In this talk, we discuss the importance of storytelling and emotional variation in delivering a great pitch, in addition to the content that should go into a pitch.

1. MIT Entrepreneurship and
Maker Skills Integrator
Great pitches
June 14, 2017

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3. For your pitch
• Who is the hero?
• What is the world they live in?
• What do they crave?
• What’s stopping them?
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4. In class exercise: Tell the story of your
pitch’s hero
• Once upon a time…
• Every day....
• But, one day....
• And so....
• Because of that....
• Until finally....
• And, ever since then.....
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5. Sharing!
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8. Pitching is theater
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9. Showcase judging rubric, again
• Team Chemistry
• Problem statement
• Proposed solution
• Business model & financial potential
• Presentation skills
• Potential for success of prototype
• UX/UI/Human factor of the prototype
• Technical Achievement of the Prototype
• Wildcard
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10. Sneak peek for ShowCase Day:
Content to cover in 10 minutes
• Tell a story – grab their interest
• Market / customer / problem, needs and wants / total
addressable market (TAM). Why this matters.
• Solution / how’s it better, what makes it special
• Product demo – what it does, what it could become
• Making money – how you reach the customers; pricing;
biz model; financials
• Team / what makes you special
• Summary and “ask” (e.g. seed money; recruiting advisors)
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11. Putting it all together
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+Content =

12. • Improving medication adherence

13. MEMSI | JANUARY 21, 2017

14. Example slide decks / great pitches
• Slide templates
• Guy Kawasaki has a great infographic that provides a 10-slide
budget for a good pitch deck.
• LearnLaunch provides a more flexible guideline for a good pitch
deck.
James Currier: "Hit it Hard".
• Videos outlining how to pitch
• Simon Sinek: "How great leaders inspire action".
• David Rose: "How to pitch to a VC "
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15. 15Check out the venue and get comfortable with owning the space

16. Know your audience and tailor your pitch for their needs

17. Meet Laura...
A recently married, career-focused college graduate

18. Don’t drown the audience in meaningless minutiae

19. 19Use simple, powerful visuals to help highlight your message

20. Quick tips on effective pitches
• Focus on the audience – what do they need?
• Tell stories – make an emotional connection
• Use powerful images – very few words
• Simplify – less is more
• Don’t cram a 60 minute talk into 15 minutes
• Don’t have 6 speakers in a 15 minute talk
• If more than 1 speaker: Make 1 the lead/MC
• Practice – especially the beginning
• Be prepared for Q&A – have backup data/slides
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21. Getting rid of butterflies
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22. GET SOME
SLEEP!!
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23. Questions?
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