Mastering the Pitch: The Most Important Skill for a Startup Founder

Don Draper: “You are the product. You feeling something. That’s what sells. Not them. Not sex. They can’t do what we do and they hate us for it.”

I tell many startup founders that they need to watch the Mad Men series. Not because it is great television (which it is), but because understanding how to pitch is the great talent any startup founder can have. This statement may seem like a far-reaching statement, but that is only because the word “pitch” in the startup ecosystem has become almost exclusively associated with the act of raising money. The real fact is that nothing could be further from the truth. Pitching is essential in every aspect of starting, maintaining, and driving a startup to success.

In the last couple years, I have conducted over 20 pitch camps. These are half-day events where I work with founders, non-profit executives, and established business operators to hone their pitching skills. Almost 100% of these people walk into the workshop wanting to focus on “the pitch” as a fundraising exercise. I quickly have to dispel this notion from their minds. Pitching is essential to every area of your business and personal life.

Are you looking to attract a key employee to join your startup? Pitching them on where the company is going and their importance is key.

You run a non-profit that desperately needs new volunteers? Pitching a prospective volunteer on why they should give up his/her time to help is a pitch.

Need to gather the attention of that special person because you want to get to know her/him better? How you get that attention and what they think is a pitch.

If you stop and think about your everyday life, I would guess that you do 20 to 25 pitches every day. If you learn the basic skills of pitching you would be amazed at how effective you can become at getting people to believe in you. Once people believe in you, the next domino to fall is that they will start doing what you want them to do. And that is the magic of being a great pitch person.

The above quote from the consummate pitchman, Don Draper, sums up the art of the pitch. Pitching is about realizing that you, the individual, are the product. In the startup world, there is a heightened realization that you are equal to your product. But the fact is that is true in every aspect of our lives. Mastering your pitch can only make you more successful, so don’t wait to start working on it.