Elevator Pitch

The concept of the Elevator Pitch is borne from the idea that if you met an investor on an elevator and but had 30 seconds to pitch your business, what would it sound like? In fact 30 seconds is about as much attention as you ar going to get from an investor to begin with, so hazarding in that time frame makes a lot of sense. The formula for the perfect Elevator Pitch involves three ingredients the riddle, the Solution, and the Market Size. The problem Every great company starts by solving an important problem.The to a greater extent(prenominal) accurately you articulate the difficulty, the more valuable the Solution will be. Think about how NetFlix. com solved the problem of having to go to the television system store in order to rent a movie. No one enjoyed having to travel back and forward to the video store for a rental, nor did they appreciate remunerative late fees (which we all aim done, and hate ) NetFlix solved the problem of neer having to visit a video store to rent a movie and n ever having to pay late fees again. It was a real problem that everyone could identify with (much to the chagrin of Blockbuster The Elevator Pitch has three main ingredients The Problem, The Solution and The Market Size. With completely the Problem in hand, our Elevator Pitch would start like this Going to the video store is a pain. People dont like travel back and forth and to rent a movie and they hate give late fees even more. Whats important about this explanation of the Problem is that everyone clear relate to the problem. The more relate-able the problem, the more likely you are to get someones attention to it.Think about ways to modify your Problem so that anyone you meet could easily sympathize it. Its more important that the problem is relate-able than complicated. Now lets find a solution. The Solution Once youve articulated the Problem your next step is to think about how your Solution fixes that Problem beautifully. Sticking with our NetFlix example, heres how we might articulate our Solution NetFlix provides customers with a huge selection of movies that they can order office to their doorstep and never have to pay a single late fee for. Notice how the Solution ties directly back to the pain points of the problem, namely the fact that you dont have to leave your augury and you dont have to pay late fees. A good Solution is a direct reflection of the Problem. As a side note, a Solution with no Problem preceding it is a lot less valuable. Take a second look at the Solution for NetFlix above without the Problem before it, and think about how much less exciting that Solution is without understanding the Problem that it solves. The Market SizeSolving the Problem beautifully is nice and all, but if the Market Size of the Problem isnt big enough, youre not likely get investors very excited. The Market Size explains just how big and widespread the market is, which implies how big of a company you can build by solving that pr oblem. Investors want to know youre solving a painful problem in a giant market. If you can combine those two factors, youll generate a lot more interest. Watch what happens when we reduce the size of NetFlixs Market Size by just adding a few delivery to the Problem Going to the video store to rent the movie Fletch is a pain. People dont like traveling back and forth just to rent Fletch and they hate paying late fees even more. We havent even explained the Solution yet and already youre in all probability thinking How big of a business could you build on helping mess rent Fletch? I mean hey, its a good movie, and probably a seminal work by Chevy Chase, but cmon Now lets try that again, only this time well use a real Market Size For over 90 million Americans going to the video store is a pain.People dont like traveling back and forth just to rent a movie and they hate paying late fees even more. Notice how with just a small revision we gave you a real good indication of how b ig this Problem really is. 90 million Americans represent a lot of dollars spent. Even if you dont entirely understand the problem, you can certainly understand that 90 million people probably add up to a pretty big market opportunity. Picking the right Market Size is about identifying a portion of the market that is likely to buy your product.Its not everyone thats ever seen a movie its everyone that is currently renting movies. maybe its less than that if some percentage of those consumers dont use the Internet. You dont assume to have the worlds largest market, but be mindful of going after a market that is obviously too small (like the people renting Fletch) for fear of turning people away before they even have the opportunity to hear you out. Put it Together, then trim back it Down Now weve got a nice understanding of the Problem, Solution and Market Size. The next step is to di comfort that explanation down to an easy-to-remember ite-sized sound bite that still covers all the bases. Lets try a shorter version NetFlix helps over 90 million Americans avoid driving to the video store by delivering movies directly to their doorstep without ever paying late fees. In one sentence weve tackled the Market Size, Problem, and Solution in a way people can easily remember. Most importantly, in a way you can remember when youre explaining what you do a million times over In many cases, youll be lucky if you get just enough time to get this one message across, so refining the message is key.Dont worry about getting it right the first time. Pitch it a few times to strangers, get some reactions and modify. It takes some practice. The Tag Line Distilling the Elevator Pitch down to one sentence isnt always enough. Youll often need something thats just a few words in order to arm others with an easy explanation of your company. Youll personally remember that 90 million Americans have a movie rental problem and that you help people avoid late fees. No one else will. I nvestors wont remember more than the general concept.Your advisors who mention you at cocktail parties wont be able to recite your beautiful pitch. You need a Tag Line. The Tag Line is an explanation of what you do without the details. Its how people reference you before getting into the pitch. Its how you probably remember most of the products you use today. Heres a Tag Line for Netflix Mail Order DVD Rentals Notice how simple that is? Thats the point. In just four words it explains what NetFlix does, without going into the details of the problem it solves or how big that problem may be.Take some time and really refine your Tag Line. Put it on your nett site, your business card and all of your collateral items. Youre building a brand after all, and your Tag Line is what makes that brand memorable. Summary Your Elevator Pitch may be one of the single most important tools you use to communicate your brilliant idea to the world. Most great pitches you hear, like famous advertising sl ogans, are the result of countless hours spent refining, gathering input and refining some more.