The Dreaded Elevator Pitch

I attended the SCNE Elevator Pitch event tonight, which was held in Suffolk University, downtown Boston.

An elevator pitch is a quick 20-30 second summary, used to explain your business idea. It is unlikely that a VC will give you any useful assessment after hearing a 25 second elevator pitch. Slimming down your pitch is still a useful and practical exercise in understanding your differentiating factor.

You do not have time to say:
- any facts about the market
- anything about the problem you are solving
- any details about business
- any information about yourself

In 25 seconds, you only have time to deliver your value proposition, and a quick question. The value proposition is meant to immediately catch the listener's attention. The question is an invitation for additional conversation. For simplicity's sake, it may be easier to say "imagine x, but z." So if I were to describe an iMac, "imagine a Windows PC, except secure, friendly, and fun." This shortcut allows people to access things that they are already familiar with, and easily make a comparison.

For my pitch, I said, "You can get property values on broker's websites, and our website, and we make money by selling leads to realtors. How do you brokers get your listings right now?" It would have been a lot easier saying "think Zillow, but 50% more accurate."