Creating and delivering the perfect business pitch is a skill and it can be an exhilarating experience. If you’ve never done it before, you’ll be wondering what your audience wants to see from a pitch.
We asked two of BNZ’s past Startup Alley judges, one of the great Startup Alley MCs and co-founder of Webstock Mike Brown, for the top 2 things they do, and do not, want to see from a business pitch.
Mike Brown @maupuia - Webstock Co-Founder
Things I DON’T want to see:
- We’ve had people just freeze as soon as they get on stage and go completely blank on their pitch, and then struggle with questions. You’ve got to feel for them, but… so awkward for everyone!
- Running over time - we don’t want to see this because it means you might be missing out on telling the winning conclusion of your pitch, we are strict on time keeping!
Things I DO want to see:
- Succinct pitches whch really tell the story of your business and your aspirations.
- Pitches that really take into account that this is an opportunity, you can get so much more from this competition than just the awesome prizes, win over those potential clients in the audience!
Harry Ferreira @HarryferreiraO - Head of Small Business, BNZ
Things I DON’T want to see:
- No planning for future growth, I want to see that they at least have some idea of how the business is going to survive those early difficult years.
- Lack of personality. Be yourself and let us see what you love about your business.
Things I DO want to see:
- A unique product, some kind of differentiator, something accessible to customers to make it commercially viable.
- Business owners that really want that exposure and to use this competition as a way of helping them bubble to the surface. They should have an obvious drive for success and some resilience, being able to answer some of my more tricky questions should prove that!
Nat Torkington @gnat - 2014 Startup Alley MC
Things I DON’T want to see:
- “We’ll crush TradeMe because Kiwis want a Kiwi-owned/green/… competitor.”
- “We’ll lose money on each transaction but make it up on scale…”
Things I DO want to see:
- Understanding the real problems of prospective or actual customers.
- The money.
Stephen Bowe @stephenbowe - Head of Digital, BNZ
Things I DON’T want to see:
- Pitches that only focus on the technical side - most people don’t understand developer speak people!
- Unpreparedness. That’s just not going to be entertaining or winning, even if your product is the best thing ever invented!
Things I DO want to see:
- A passion for the customer and a deep understanding of the problem they’re trying to solve.
- In today’s world, average isn’t good enough. So what they’re offering has to be exceptional. It can be a simple solution, but done in an outstanding way.