Best practices for pitching to
judges Emad Saif Entrepreneurship Trainer @esaif March 23 2016

AGENDA Judging Criteria Useful Tips
Q & A Preparation

1. Business Model 2. Customer
Validation 3. Execution & Design Judging Criteria - 5 Min Presentation -

1. Business Model • Address
the 9 building blocks • Customer acquisition • Competition • Scalability • Risk

• Are teams building something
that people actually want? • How well does the team understand their customer and their customer’s needs? • Did the team get out and talk to customers? • What is the value proposition to customers? 2. Customer Validation

• Have they established a
“Minimal Viable Product” for the weekend (software, hardware, etc.)? • Does it deliver a compelling and captivating user experience? • Were they able to demo something functional? 3. Execution & Design

AGENDA Judging Criteria Useful Tips
Q & A Preparation

AUDIENCE WANT TO BE
ENTERTAINED

USE SIMPLE LANGUAGE

SHARE YOUR PASSION

HOOK YOUR AUDIENCE

DON’T MEMORIZE

DON’T READ WORD FOR WORD

KNOW YOUR CORE MESSAGE 7
min 3 min 1 min •Hook •Customer Problem •Value Proposition •Team •Product •Market •Financials •Millstones •Risks • Hook • Customer Problem • Value Proposition • Team • Product • Market • Hook • Customer Problem • Value Proposition • Team Pitch Pitch Pitch

5GB 1,000 songs BENEFITS vs.
FEATURES

WATCH YOUR TIME • Time
your self • Plan your pauses • Use images triggers

NON-VERBALCOMMUNICATION Body Distance Clothes &
Looks Body & Arm Positions Movement Gestures Eye Contact Face Expressions Touch Voice Voice Tone Speed & Pauses

END WITH
“CALL TO ACTION”

PRACTICE. PRACTICE. PRACTICE. Steve Jobs
did it for hours!

AGENDA Judging Criteria Useful Tips
Q & A Preparation

WHY Q & A ?
• Feedback • Additional clarification • Challenge certain assumptions

DOs & DON’Ts • Don’t
give long explanations limit to 2-30 sec • Ask for clarification if question is not clear • You don’t know everything and that’s OK

Handling Feedback • Accept the
feedback • Don’t respond – this is not a question • Don’t argue – this is not a debate • Say “Thanks for your feedback

Common Questions • Do you
have evidence customers want it? • How big is your market? Is it scalable? • What’s the team look like? What are your backgrounds? • What is your product differentiation? • What risks exist? How do you address them? • What do you need? Milestones?

THINK LIKE AN
INVESTOR

Market Attractiveness Product Differentiation Managerial
Capabilities Resistance to Threats Expected Return Perceived Risk Decision to Invest + - To Invest or not to Invest?

PITCH VIDEOS

AGENDA Judging Criteria Useful Tips
Q & A Preparation

LEAVE AN
IMPRESSION

You can
do it!

QUESTIONS? Emad Saif Center for
Entrepreneurship emadsaif@qu.edu.qa @esaif