5 Tips for Pitching your Startup with Tyler Crowley

Pitching a room full of investors can be one of the most important things you do to get your company off the ground. Learn how to tell your story and keep your audience engaged with these 5 tips from pitch strategist, Tyler Crowley.

1. Hook the audience

On average, you only have around 15 seconds to capture your audience (less if you present right before lunch), and you’re competing with email/Facebook for their attention. People’s brains are wired to remember stories and not PowerPoints, so cut out the stuff that doesn’t matter and start with a story. Create a persona and introduce them to the audience. What problems do they have? How does your product/service solve them?

2. Add a twist

When you’re telling your story, keep it interesting. People love a little drama! Use a little creativity and get your audience emotionally engaged.

3. Use bullet points

Don’t memorize what you’re going to say word for word. Make a list of bullet points so you know the topics you need to cover, but still sound authentic when you talk about them.

4. Speak in short chunks

Break things up for people so that they are able to follow the story. This keeps you from rambling and if you are trying to convey to the audience that your product simplifies a process, it helps you to convey that in a very simple way.

5. Finish before your allotted time is up

If you aren’t scrambling to finish your pitch with five seconds left, it gives people the impression that you have it all together and are well prepared. Just remember to tie it all together in the end.

Tyler Crowley is a pitch strategist, Launch Conference coach, early-stage startup consultant, and founder at Skweal. He has spent years working with early-stage startups to develop compelling pitches. We hope these tips help you to get the most out of your presentations! For the full Clarity Live video, watch here.