In entrepreneurship, The Pitch is not merely a presentation; it is an art.
Dr. Philippe Chereau, a Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at SKEMA Business School, and Director SKEMA Advisory, unveils the secrets of persuasion in this exercise.
Discover Philippe Chereau’s valuable insights into the essential art of pitching for entrepreneurs, and apply to present your entrepreneurial project at the upcoming Startup Kafé organized by SKEMA Ventures on February 5th across SKEMA Business School campuses in Paris, Lille, and Sophia Antipolis.
Rules of the game and best practices by Philippe CHEREAU
“So much has been said and published about pitching. Let’s try to make a long story short. The pitch of a project is, to some extent, the verbal version of the executive summary of the business plan.
It is a synthetic description of the product/market domain(s) of the business, the value proposition to clients, the associated revenue model, some proofs of concept (tests, agreements, …), the planned growth options, and the funding needs.
Depending on the maturity of the project itself, some dimensions may not appear in the pitch of the entrepreneur. But whatever the scope of the pitch, it must be seen as a promotional tool to attract talents, investors, clients, partners, and all the stakeholders that may be involved in the project ecosystem.
Let’s take the example of a startup involved in the development of a medical device dedicated to address the issue of sudden infant death, a very serious one.”
By Dr. Philippe CHEREAU, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Director SKEMA Advisory
Practical Example of Pitching an Entrepreneurial Project
1. Tell who you are (first name, family, name, position in the firm).
Good morning, I am Jane COOK, the co-founder of SAFESLEEP.
1.1. If you wish, you can “hook” the audience with the problem you address, but only if your “hook” makes a difference and really draws the attention of the audience.
Do you know how many families are devastated each year in France by sudden infant death ?
2. Explain the problem/need you solve, who faces it, what is the size/growth of the market…
X % of new-borns die in their first 6 months of sudden infant death. 82% occur due to a bad position during their sleep.
3. Tell what your company (or your team) does in a few words.
At SAFESLEEP, we have developed a real-time, wireless, ergonomic solution to monitor infant sleep.
4. Name and describe the product/service/solution you (will) sell.
SAFESLEEP connected blanket monitors the position in bed and the breath of infants, thus allowing immediate warning…
5. Explain what differentiates you from existing offerings.
Contrary to existing devices, our blanket can be…
6. Indicate the major characteristics of your go-to-market strategy and your revenue model.
To market our product, SAFESLEEP will partner with medical device distributors to target private clinics specialized in premature new-borns.
7. Tell if you have already achieved some proofs of success.
We have signed letters of intent with 2 major networks of these clinics expressing their intent to test our solution
