I actually think a startup pitch at the “idea” phase may be more like pitching a network TV show. The reason I focus on network TV (as opposed to a miniseries or a film) is that you aren’t only selling a vision for a narrative arc, but also trying to engender empathy for how your creation will leverage a core premise to become sustaining and engaging.

You might not know how the series will end, when you are going to introduce a new character to shift the dynamics, or other variables of how the production will go over the life of the show, but you do know that you have a foundational concept that will dictate the future of the story you want to tell.