The Dilemma: Cutting my Startup Pitch to 5 Minutes
It’s another Monday and I’m in the second week of the commitment I made to myself in writing every Monday. As I put “pen to paper” today, I’m bumping up against the most important presentation of our startup’s life. Some of the largest banks in the country, our state’s treasury office, and a couple of VCs will be in attendance tomorrow as I pitch them our business.
I haven’t slept well in the past few nights so I’m fighting lack of sleep and nerves in my preparation. I need to take a break so I’m here on Medium fulfilling the commitment I made with myself last week. The topic to write about was easy to choose this time because of what’s at the forefront of my mind.
I’m given 5 minutes to pitch tomorrow but I have a tendency to go past the given amount of time. I need to cut what I’m presenting by almost 2 minutes. That’s a lot I need to cut. One place to really cut down is at the beginning of the pitch when I’m discussing the problem.
Even with cutting that down significantly, I still need to cut about another minute. That still seems like an eternity to cut down. What I don’t want to cut is information about our solution to the market.
I do feel like I’m spending too much time rambling about our “Go To Market Strategy” and “Milestones” slides. I really need to tighten those up.
I’m going to keep this writing piece short because there’s still more work to do, practicing my presentation and keeping it at 5 minutes. A lot is at stake but I’ve got to keep up my confidence that I can deliver tomorrow. Wish me luck!
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