• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Sidebar
IU

Indiana University Indiana University IU

IU Kelley School of Business at IUPUIGo from Moment to Momentum

How to not ruin your pitch

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Teresa Mackin

By: Christopher Habig

Jack of all trades, master of none. When it comes to presenting a new business idea in front of a room of potential money guys, talented executives, and savvy professionals, you don’t want to be a Renaissance Man. The internet is full of articles and “best-practices” about what to do when speaking to different groups, this is just a quick hit to the surface of the topic and a reminder. These points came to light with a range of great and less than stellar presentations at the most recent Venture Club.

Stay on Target

The more turns and twists your pitch (and ultimately your business model) takes, the less the audience cares. You might be the brains behind the operations and think yourself capable of seeing a path through the twisted, complex world of differing product lines and applications but that doesn’t exactly pay the mortgage. The last thing you want is someone to be taking notes and after a couple of lines there is a very large “?”. If you can’t stick to one main theme and one main concept in the course of a 5-minute pitch, seriously reconsider.

Be Concise

We are all busy people in today’s world. We don’t have the time, energy, or attention span to listen to how a product is going to revolutionize green energy, capture market share in the perfume industry, and save the rain-forests by artificially replicating the vanilla bean. Yes this was an actual pitch. Pick one, put the rest as bullet points on the final slide, label them as “Future Growth Opportunities”.

Know Your Limits

If you don’t have the best presentation skills, get nervous in front of a crowd, or just plain don’t like to talk – let another team member do the pitch. A seasoned audience can smell blood in the water better than Jaws. If you’re nervous, turn out the lights, the party is over, go home, thanks for coming out, don’t forget to tip your waitress. You wouldn’t roll out half-finished code to the market and you shouldn’t roll with a person who isn’t a skilled pitchman. Fortunately this is a skill that can improve, just know it takes some time.

Read more about the Venture Club here.

A big thank you to AccuPS, Anagin, Spero Energy, MIMIR, and SpeechVive for their spotlight presentations at the tech-transfer themed luncheon. These companies are looking to do great things in this world and with a polished pitch, they will get there.

 

Filed under: Careers, Evening MBA Program

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Additional Content

About the Kelley School at IUPUI

The Kelley School of Business at IUPUI is home to a full-time undergraduate program and five graduate programs, including a graduate certificate for professionals in healthcare; master’s and graduate certificate programs in accounting, internal audit and taxation; the Physician MBA and the Evening MBA, which is ranked eleventh in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

Categories

Search Posts

Receive Updates

Get the latest news from the Kelley School's Indianapolis programs, faculty, students and alumni delivered directly to your Inbox

Please, insert a valid email.

Thank you, your email will be added to the mailing list once you click on the link in the confirmation email.

Spam protection has stopped this request. Please contact site owner for help.

This form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent Posts

  • Tobias Leadership Center announces 2023 cohort of Tobias Fellows January 17, 2023
  • Practice administrator improves patient experience through healthcare management certificate January 12, 2023
  • VP of women’s health: The Physician MBA is the best investment I’ve made in my career January 9, 2023
  • Kelley finance alum creates and grows sustainable clothing subscription company January 5, 2023
  • Healthcare professional adds management experience with graduate certificate January 3, 2023

See Archived Posts

Kelley School Faculty at IUPUI

Full list of faculty based in Indianapolis.

Indiana University

Copyright © 2022 The Trustees of Indiana University | Privacy Notice | Accessibility Help

Subscribe

Subscribe By Email

Get every new post delivered right to your inbox.

This form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.