Entrepreneurs usually pitch in order to earn money from investors to start their business. In order for entrepreneurs to successfully pitch an idea, a problem and solution must be identified, the solution should have a detailed explanation, identify and address the consumer group, and showcase the team of experts. The idea behind pitching is to seek agreement from the audience regarding your business solution. Guy Kawasaki suggests that the ideal number of PowerPoint slides for a presentation is ten.
- Title
- Problem
- Solution
- Business model
- Underlying Magic
- Marketing and sales
- Competition
- Team
- Projections
- Status and timeline
These 10 slides should be covered within the first 20 minutes of the presentation. The rest of the allotted time should be devoted to answering questions from the audience. The presentation should also use a minimum 30-point font, so that the audience can clearly see the information. It is important that entrepreneurs reflect on their ability to pitch an idea to get an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. Some common mistakes that are made include using too much technical language, overestimating revenue projections, boring the audience, and failing to listen to advice.
Psychological research suggests that humans are not always rational when it comes to decision making. According to prospect theory, “a behavioral model that shows how people decide between alternatives that involve risk and uncertainty, people think in terms of expected utility relative to a reference point rather than absolute outcomes.” The framing of how the information is presented in terms of gains and losses plays an important role in human decision making. However, entrepreneurs can get into trouble with the law even if they are very careful in their daily operations. A customer may sue an entrepreneur if an advertisement for a product contains misleading information. I believe that marketing strategies such as B2C (Business to Consumer), personalized marketing, PR (public relations) marketing, word of mouth marketing, and social media marketing can be effective strategies for swaying decisions about a product or service. The more that people hear about a product and the more it is adopted by their peers, the more likely that they will decide to try it as well.