After listening to a very meta podcast about starting podcasts, I have quite a bit to say about Alex Blumberg’s pitch. Before I give my opinion on his pitch, we need to know how to give a good pitch. Although Chris Sacca’s improvised pitch seemed good, there was plenty of room for improvement.
How to Make a Good Pitch
In order to make a good pitch, you have to tell a relatable story. This story should not only be interesting, but it also needs to convey the problem that your product is solving. I personally like to use a sample customer. After describing the problem in the story, it is good to include some stats about the market’s size. In other words, explain that your story is happening all over to tons of people. If you can, also include customer research in this section! Nothing is better than showing an investor that you’ve talked to customers and proven the potential problem you’re solving.
Once it’s clear that there is a problem and a need for a solution, show them your product. Explain your value proposition and what makes you uniquely qualified to solve this problem. Your distinction from the competition could be a patent, unique experience, or even a secret recipe. There’s no limit to the things that can make you unique!
In this section, you should throw in some big numbers too. Investors love hearing how much money they can make and an exit strategy. These stats make it feasible for them to multiply their money.
Then it is time to wrap it up. Conclude with something catchy that makes the investor feel like they’re being given the deal of a lifetime. Make them feel like they’re talking to Bill Gates back when he was working in his garage.
Once your pitch is over, they are going to have questions. To look professional and prepared, make some appendix slides. Go over your deck and ask yourself, “What questions could an investor have?” Then answer those questions in your appendix.
What Alex Blumberg Did (Take 1)
Alex Blumberg made three huge mistakes throughout his pitch with Chris Sacca.
First of all, he didn’t tell a story. A story creates a structure in your pitch that creates cohesion and can draw investors in and keep them interested. By not making his pitch a story, it appeared choppy, segmented, and incohesive.
Another mistake Alex made was relying too heavily on his slides. Before pitching to investors, you should have your slide deck memorized inside and out. There are almost always technical difficulties, so you should always be prepared to give a convincing presentation without your slides. Although it wasn’t technical difficulties, in this case, the result is the same.
The biggest mistake Alex made though was not including a value proposition. A value proposition is the single most important part of any pitch and shows the investor what value you are providing to your customers/society. Without a value proposition, you’re just some person who wants to start a business without a goal. Chris Sacca was even nice enough to draw a value proposition out of Alex by prompting him to do a 2-minute elevator pitch.
What Alex Blumberg Did (Take 2)
Alex’s second pitch went much better. He gave a value proposition, told a story showing the problem and the solution, and explained why he’s the best person for the job. What Alex did not do though, was have a vision in his business.
Although he said he was confident and didn’t have any doubts at that moment, he clearly did. Alex lacked a vision for what his podcast company could become. He didn’t have a plan to scale, and he most certainly did not have an exit strategy or numbers showing how an investor could multiply their money. Sure he mentioned potential audiences, but it wasn’t nearly enough for an investor to bite.
My Thoughts on Pitching
While I have already shared what I believe makes up a good pitch, I haven’t shared my personal opinions on pitching. I personally believe that creating a pitch deck is an amazing way to gather your ideas for a company. In it, you need to include all of your business’s details and answer questions you might not have thought of. When I’m creating a pitch deck, I always create an outline with all of the questions I need to answer to sell my business to an audience.
Once I finish my pitch deck, a new challenge begins: being able to present it. I spend hours scripting each slide to seamlessly flow into a cohesive story that is relatable, interesting, and still conveys all of the info I need it to. In this step, I tend to move many slides into the appendix since they don’t fit into the story I’m trying to tell.
Overall, I love pitching ideas and believe that making pitch decks is a great way to practice storytelling, creating businesses, and presenting.