The Elevator Pitch for Startups

Spark interest in 20 seconds. With 70 words, or 400 characters or in roughly 4 lines: The “Elevator Pitch” is an exercise one masters with time after many rounds of direct and indirect feedback. Ideally, it’s done after some strategic branding work has been established and approved by all stakeholders.

For the questions below, know your USP (which also means knowing your competition or the alternatives your customer would use). Be able to name your target audience and have a goal in mind, something you’d like to get out of the pitch conversation.

 

What’s the name you’ll want to use in conversations when talking about your brand or product?

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Name your target audience in 1 to 5 words.

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What problem are you trying to solve? Why does your brand exist?

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How are you solving for it? What can we do to change this problem? How can we make a difference in the world?

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Is there any Call-to-Action (CTA) you can or want to append to involve the person you’re giving the pitch to?

The CTA should be tailored to: a) Is the person I’m speaking to in the same field, are there partnership opportunities? b) Can the person help you test the product and potentially become a customer?

  • Do you think your customers would be interested to know more about us?
  • I can send you a coupon / free test account / help you find an opportunity to figure out your problem – would you be interested in that?
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