🤖 How to write a killer elevator pitch

In this issue of FWAI: what makes a good pitch; what makes the all-too-common bad pitch; and how you can use AI to not only ideate some elevator pitches, but also critique it against best practices.

Hey founder friends 👋

This is part 2 in our continuing series on defining what your startup “is”. Last week, we talked about defining a compelling and specific Startup Core — a model that you can use to guide your decisions. This week, we’re working on how you communicate that to others with the most universal tool of the startup founder:

The elevator pitch.

We’ll talk about what makes a good pitch, what makes the all-too-common bad pitch, and how you can use AI to not only ideate some elevator pitches, but also critique it against best practices.

Ready to get people excited about your startup?

Read on for 4 pitch templates, 2 AI prompts, a slew of best practices to follow, and a dumpster of mistakes to avoid.

Let’s go 👇

I doubt any of you need an explanation of what an elevator pitch is, nor are you likely to need convincing on why is important!

Because it’s your everyday experience:

• It’s the first thing you say when you meet an investor;

• It’s what you say at a cocktail party when they ask what you’re working on;

• It helps you convert more prospects to leads, and more leads to sales;

• etc.

So what’s the problem? Why am I talking about this?

Well… how do I put this delicately…

Most elevator pitches I hear are… just…

You’ve heard these pitches before.

They’re vague:

At Todorly, we make managing your tasks easier. With our innovative, ground-breaking platform, you’ll stay on top of everything. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

Laden with jargon:

Todorly leverages synergistic paradigms to optimize task throughput, utilizing cloud-based AI-driven algorithms with DAOs for holistic productivity enhancement. Our seamless, scalable interface disrupts traditional workflows, empowering dynamic task management with unprecedented ROI.

Or just… odd?

You know how whales communicate over long distances? Well, Todorly is the ultimate task app inspired by the folklore of the whale. Track your to-dos while listening to whale songs and receiving motivating haikus. It’s like organizing your life with the help of an enchanted cetacean.

Believe it or not… these aren’t the worst I’ve heard… kill me now. For the sake of your startup (and my sanity), let’s fix that.

Here’s the golden rule:

Elevator pitches follow a common pattern.

Pitches shouldn’t be original.

A lot of founders want them to be, but it’s almost always a critical mistake.

Any pitch is intended to convey a large amount of information very quickly, so we leverage patterns that people are used to, which gives us a greater chance of what we say being heard — and remembered.

That’s why all elevator pitches have the same five core components:

1. Name

2. Product

3. Target customer

4. Value proposition

5. Competitive differentiator

Those five components take only 2-3 sentences, and convey all the critical information you need to start a conversation. Elevator pitches aren’t intended to convey all the information, because if the other party is remotely interested, they’ll ask a thoughtful followup.

Our goal is that they won’t ask “huh?”

If you think about it, these 5 components are pretty obvious, but 90% of elevator pitches I hear are missing multiple pieces! 😅

But now that we know what goes into an elevator pitch, let’s talk about how to structure one.

Killer elevator pitches follow the Four 4 C’s.

Any elevator pitch will fall flat on its face if it isn’t these four things:

1. Clear

2. Cohesive

3. Concise

4. Compelling

Let’s go through each:

Clear. The listener needs to understand immediately what the product is and what it does. This is not the time to be cute. Trust me — clear beats clever every time.

Cohesive. The pitch needs to present a unified message that logically flows from one point to the next. Disjointed or fragmented information makes it hard for the listener to follow, and it doesn’t leave a lasting impression.

Concise. Please don’t bore me. If the pitch is too long or includes unnecessary details, it risks losing our attention and diluting the message. Respect our time, and make an impact.

Compelling. The goal of any pitch is capture our attention and motivate us to take action or to learn more. If it fails to resonate emotionally or logically, it won’t persuade anyone to do anything.

As you edit your elevator pitch, go back through the Four C’s to ensure you’re checking the boxes.

But here’s a little help:

The four common pitch mistakes you need to avoid

Most bad elevator pitches fall short of the Four C’s by falling prey to a common set of mistakes:

• They over-use adjectives, or contain superlatives (first, only, huge, best, groundbreaking, etc). These add no value, and leave the impression that you’re an amateur.

• They mention a generic customer. You can’t build a business serving “young women” or “restaurants” — those markets are way too large to target. Be super clear on who your early adopter is.

• They contain buzzwords, jargon, or acronyms. No one cares about the technical detail, and everyone hates corporate-speak. Focus on the creation of value for the customer.

• They are over-long. You shouldn’t need more than 2-3 sentences. As Peter Singer said, “whatever cannot be said clearly is probably not being thought clearly either.”

I’ve got an itchy trigger finger, so enough theory!

Let’s gooo 🚀

The AI enters the chat

We’ll tackle creating an elevator pitch in two big steps: divergence, and then convergence.

a.k.a. creating choices, and then making choices.

We’ll start by training the AI to create a series of potential elevator pitches, based on best practices and some common templates. Then, we’ll work with the AI to define one we’re starting to like. Finally, we’ll subject the elevator pitch to a harsh critique by our AI cofounder to ensure we’ve got the kind of elevator pitch that makes people want to know more.

Here we go:

Step 1: Train the AI to do convergent thinking

Grab your Startup Core from last week, and throw it at this prompt.

It takes that Startup Core as input, and then provides 12 elevator pitch ideas based on 4 common pitch templates — guaranteed to get your juices flowing.