic gas scavenging system
that will scan patients using an anesthetic vaporizer thus providing analytical,
diagnostic and therapeutic techniques similar to those used by National
Laboratories in 2007, but that were updated in 2011 to include the new
immunology reports
EFFECTIVE
We provide the most accurate medical diagnostic equipment available on the
market.
too much detail

28. Geek Speak
INEFFECTIVE
We provide non-penetrable debridement medical
equipment technologies for lymph node excision by
integrating with our 485I-bit encryption algorithm
that is integrated with the newest 245-bit Dorland
operators.
EFFECTIVE
We allow medical professionals to operate on
cancer patients using the least invasive equipment
on the market.
listeners tune out what they
don’t understand

29. You need to get into the nitty gritty
for key things like
• business model
• how your product works and why
it is unique
• competitive landscape
• the makeup of your management
team
• key metrics
Dive In

30. Identify problem solved or need addressed in
1-2 sentences
We allow x-ray free real-time imaging for
surgical guidance
If possible, mention a customer who uses your
product or that has expressed interest
Australian Immigration has determined
that we are the only system that can
quickly screen people at security
checkpoints for highly communicable
diseases
Target Market Description
relate to a need

31. Acknowledge Competition
Don’t competitor bash
Identify landscape & where you fit
& neutralize it

32. When discussing your business
model, the most important thing
to get across to your audience is
how you’re going to make money
If you have a revolutionary
business model, make sure it
doesn’t sound scary
Revenue Model

33. Be Concrete
Don’t be vague – have
concrete details (but don’t
make them up
Show you have thought
about the details of your
opportunity and you
understand what you are
asking for

34. Establish Credibility
Your team
Your traction
Name drop

35. The less you have to sell
yourself, the better.
Reputation establishes
credibility without wasting
too much time in your
pitch telling your life
story.
3 biggest relevant
accomplishments that will
earn audience’s respect?

36. Too many entrepreneurs cross over the line between
passionate enthusiasm & fraudulent misrepresentation
Common lies:
• “Our projections are conservative”
• “Boeing will sign our contract next week”
• “Key employees will join us as soon as we get funded”
• “Gartner says our market will be $50B by 2020”
• “No one else is doing what we do”
• “Several firms are doing due diligence”
• “Patents make our business defensible”
• “All we have to do is get 1% of the market”
Don’t Lie (You would think this
goes without saying)

37. Tailor the message
Knowing your audience is more than reading their bios.
Learn as much as you can about how they think and what they
find interesting or don’t. Do they share where they go or what
they do through social media? Have they written books or do
they share thoughts on a blog or in articles?
The more you know, the more you can effectively tailor your
message and pitch to be interesting for them.

38. Know Your Content
Nerves are normal, but it is difficult to convey passion when
reading from cheat cards (cheat cards are a recipe for disaster)
This isn’t a recital – don’t regurgitate memorized lines because if
nerves get the best of you and you lose your place, you’re a
sitting duck
If you know your content so well that you can have a no-stress
casual conversation off-stage about it all day long, you'll be much
more comfortable on stage

39. Tell a Story
Stories connect with an audience on a much deeper level
than facts
Even if you're presenting on something technical, try to
weave personal stories into your entire speech to relate
back to the audience and keep them engaged
Let the story show your passion

40. Don’t Get Sidetracked
Don’t confuse the
audience with
superfluous
comments

42. End with a Memory Cue
You are up against lots of competitors in a short timeframe
It can be almost impossible for judges to remember the
details about everyone who pitched
Offer some type of memory cue to make your
presentation stand out

44. pitch to people outside of your team
and get a fresh pair of ears
o Reality Check station
o Rapid Fire Round
o Other teams
Practice, Practice, Practice

45. ways to prep for your pitch
Preview of the awesome venue
Read up on product development mentors
Practice on friends & family
As painful as it is, video yourself
& WATCH!
4

46. 1
2
3
Phoenetic pronunciation of all team
members’ names
Interesting and SHORT bio
Interesting, relevant and informative project title

47. Stand OutBut be sure to include the basics
like:
• Current job, business,
experience
• Degree achieved or working on
• Relevant, current professional
memberships
• Awards, honours & certifications

48. o Written in 3rd person
o Keep as short as possible (aim for 3 sentences)
o Make it unique – include something memorable, silly or
interesting from your early years
o We get it that your jobs were x, y, and z – focus instead on what
that experience brought for you (teamwork, introduced to a
global network)
Bio Tips

49. o What do you do outside of work? What are you known for? What
do you love?
o Read it and note how it makes you feel – we’re all human and
want to connect
Bio Tips

50. Laura Faulconer is an American by birth (you’ll notice she
pronounces everything with three “r’s”), and Aussie by choice.
Whether it is building new entrepreneurship support programs or
renovating a house, she is never shy of jumping boundaries into new
industries and applications to tackle another exciting challenge.
After a masochistic decade of higher education (PhD in Biomedical
Engineering and BS in Forensic Science as proof), she remains a
dedicated learner, building out a diverse skill set in emerging
technology commercialisation, open innovation, and business
intelligence.
Bio Examples

51. Bio Examples
Idea girl, artist and founder of Silver Square, Raquel Richardson is an urban
wannabe, lover of wine and mother of two cupcake-eating boys.
She can be found gracing the pages of the Woman Magazine (March 2015),
enjoying yet another community project with her volunteer work or with her
Square crew thinking up something fabulous with her colleagues and clients.
These roles introduced her to new people, big ideas and global concepts that
helped shape the person she is today.
Raquel’s not really limited to the marketing business; she was a Coca-Cola
Junior Championship Bowler at age 10.

52. •It should be easy to see in small sizes (100-200px)
•It should look like you
•It should stand out
Professional Headshot
NO! Yes!

53. Wasted Space
jResizing means you’ll have
a pinhead, or you might
look like this:
Closer is Better
vs
Wardrobe
Issues

54. You're asking for real money for your idea over
someone else’s idea
Show the judges you're up to the task of
running a company that will be huge one day
While many founders can get away with
wearing jeans, you should still look put-
together
That means you should dress professionally,
and whatever you do, don't chew gum on stage
One Last Word of Advice
Look the part

56. HowitworksSubmit your Executive Summary by the
application deadline at
monash.edu/entrepreneurship
1
Top 20 teams invited to Rapid Fire
Round: 60 second pitch, no props, no
slides – 10 teams will be paired with
mentors and advance to the finals
3
Come to the team-forming networking
event
2

57. Come along to key training workshops
to get prepared for the final pitch
4 10 semifinalists pitch at gala: 3 minutes,
no props, no slides – 5 teams will win
($5,000 plus up to $15,000 milestone-
based in 3 tranches through 6-week
ACCELERATOR program)
5
2 workshops/week for 6 weeks to
package startups for seed investment,
corporate partnership, launch, and/or
crowdfunding
6
Investor Boardroom Pitch – top team
gets an additional $10,000

58. monash.edu/entrepreneurshipentrepreneurship@monash.edu