“Pitch Perfect” workshop

Applications have closed for ‘Cuse Tank and Whitman’s Orange Tank, but remain open for the Impact Prize and Hult Prize.  To help get students ready for the many fall opportunities ahead, starting with ‘Cuse Tank, the LaunchPad is hosting a “Pitch Perfect” workshop as part of our Tooklit series on Thursday, October 8 at 3 p.m. on the LaunchPad’s Discord platform. It will also be offered live in the LaunchPad during that time.

The virtual session will offer tips on presentation techniques, as well as how to structure a competitive pitch deck.  It will be conducted by Linda Hartsock, executive director of the LaunchPad with Nick Barba, the LaunchPad’s independent project consultant who recently won the grand prize in the Panasci business plan competition.

The workshop will include:

Presentation style

• Tips on an effective presentation, and how to create a compelling story
• How to pitch with polish in a way that connects with the audience and judges
• How to create effective visuals and infographics to demonstrate your points
• Do’s and don’ts of presentations, and how to create impact

What the judges are looking for

• Problem identification, customer discovery and validation
• Viability and feasibility of solution
• Market opportunity and effective identification of target customers and end-users
• Competitive advantage and value proposition
• Strength of the business model the product/service or technology being developed, solid assumptions and realistic projections of cost and revenue drivers
• Expertise of the team, and a network of supporting advisors who bring expertise
• Passion, drive and team commitment
• Clear, convincing and engaging pitch

Components of the pitch

• Problem and its significance (tell a story and create a context)
• Solution and what makes it unique
• Problem/solution validation
• Size of the market opportunity and customer/end-user you are targeting
• Competitive landscape and where you fit
• Marketing and sales channels to reach your market
• Your plan:  product roadmap and business development roadmap
• Financial projections over three years (expenses and revenues), and a breakeven analysis
• Your funding strategy, and projected sources and uses of funds
• Your team, and expertise it has to tackle this problem and bring this solution to market
• Your wrap and how to hit it out the park.  How to make the ask and convince the judges to invest in your idea and your team

Discord is a new platform for campus entrepreneurs to communicate over voice, video, and text. It’s Slack meets Zoom with a pinch of Reddit, all in one place, curated on LaunchPad Discord.  Start by joining the LaunchPad here and then hop on LaunchPad Discord here.

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LaunchPad Thursday Technical Workshops are 3 p.m. weekly, coordinated by the Syracuse University LaunchPad at SU Libraries, with subject matter experts offering practical advice on the most common questions asked by those exploring the startup world. Open to faculty, staff, students, alumni and the community. Dates:  September 4, 10, 17, 24: October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; November 5, 12, 19.

Join the event via Discord in the “Big Table” voice channel, under the Community Space category. Click on the website link to join Discord if you are not yet a member!