This document provides tips and guidelines for pitching ideas from Michel Duchateau, an entrepreneur, coach, and global facilitator for Startup Weekend. It discusses different types of pitches and their objectives, such as elevator pitches to convince investors and sales pitches to convince customers. It also provides templates for the structure of startup competition pitches, including openers to catch attention, explaining the problem and solution, addressing competition and markets, business models, and team composition. The document emphasizes practicing pitches through exercises and iterations to refine content and delivery.

1. How to pitch you idea ?
Michel Duchateau
#miduchateau

2. Hi !
Michel Duchateau
Entrepreneur, Coach, Global Facilitator for Startup Weekend
2004 : Founder of Altasys
2005 : Consultant at Alten
Belgacom, Electrabel, GDF-SUEZ , Orange Business Services
2010 : Founder of FreeMyMove
2012 : Founder of CreaDelta
• Training in Innovative Project Management & Entrepreneurship
• Coaching SME’s & enterprises
• Expert for regional public institutions in Belgium
• Expert in Agile SCRUM, Lean Startup, #BMGEN, #CustDev, PRINCE2, ITIL & more.
#miduchateau

3. Passion for Startups 
•Startup Weekend Brussels 2011 : Participant
•Startup Weekend Mons 2012 : Organizer
•Startup Weekend Brussels 2013 : Organizer
•Startup Weekend EU Organizers Summit 2013 at Teneriffe
•Startup Weekend Liège 2013 : Facilitator
•Up Global Organizers Summit 2014 at Las Vegas
•Startup Weekend Leuven 2014 : Facilitator
•Startup Weekend Paris 2014 : Mentor
•Startup Weekend Brussels 2014 : Facilitator
•Global Facilitator Startup Weekend from 2013
Ambassador & Speaker
Advisor & co-responsible of Alumni network
Brussels Curator
Startup Coach & Jury in Belgium
Speaker « Lean Startup & Agile »
Consultant for SME at Wallonnia Region
Expert for SME at Brussels Region
Organizer
Jury - NRJ Start-up
Jury - European Entreprise Challenges
Collaborations : Technofutur TIC, MIC Brussels, Impulse(ABE), ASE, Solvay Brussels School, Solvay Entrepreneurs, EFPME,
IFAPME, Azimut, Les Jeunes Entreprises, SkillsBelgium, JADE, Betacowork, Faculté des Sciences Appliquées
de l’ULB, WeStartup…
#miduchateau

4. Mirror Pitch Elevator Pitch Sales Pitch
Conference
Pitch
Networking
Pitch
Peers Pitch
Family Pitch
Startup
Competition
Pitch
A pitch ?
#miduchateau

5. Assumed objectives
Mirror Pitch
• Train your pitch
• Check body language
Elevator Pitch
• Convince an investor
in 60s to get a
meeting
Sales Pitch
• Convince a customer
(B2B) to get a
meeting
Conference Pitch
• Get visibility
Networking Pitch
• Get visibility, get
feedbacks
Peers Pitch
• Get feedbacks
• Show the waw effect
Family Pitch
• Explain to strangers,
profane, low-tech
profiles
Startup
Competition Pitch
• Win this competition
#miduchateau

6. Exercice : the networking pitch
• Form 10 groups of 3 people
• 15min
• Networking pitch
• Start introduction to each others with « what do you do ?»
• Introduction of 30s pitch
• Questions of understanding
• Discussions
#miduchateau

7. Learnings : My best failed startup
In 1 year, I pitched
• Cold calls : 15 times a day
• Networking event : 20 times each
• Startup competitions : 15 times
• Coworking : 100 times
• Sales meetings, fairs, BBQ : 100 times
• Family : 3000000000 times
and Mom still doesn’t get it.

8. Learnings : My best failed startup
When you masterize your pitch like a ninja
• You don’t think about the content anymore
• You focus on your audience
• You focus on body language
• You play a game
• You practice A/B testing
• You love surprises

9. Version 1
Version 2
Version 3
Final
Final fine-
tuned
Pitch Prototype
• You practice A/B testing

10. A successfull pitch ?
20% homeworks
80% training

11. Startup Competition
A Jury, a public, you & your slides
Time for slides : 5 min
Time for demo : 1 min
Time for questions & answers : 4 min

12. Startup Competition
1. Opener
•Catch attention, set up context, make
a good intro
•open questions to avoid
•closed questions for dummies are OK
: "Would you like to be happy
tomorrow?”
2-The problem that you
address
•Who are the customers ? Make us
feel the pain.
•Why is it so difficult without you ?
3-Solution
•Demo
•Benefits for customers
4-Competition
•the 4-quadrant Competition graph is
fine
5-Customer base
•Existing customers ?
•Existing leads ?
•What tis the Sales cycle ?
•Numbers and figures are ok
6-Addressable market
•Size of Market
•Customer segments
•B2B, B2C, …
•If B2B2C, explain strategy or roadmap
7-Go to market strategy
•Marketing plan
•Avoid “social networks only”
•A global roadmap is fine
8-Business model
•Where is the money ?
•How much will you earn ?
•When ?
•Specificities of this BM ?
•Is it scalable ?
9-Team
•Explain why you have the best team
•Don’t explain why a CEO is important
in a startup…
•You have a Tech guy (team) & a Bis
guy (team)
•Team pictures are fine
10-Extra slides
•Your needs ?
•The next steps ?
•A funny demo / closing act
#miduchateau

