The elevator pitch is the situation in which a person with a business opportunity or idea has a chance opportunity to attract a potential investor--like a short elevator ride with a wealthy investor. Unlike formal meetings where you are able to show data, slides or videos and give a lengthy proposal to investors, the elevator pitch is a brief oral presentation that will hopefully interest the investor enough that he will want to hear more through a full presentation. I've enjoyed (and at times endured) countless investment pitches and made many of my own, so I thought I'd share a few friendly tips on delivering an elevator pitch.
Be Brief and Interesting: The key to a successful elevator pitch is brevity. While you don't want to appear unprofessional by not listing enough real details, a quick outline of your business idea will leave your audience interested. Too often, great opportunities with investors are squandered by a boring, drawn-out presentation which would be better suited for an office than whatever casual setting. Remember, elevator pitches take the investor's time and if it isn't short and interesting, the investor may immediately reject your idea.
Try For a Full Meeting: If the potential investors seems interested in your idea, and most investors make it very clear when they are not, then try to arrange for a full meeting to discuss your idea, or at least offer to send the investor a more detailed business plan. The point of the elevator pitch is not to immediately secure an investment, it is to court potential investors and spark interest in your idea.
Explain Your Idea For the Investor: Your idea may be really exciting to you, but investors are mostly interested in making money from your business. So explain your business plan in terms of benefiting the investor, like how your idea will prevail over your competitors and how that will translate to profits. The point is to not get too wrapped up in your idea that you forget to highlight incentives for the investor too.
The elevator pitch is a great tool for conveying your idea simply to potential investors, and while it may not always work for you, when it does work it can be really great. Silicon Valley is littered with stories (perhaps many embellished for dramatic effect) of chance encounters with venture capitalists or business icons that led to million dollar deals and billion dollar companies.
When you are facing a room full of skeptical private equity executives or just sharing an elevator with Marc Andreeson, you better be prepared or you could hit the lobby with nothing but regret that you didn't practice that pitch.
- Theodore
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