Objective:
Construct and deliver a focused and precise summary of their business proposal, that is attractive and engaging to a potential financer.
Prepare the entrepreneur for opportunities to present their business proposal, formally and informally, in a short space of time.
Overview:
An ‘Elevator Pitch’ is a succinct summary of business opportunity for example, 1 minute or in no more than 300 words. The term is typically used in the context of an entrepreneur pitching an idea to a potential investor. This task invites the student to prepare for a minute pitch.
Activity:
Invite the entrepreneur/small business owner to prepare a 3 minute pitch for their business The challenge for many entrepreneurs is how to describe their proposal in such a short space of time and what aspects of their business model and plan to focus on. A useful approach is to use Sahlman’s recommended four critical factors.
The People
Who’s involved?
What are their mission and aspirations?
What skills, know-how and experience do they have?
The Opportunity
What will the business sell?
Who are its customers?
What problem is it solving?
Why is it better than existing solutions (competition)?
The Context
What’s the bigger picture?
What trends e.g. economic, social, technological, political affect the business?
Risk and Rewards
What are the main risks?
How can they be mitigated?
What are the potential financial, and other, rewards?
Entrepreneurs/small business owners should be given time to prepare their pitch, either working independently at home or within a training programme. In a group situation this should take no more than 20 mins.
Entrepreneurs should then be invited to pitch their business with a strict time limit. This can be done in a number of ways depending on the environment, for example,
- For a small number of entrepreneurs, invite them to line up to encourage swift movement from one to another
- In large groups, invite entrepreneurs to move around the room to meet other participants who they do not know and pitch to each other
- In large groups, participants are invited to pitch to their neighbour, or others at a table/in their group
- In a competitive environment, where entrepreneurs are invited to pitch to an expert judging panel.
Skill Development:
This activity helps the entrepreneur to focus how they think about their business and provides a safe environment in which to develop their communication and presentation skills, whilst refining their business pitch.
It can help the entrepreneur /small business owner effectively present their business proposal in both informal and unexpected situations and confidently to a potential financier. Repetition of this type of exercise builds confidence and expertise.
To provide formative experiences of pitching, before any assessment, you can create sub-groups within which the students pitch to each other, giving and receiving constructive criticism, before conducting the final presentation.