13. 1. Opener
• Catch attention, set up context, make a good intro
• Open questions to avoid
• Closed questions for dummies are OK : "Would you like to be happy
tomorrow?”
• Closed questions with real painful problems are better.
• Preparation tip : know your jury & audience
#miduchateau

14. 2.The Problem
The problem that you address
• Who are the customers ? Make the audience feel their pain.
• Why is it so difficult without your idea ?
• Are there painful alternatives you will replace ?
#miduchateau

15. 3. The Solution
• Demo or mockups ?
• Show the Value Proposition
• Benefits for customers, show the pain relievers or the gain creators
• No technical feature
• No explanation on how it works (customer doesn’t care)
#miduchateau

16. 4. Competition
• The 4-quadrant Competition graph is fine.
• « Competitive advantages » is better.
Criteria 1
Criteria 2
#miduchateau

17. 5. Customer base
• Show your valided insights from your customers hypotheseses
• Show your existing qualified leads
• Show your existing customers
• What is the Sales cycle ?
• Numbers and figures are ok
#miduchateau

18. 6. Addressable market
• Size of Market
• Customer segments
• B2B, B2C, …
• If B2B2C, explain strategy or roadmap visually
• If you address paying customers and free users, explain strategy or
roadmap visually
#miduchateau

19. 7. Business Model
• Where is the money ?
• How much will you earn ?
• When ?
• Specificities of this Business Model ?
• Is it scalable ?
• Don’t copy your BMC straight in slides. Use it for Q&A
instead.
#miduchateau

20. 8. Go to market strategy
• Marketing plan
• Action plan
• Avoid “social networks only”
• A global roadmap / timeline is fine
#miduchateau

21. 9. The Team
• Explain the best skills required of this startup
• Explain your choice of team members (why)
• Don’t say you have a CEO, CFO, CIO, CxO in a startup…
• Show you have a Solution team (Tech guy or Tech team) & a
Problem team (Business guy or Business team)
• Team pictures are fine
#miduchateau

22. 10. Extra slides
• Your needs ?
• The next steps ?
• A funny demo / closing act
• Thank your audience 
#miduchateau

23. Pitching at Betagroup
What is a Betagroup audience ?
• 500 entrepreneurs
• 80% of tech profiles and web passionates
• A few investors usually (don’t ask for funds)
• A few press (don’t ask for press articles)
• A few financial experts (don’t ask for accountability tips)
What is a good pitch for a Betagroup audience ?
• Ask for contacts, feedbacks, co-founders, partners
• Ask for help from tech gurus, developers, marketers, web experts, beta-testers
• Ask for something crazy
Keep in mind :
• Audience comes for fun, networking and drinks like you :)
• Audience wants to watch impressive show, disruptive startups, crazy projects, crazy entrepreneurs
• In the past: startups showing a pitch with a little bit of : death, sexy, fun, costumes, interactivity, sketches have become EPIC at Betagroup
#miduchateau
Michel Duchateau CreaDelta

24. Exercice
• Prepare a dummy pitch for « a fork »
• Imagine that people are used to chopsticks only.

25. Startup Competition
1. Opener
•Catch attention, set up context, make
a good intro
•open questions to avoid
•closed questions for dummies are OK
: "Would you like to be happy
tomorrow?”
2-The problem that you
address
•Who are the customers ? Make us
feel the pain.
•Why is it so difficult without you ?
3-Solution
•Demo
•Benefits for customers
4-Competition
•the 4-quadrant Competition graph is
fine
5-Customer base
•Existing customers ?
•Existing leads ?
•What tis the Sales cycle ?
•Numbers and figures are ok
6-Addressable market
•Size of Market
•Customer segments
•B2B, B2C, …
•If B2B2C, explain strategy or roadmap
7-Go to market strategy
•Marketing plan
•Avoid “social networks only”
•A global roadmap is fine
8-Business model
•Where is the money ?
•How much will you earn ?
•When ?
•Specificities of this BM ?
•Is it scalable ?
9-Team
•Explain why you have the best team
•Don’t explain why a CEO is important
in a startup…
•You have a Tech guy (team) & a Bis
guy (team)
•Team pictures are fine
10-Extra slides
•Your needs ?
•The next steps ?
•A funny demo / closing act
#miduchateau

26. Exercice : Bad pitches
• Find ultra bad ideas for pitching 
#miduchateau

27. Exercice
• Prepare or optimize your own pitch

28. A successfull pitch ?
20% homeworks
80% training

29. Thank you !
Michel Duchateau
mduchateau@creadelta.be
@miduchateau
+32 491 50 70 90