This document provides guidance on pitching startups to investors and audiences. It discusses the components of an effective pitch, including capturing attention with a problem-solution hook, demonstrating the market size and traction, highlighting the competition, and making a clear ask at the end. Effective communication during a pitch also relies on vocal delivery techniques like varying pace and volume, as well as body language like eye contact and gestures. The overall goal is to concisely sell the audience on the product, company and team in a short time frame.

1. IMPACTING PEOPLE’S LIVES
* THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
IN EMERGING MARKETS*

2. 2
“ONE OF THE BEST
EVENTS FOR STARTUPS”
“HOW DO YOU SPOT
UNDISCOVERED,
GENIUS STARTUPS ?”
”A WINDOW INTO
DISRUPTION IN EMERGING
MARKETS”
“FIND THE BEST
GLOBAL STARTUPS”
Since 2013, Seedstars World is the largest and most prestigious pitching
competition to spot the best entrepreneurs in emerging markets, those
shaping tomorrow’s future.
One motto : talents are everywhere.

3. 3
The competition runs in 55+ emerging markets
*
Hubs with Seedspace (planned and current) Yearly local “Seedstars World” events and network
*
*
*
* *
*
*
*
*
*
*
**
*
AFRICA
Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cape
Town, Dakar, Dar Es Salaam,
Gaborone, Johannesburg,Kampala,
Kigali, Lagos, Luanda, Maputo, Nairobi
LATAM
Bogota, Buenos Aires, Lima, Mexico
City, Montevideo, Panama, Quito,
Santiago, Sao Paulo
CEE & MENA
Alger, Amman, Baku, Beirut, Belgrade,
Cairo, Casablanca, Dubai, Istanbul,
Kiev, Moscow, Ramallah, Sofia, Tehran,
Yerevan
ASIA
Bangalore, Bangkok, Dhaka, Ho Chi Minh,
HK, Islamabad, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur,
Manila, Naypyidaw, Seoul, Shanghai,
Singapore, Sydney, Taipei, Tokyo
Access to 1’500+
entrepreneurs, investors,
incubators, corporates, etc.

4. THE ART
OF THE PITCH

5. What is a pitch?
“I PITCH THEREFORE I AM”
GUY KAWASAKI
The goal of the pitch is to sell
● Your product
● Your company
● and yourself
in just a short period of time.

6. “IF YOU CAN’T EXPLAIN IT SIMPLY, YOU
DON’T UNDERSTAND IT WELL ENOUGH”
ALBERT EINSTEIN

7. Anatomy of a (great) pitch
HOOK
Problem
Solution
Market Size
Business Model
Traction
Competition
Team
The Ask
The Hook. Captureyour
audienceimmediately!
DEMO goes here
No bull****
Don`t be shy.
Make your ask
Tell your unfair advantage

8. Become Captain Hook
The Hook
The first 30 seconds will decide whether people will listen to you for the next 5:30
An image is worth a 1000 words

9. The Problem
What is the problem
you’re solving?
Facts tell, stories sell

10. The Problematic Story
Who are the actors of your story?
Age? Sex? Interest?
What are the pains they are living?
Who are you talking to?

11. The Problem
“CUSTOMERS DON’T CARE ABOUT
YOUR SOLUTION, THEY CARE
ABOUT THEIR PROBLEM”
DAVE MCCLURE, 500 STARTUPS

12. Solution
Elevator pitch + Features + DEMO
Keep it short
« It’s the PayPal for Africa. »
-Simeon Ononobi, Founder of SimplePay

13. Solution
Identify 5 keywords that are specific
to your value proposition only.
Seamless, effortless, easy, simple, intelligrent,
beautiful, integrated, happy, experience, quick,
reliable, convenient, unique, free, automatic,
cheap…

14. Solution
“EXPLAIN YOUR SOLUTION IN A TWEET.
YES, THAT’S 140 CHARACTERS.”
SEEDSTARS WORLD

15. Business Model

16. Business Model
B2C B2B B2B2C B2G
FREEMIUM SUBCRIPTION
ADVERTISEMENT
COMMISSION PAY-AS-YOU-GO ONE-OFF SALE

17. Business Model
Select 2 - 3 top sources of revenue

18. Market Size
2 approaches
Top Down
Forrester, Gartner,
WorldBank reported..
Not so cool Very cool!
Bottom up
X customer in market,
market size, spent / user

19. Market Size: Bottom Up
How many people?
How muchare they paying?
How often do they pay?
Grow from what you can observe
to the larger known market sizes.

20. Traction
3 MEASURES TO CONSIDER
1. Volume (Revenue,$/User, Life
Time Value)
2. Cost (Cost of Acquisition / CAC)
3. Conversion (Conversion Rate /
activation, Churn Rate)

21. Validating your market
IF I HAD ASKED MY CUSTOMERS WHAT THEY
WANTED,
THEY WOULD HAVE SAID A FASTER HORSE.
Feedback vs. Data
80 people like the App vs. 10 people bought it

22. Competition
Are you… better, faster, stronger ?
Lame Cool
Fun
Boring
Make it visual !
YOU

23. Competition
Illustrate your advantage in a table!
Exciting The Best Boring
SeedstarsWorld X X
Pitchit X
Start Down X
Entrepreneur Ship X

24. Team
Steve
CTO
Elon
COO
Alisee
CEO
Show a dream team. What makes yours different?
Show Logos of past employers > writingthem

25. The End
THE ASK
Do you need an introduction? A team member? Funding?
A strategic partner? An advisor? Customers? Feedback?

26. The End
Say what you want people to remember for ever. Then, drop the mic.

27. THE ART OF
COMMUNICATION

28. “THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF
PUBLIC SPEAKERS - THOSE
THAT ARE NERVOUS AND
THOSE THAT ARE LIARS”
MARK TWAIN

29. What’s your one goal?
To convince others

30. Voice
Toolbox
(verbal)
Body Language
Toolbox
(non verbal)

31. VOICE
TOOLBOX

32. Nose
Throat
Chest
Register

33. Fast = excitement
Slow = emphasis
Silence<> umms & ahhs
Pace

35. Monotone vs sing-song
Prosody

36. Soft spoken = get attention
Always loud = careless
Volume

37. Body
Register
Pace
Prosody
Volume
Voice

38. Non-verbal communication but over half the message
BODY LANGUAGE
TOOLBOX

39. Communicate
&
Gauge response
Eye Contact

40. Universal!
Don’t freeze up
Facial Expressions

41. Gestures
Positive
Neutral
Negative
The right gesture can help
a speaker make his point.

42. The positive area is used
to show positive arguments
and emotions

43. The neutral area is used for normal
arguments – this is where most of
the gesture happens

44. The negative area is
used
to show disappointment
and frustration

45. Hidden hands = no trust
Open palm gestures = open/honest
No arm crossing
Gestures

48. Face your audience
Stand/sit tall
Posture

49. A QUICK JUMP CAN HELP YOU
FIND THE RIGHT POSTURE

50. Body
Register
Pace
Prosody
Volume
Voice
Eye contact
Facial expression
Gestures
Posture

51. A FEW
LAST TIPS

52. The Golden Rules of Pitching
ABP = Always be Pitching
Practice Practice (but not too much)
Watch your time
Keep on going if you screw up
KISKIL: Keep It Simple, Keep It Lean!

53. The Golden Rules of Pitching
NO MORE THAN 15 SLIDES
BULLET POINTS, NO TEXT
USE ICONS AND IMAGES
SIMPLE GRAPHS

55. JUST BE YOU
(THE RULE TO RULE THEM ALL)

56. THANK YOU
FOR LISTENING.
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN!