23.06.2020
How Entrepreneurs can showcase their ‘investability’
Making your pitch memorable
We know how hard it can be to put a pitch together. One person’s pitch is another person’s trash. So how do you navigate that?
Pitch Decks
Pitch decks are best when they’re short. They’re at their most user friendly when:
- they use pictures and graphics to communicate, reducing the word count
- they tell a story – don’t be afraid to switch around the order of the pages to make better sense of the information
- they are engaging and intriguing to the reader, making them want to know more
- they don’t give away the crown jewels! Your trade secrets are your trade secrets.
If you want some tips on what to include check out the additional tips for pitch videos below (to help with structure) and two of our favourite resources:
Templates from Canva
or this deceptively simple pitch deck from Y Combinator
Pitch Videos
Videos have the power to communicate more information, in a much faster and more human way than a pitch deck. You don’t have to be a TV presenter or a videographer to make one – all you need is a smartphone.
We recommend looking at the Natwest Pitch App (available on iOS) which allows you to stitch together snippets of video to make one pitch. Meaning you can easily swap out a section as things change. You can also upload videos already recorded in to the app.
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/natwest-pitch/id1295634296
The pitch app follows a simple structure and lots of hints and tips on how to record the best pitch.
| Hook | Something to grab the attention of your audience e.g. a fact or rhetorical question |
| Problem | What is the problem you’re solving or your target customers poor experience? |
| Solution | What is it your business idea and how does it address the problem? |
| Opportunity | How big is the market / customer base? |
| Business Model | How will you make money? |
| Team | What skills and expertise do your team have that make you the best placed to deliver your vision? |
| Ask | What do you want from your audience e.g. referral, investment, contacts? |
Don’t believe us? Here’s an 80 second pitch video from our CEO that took less than 10 minutes to film… Yes, it’s done in lockdown and his hair is a mess, but it doesn’t need to be polished to be effective!