The module is intended to teach the learners how to best present their business ideas in order to make them visible, spark interest and gain attention, thus ultimately resulting in attracting investors and gain funding of the idea/product.

1. Balkan Women Coalition vol. II
Social Start-Up Booster for Supporting Female Entrepreneurship in Balkans
(2020-1-EL01-KA204-078936)
PitchingofBusinessIdeas
ABW – N. Macedonia
March, 2022

2. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
WORKSHOP SESSIONS
Part/session1
• Quiz: What is pitching?
• Defining pitching
• Types of pitching (video)
• Discussion
• Key components of pitching
• Exercise 3 Act Pitch: Hero - Problem –
Solution
• 10 minutes break
Part/session2
• Energizer
• Key components of pitching
• Examples of key components of
pitching
• Exercise – Creation of Buyer persona
• Exercise 5 Star Review
• Discussion
• 60 minutes lunch break
Part/session3
• Brainteaser
• Pitching Exercise – Creation of a one-
page pitch
• Discussion
• 10 minutes break
Part/session4
• Tips for pitching
• Examples of good vs bad pitches
• Discussion
• Conclusions
• Feedback

3. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Part 1 - Introduction
• Get a printed copy of the questions
a. Circle the correct answers (5 minutes)
b. Follow the rule “one question – one correct answer”
c. Follow the presentation for the correct answers
d. Discuss
Pitching Quiz - 5 minutes

4. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Pitching Quiz
Q 1:The aim of pitching is to:
a. Sell the product
b. Gain attention and interest from an
investor
c. To take care of customers
Q 2:When telling your story, it is more
important to:
a. Relate to the problem of the target group
b. Focus on your background
c. Talk about financials
Q 3: When outlying the solution, you
should:
a. Be as detailed as possible
b. Keep it short and simple
c. Discuss your involvement with other
companies
Q 4: When choosing your target
market, you should:
a. Target as small area as possible
b. Target as large area as possible
c. Target the whole world

5. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Pitching Quiz
Q 5:When pitching to investors you should
discuss:
a. Exit strategy
b. Go-to-market strategy
c. Personal debt
Q 6: For customer acquisition, you should
discuss:
a. How you plan to reach your customers
b. Ask for guidance on how to reach customers
c. Both
Q 7: When pitching to investors, you
should:
a. Dress in a suit
b. Dress casually
c. Dress how you feel comfortable

6. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
What is pitching?
• Pitching:
• Is a summary used to quickly and simply
define or introduce a product, service of
organization and its value proposition.
• Should spark interest, be brief, persuasive
and memorable, and show the advantages +
uniqueness of your idea.
• “Who the hell are you and why should I pay
attention? / What’s in it for me?”
• Is about convincing and winning people for
you and your idea, attract investors, co-
founders, employees and fine-tune the idea
Empathy
Creativity
Pitch
Rationality
“I PITCH; therefore, I am!”
- Gay Kawasaki

7. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Where/when/why do we pitch?

8. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Who pitches?

9. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Types of pitching?
The MVP (minimal viable
pitch)
• Who (are you)?
• What (is the problem,
need and solution)?
• Uniqueness (value
proposition)?
• Why (are you
pitching/what do you
want – call to action)?

10. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Types of pitching?
Discussion
• Have you been pitching so far?
• Tell us about one of your
experience. Which types of
pitching have you used?
• Which types of pitching do you
think you can use in future
situations?
• VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC
QlT-Fc4WA
• Identify the MVP (minimal viable
pitch) in the video

11. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Key components of pitching – pitch anatomy
• How to create a
great pitch?
• Questions your
pitch should
answer?

12. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Key components of pitching
1. Introduction
• Who are you?
• What does your
company do?
• What's the value
proposition?
• Grab their attention
1. Greet your audience in a way that’s
appropriate for the occasion.
• Introduce yourself - formal for a business pitch or
more casual for a fun event.
2. Start with something catchy
• A rhetorical question, a picture, a story, example,
exciting information, or a joke…
• The more personal you can make it, the more
natural your pitch will seem.

13. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Key components of pitching
2. Problem
• Make listeners feel the pain!
• List problems your company
observes and wants to solve.
• Give a striking overview of the
problem and explain it briefly.
• Use key words
• All solutions start with a problem.
• State the problem early on.
• Relate the problem back to the audience by real-
world examples.
• Elaborate on how this negatively impacts people.
• Use more than one example or a visual, to paint
a picture for the audience.
• Avoid using buzzwords and tech talk in the story.
• Use real names and real customer challenges.
• Keep it simple and realistic.

14. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Key components of pitching
3. Idea - Solution
• List 3-5 ways your company proposes
to solve the problem.
• Describe how you envision solving the
problems.
• Communicate big value conveniences
• Be straightforward.
• Be clear so you can jump to
introducing your product.
• Show your product - even if your
product is not yet built, show a visual
representation.
• MVP – MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT
1. A minimum viable product is the
first form of a product that you can
release to users.
2. It provides core functionality
without any additional features.
3. Entrepreneurs use MVPs to assess
how customers feel about an idea
and use customer feedback to
develop the next version of the
product.

15. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Introduction –Problem – Solution Examples
Curtesy of Hub Spot
• Bad-Into-Good Example
1. Hello, investors. My name is Juan de la Cruz, and I am the Chief
Technology Officer at Traffic Stop. Today, we’re seeking $50,000 in
exchange for 10% of our growing company.
2. A few years ago, I found myself stuck in traffic daily as I commuted from
my suburban home to my office job in the city. As you can expect, it was
the perfect combination of exhausting and tedious. I knew there needed
to be a better way to go to and from work without those traffic-induced
headaches.
3. That’s why I developed Traffic Stop – a solution to the problems we face
when it comes to rush hour. By simply identifying backroad solutions,
we’ve eradicated any chance of being caught in gridlock when you’re
trying to get home to your family after an exhausting day of work.

16. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Introduction –Problem – Solution Examples
Curtesy of Hub Spot
• Impending Disaster Example
1. My name is Alexis Matthews, the Founder and President of GloboSave.
2. It’s no secret – pollution has been plaguing the environment for decades
upon decades. Just recently, it was found that by the year 2050, pollution
will have an irreversible effect on our planet. If the destruction of our
planet remains unaddressed, Earth may become uninhabitable for future
generations. Luckily, we’re working to fix that.
3. GloboSave is a solution to pollution that helps remove carbon from the air.
Our product removes carbon from the air at a massive scale with our
revolutionary and patented technology – drastically lowering the threat of
global warming and simultaneously making our air more breathable.

17. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Solution – Product or Service Types
1. Software Prototypes.
2. Product Designs –
• a sketch (by hand or using a
tool);
• a wireframe (to show things like
user experience, hierarchy, and
navigation);
• or a mockup (demonstrates
exactly how your product will
work).
3. Demo Videos.
4. Landing Pages etc.

18. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Solution – MVPs Examples
• Amazon began as an online bookstore.
• Jeff Bezos started out by buying books from
distributors and shipping them to customers
every time his online store received an order.
• The high book sales meant it made sense to keep
adding more products to the store, then acquire
warehouses, and finally provide each user with a
personalized experience on the website.
• Beginning with the founders’ own
apartment, Airbnb gave people the option to
list a room for short-term rental to earn extra
income.
• It became clear that travelers were willing to
stay in someone else’s home to save money
on accommodation, and the platform grew
from there.

19. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Solution – MVPs Examples
VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=xPJoq_QVsY4

20. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Exercise 3 Act Pitch: Hero – Problem – Solution
• Divide in three teams (according to the
rule: 1,2.3…).
• Turn your pitch into a three-act story,
using no more than 30 words for each
act.
• Act 1. We meet our hero.
Act 2. We discover a problem.
Act 3. Our hero finds the solution.
• Use the 17 UN sustainable development
goals for inspiration.
• Time: 15 minutes + 5 minutes for
presentation

21. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Exercise 3 Act Pitch: Hero – Problem – Solution
Example - Canva:
Act 1: Ana is a presentation designer at Canva, she
works with startup founders and industry leaders to
create beautiful and clear presentations.
Act 2: Every conference Ana visits it's the same
thing, a parade of boring bullet-point presentations.
The problem is, not everyone knows where to find a
professional designer to help him improve his pitch.
Act 3: So, Ana made an affordable template that
allows anyone to design an eye-catching
presentation. Now there's no excuse for a lousy
pitch!

22. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Part 2 - Key components of pitching
Energizer
10 minutes
“Give a compliment“
• Take a paper and write down your name.
• Then, distribute the paper to the other
participants, so they can write a compliment about
you.
• Read the compliments.

23. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Key components of pitching
4. Target Market
• Who are the customers you want to serve?
• Customer's problems, wants and needs.
• Research - geographic, demographic, behavioral
and psychographic factors for segmentation
• What makes you the best fit for a customer
(benefits)?
1. Help them make more money;
2. Reduce business costs;
3. Address multiple pain points;
4. Make them more productive/efficient.

24. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Size the Market
It is often more accurate when the SOM is
built from the bottom up, for example:
• We have 5 people, who will make an
average of 100 calls a day … In total,
we will have 500 calls/day.
• From those calls, the effectiveness will
be 5% at most, so we will get 25
clients a day.
• If a month has 20 working days, during
that period we will be able to get
20x25 = 500 clients.
• If we work 12 months, in one year we
capture 6,000 clients….
• THIS is the real SOM (size of market).
• SOM is also dependent on the cash-
flow projections (how much
customers do you have to acquire in
order to be profitable?).

25. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Background
Job? Career Path? Family?
Lifestyle?
● Your text here
● Your text here
● Your text here
● Your text here
Demographics
Age? Income? Location? Gender Identity?
● Your text here
● Your text here
● Your text here
● Your text here
Identifiers
Communication preferences?
Social media platforms?
● Your text here
● Your text here
● Your text here
● Your text here
Goals
Primary/secondary goals? Personal vs professional goals? Role-related vs company goals?
● Your text here
● Your text here
Challenges
What does this person struggle with in relation to meeting goals?
What serves as a roadblock for this person’s success?
● Your text here
● Your text here
What can we do?
...to help our persona achieve their goals? ...to help our
persona overcome their challenges?
● Your text here
● Your text here
● Your text here
Target Market – General Buyer Persona
Gabriela Mesa

26. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Real Quotes
About goals, challenges, etc.
● Your text here
● Your text here
● Your text here
Common Objections
Why wouldn’t they buy your product/ service?
● Your text here
● Your text here
Marketing Messaging
How can you describe your solution to have the biggest impact
on your persona?
● Your text here
● Your text here
Elevator Pitch/Bumper Sticker
Sell your persona on your solution -
in a sentence or a few words!
● Your text here
● Your text here
● Your text here
Target Market – General Buyer Persona

27. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
How to use buyer persona
• Develop content strategies by focusing on relevant keywords.
• Identify relevant promotional activities.
• Sending personalized offers to buyers based on their preferences.
• Time marketing campaigns for peak engagement rates.
• Publishing content and advertisements on the channels (email, social
media) most used by the buyer persona.
• Align messaging to promote brand unity and increase brand awareness.
• Refining copywriting to reflect SEO and automation strategies.

28. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Target Market - Buyer persona - Exercise
• Divideinfourteams(1,2,3,4)
• Googlethecompaniesandcreate
abuyerpersonaforthefollowing
SEproducts/services
• Afterthat,dotheThe Five-Star
Review. (Put yourself in
your customers’ shoes).
• Imagine you are your
venture's customer, and you
are writing a 50 word, five-
star review of the business,
its products or services.
What would you say?
• Time: 40 minutes

29. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Key components of pitching
5. Competitor Analysis
• Tips for an effective competitor analysis
1. Attend professional conferences
2. Analyze industry reports
3. Analyze your competitor’s website and social media marketing strengths and weaknesses
(Platforms, Frequency, Following, Content, Tone and voice, Response time)
5. Analyze competitor’s content marketing strategy
6. Analyze competitor’s email marketing strategy (sign up on competitor’s website for their
newsletter or email list, so that you can receive communications from them and inspect:
Frequency of emails, Content, Mobile optimization, Sender score - if their emails ever wind up
in your spam folder).
7. A survey among competitor’s customers, suppliers, and employees
8. Hire employees from competing firms and team up with competitor’s partners
9. Analyze who competitors hire and what they want from candidates

30. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Competitor matrix and competitor advantage
(direct and indirect competitors)

31. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Key components of
pitching
6. Business or
Revenue Model
The ways the company plans
to make money.
Example: Business Model
Canvas - TOM’s Shoes

32. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Key components of pitching
7.FinancialProjectionsandTraction
Investors want to hear where you’re at:
• Product and customer milestones (number of customers),
• Other investments put into the company (including your own equity),
• Signed letters of intent (LOI) to purchase/partner,
• Key hires,
• Key media placement,
• How much money do you need,
• How will you use the money/funds,
• Timeline (when will this begin-end)…

33. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
FinancialProjectionsandTraction
• You can show traction without having made a single sale.
• Through user adoption of a free version of your product, you can
show that people are connecting with your product over time.
• The bars are downloads per month, and the line graph are data
points collected per month.
• Sales forecast (see open-source
SaaS template)
• Traction

34. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Cash-flow
• Projection of a 3–5-
year cash-flow
statement (see open-
source excel
document)

35. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Key components of
pitching
8. Timeline
• Start
• Current state
• Future steps

36. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Key components of pitching
9. Team
• Experience and background
• Past success
• Potential
• Expertise (developer, marketer,
engineer, sales…)
• Advisory board
• Current investors
STELLA ORNELAS
Chief Executive Officer
BRYAN COOK
Chief Finance Officer

37. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
"Connect all nine dots with four straight lines
without lifting your pencil/pen off the paper or
retracing a line, as this counts as two lines."
Brainteaser
• Everyone tries to solve
it by themselves
• We share the solution
on a white board
Time: 10 minutes
Part 3 – learning by Doing

38. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
MAYA: THE BAG THAT
CARRIES YOU
BIRD BUDDY: A SMART
BIRD FEEDER
UVMASK: ALL-DAY ACTIVE
UV-C AIR PURIFICATION
FACE MASK
Pitching
exercises
• Divide in three teams
• Read the company examples (if
needed, google the companies
for more information)
• Create a ONE PAGE pitch using
the provided pitch templates
• Present the pitch
• Time: 40 minutes +
presentation of pitches (20
minutes)
• Discussion: What did we learn?

39. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Part 4 – Tips for pitching and evaluation
Tips for pitching (do’s and don’ts):
1. Tell a story
2. Grab attention – don’t be boring!
3. Practice timing - don’t waste time!
4. Use the key components of pitching
5. Present the unique feature
6. Pitch – don’t sell (less is more/KISS)
7. Ask for what you need - don’t forget the call to action
8. Include social proof – don’t say everybody will love it!
9. Present the team - investors invest in people, not only
ideas.
10. Practice, integrate feedback and practice again!

40. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Pitching examples: Good vs. Bad
Examples of disaster pitches:
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N92rqMaMPGI
Best Shark Tank Pitches:
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3PY_p_M-8w
Have you made any mistakes
in pitching, so far?

41. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Conclusions and Feedback
1. What did we learn?
2. Can you use the knowledge from the workshop in
future?
3. Did you have a possibility to participate and
interact?
4. How did you feel?
5. Comments and recommendations?
6. Fill the evaluation form (provided in print).

42. The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of
the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Resources
• https://www.thesedge.org/socent-spotlights/22-awesome-social-enterprise-
business-ideas
• https://www.consciousconnectionmagazine.com/2016/02/social-enterprise-
examples-and-principles/
• https://asana.com/resources/elevator-pitch-examples
• https://myva360.com/blog/examples-of-minimum-viable-products
• https://www.dummies.com/article/business-careers-
money/business/financing/the-venture-capitalist-pitch-deck-your-traction-
160273
• https://medium.com/is-that-product-management/a-strategy-to-calculate-the-
market-size-tam-sam-and-som-cda0a05c77f8
• https://thinkinsights.net/consulting/tam-sam-som/
• https://www.skillsyouneed.com/rhubarb/pitch-business-idea.html
• https://bench.co/blog/accounting/cash-flow-statements/
• https://www.score.org/resource/12-month-cash-flow-statement
• https://www.kickstarter.com/discover
• https://www.canva.com/tools/
• https://www.hubspot.com/