Forward Thinker Award 2021: How to Craft Your Pitch for Success
With our 4th annual Forward Thinker Award fast approaching on March 10th, we want to take some time to give some tips to entrepreneurs on what the panel of investors will be looking for when judging the finalists.
Each year, startups who compete are evaluated on 5 criteria; Leadership, Product, Market, Customer Validation, and Business Model. We’ve felt that these 5 criteria have been successful in giving a holistic view of the business and the team in a short period of time. Remember, companies only get ~5 minutes to pitch to the judges and have ~5 minutes of Q&A, so clearly and concisely presenting these 5 criteria can be a challenge. We wanted to spend some time highlighting the 5 criteria and giving some tips for each one.
Leadership
When looking at the company’s leadership, the most important aspect is whether the team has the right expertise to execute the company's vision. The way that the judges look at this goes beyond the experience of the team, however. One of the most important aspects of this is the story that is told for why they wanted to build this business in the first place. That eureka moment is critical to get across in a short period of time.
Product
The product itself is one of the most important parts of the pitch. You want to ensure the judges understand your product and how it is solving the problem, of course. However, this marker is also giving the judges a peek into whether you’re more obsessed with the problem or the solution. The judges are looking for founders who are more obsessed with solving the problem and explaining why their product can solve the problem, rather than focusing on their solution.
Market
Whenever a founder talks about the market, the most obvious conclusion is to focus on how massive the total addressable market (TAM) is. However, what judges are really looking for is what segment of the market you will address. Oftentimes, it is more valuable to be focused on a segment of the market rather than being scattered on how to address the entire market. Of course, everyone loves a big TAM, but a more focused segment of the TAM can be key to winning over the judges.
Customer Validation
While the answer to this question will differ greatly from company to company, the key here is to convince the judges that you are confident in who your ideal customer is and why they’ve waited their whole lives for your solution. Because it can be challenging to compare companies based solely on the number of customers, the judges are more interested in the low-hanging fruit — who is your ideal customer and who is not your ideal customer. Knowing who not to go after at this stage can be just as valuable.
Business Model
The focus here is on the business's economics and the go-to-market strategy to help you scale quickly. Building off the previous point, explaining what your go-to-market strategy is and who your ideal customers are is critical. An obvious red flag is when a company says that their ideal customer is anyone who is willing to pay for it. You want to show the judges that you have done your homework and know who is the first set of customers.
Lastly, it is important to talk about the economics of the business clearly. Simple things like the product's price, some key KPIs you track, what your traction is, how you’re rewarding evangelists to help you scale, and how you plan to make money are all important factors.
What’s at Stake
Now that you’re armed with the secret for how pitches are judged, we hope this helps to hone your message better when applying and when you present in front of the investors. With less than 1 week left until the application deadline, be sure to get yours submitted now! You can find the form on our website using this link. The deadline to apply is February 14th, 2021, so what are you waiting for?
Don’t forget, there are some exciting prizes up for grabs! In addition to $30,000 in cash prize to the top 2 winners, all 4 finalists will be eligible for the following:
- A 90% discount off any HubSpot product for an entire year
- $10,000 in AWS credits
- $10,000 in Trend Micro cybersecurity software
A special thank you to AWS, HubSpot, and Trend Micro for their incredible generosity in sponsoring our Forward Thinker Award.
