/ Hey, Google Developers Live, I'm Zachary Cohn.
I work with an organization called Startup Weekend.
And I'm here today with Don Dodge.
And we're here to give you pitch advice for startups and
entrepreneurs.
So Don is a developer and startup
advocate here at Google.
And he's a veteran of five different startups, so he's
had some experience pitching.
And he's going to be here to help us with that today.
So Don, are all pitches the same, or are
there different types?
DON DODGE: No, there are different types of pitches.
There's the elevator pitch, which is the shortest one.
And the elevator pitch is used to get the next meeting with
an investor or with a partner.
The next pitch is usually about 30 minutes long, and
that goes into more of what the product is, how it works,
what problem it solves.
And then there's an hour-long pitch, which is for investors
where you go deep into the product
and all of the details.
So I think today we want to talk about the elevator pitch
and why that's important.
ZACHARY COHN: Cool.
Well, tell me about the elevator pitch.
What makes a good one?
DON DODGE: An elevator pitch should be five minutes or less
and it should cover just a few topics.
What you want to do is get their head nodding yes.
If you don't see their head nodding yes, stop, because
you're probably not going to get very far.
And you need to redo your pitch.
So the very first thing that you do in an elevator pitch is
explain what is the problem you're solving.
And the investor or the partner or the customer, needs
to identify with that problem.
If they're not interested in the problem you're solving,
then they're not interested at all in your solution to it.
So one big mistake that a lot of entrepreneurs make is, in
their elevator pitch, they immediately jump into their
solution and why it's better.
And if you haven't gotten the person to nod their head and
understand what the problem is, there's no way they're
going to be interested in your solution.
So that's the number one thing.
Start with what problem you solve.
Try to use a real-life example of a real person that you
know, or a real life example of the
problem that you're solving.
The second thing you do is talk about why is
this problem important.
Why are you solving this problem?
And again, if you have real-life experience where
you've experienced this problem, and you're
passionate about it.
Then that's going to get the credence that says, OK, this
guy knows what he's talking about.
I'm going to listen.
So those are the first two things.
Start with the problem.
Start with, why this problem is important And what
experience you have in solving it.
If you don't have experience in solving the problem, then
they're going to say, well, yeah, interesting problem, but
you don't know anything about it.
So start with those things.
ZACHARY COHN: Interesting.
So what are some good ways to practice pitching?
DON DODGE: Well, you don't want to practice on the people
who are going to give you money.
You want to have practice with other people.
So practice with your friends first because they'll be kind.
Then practice with people you've worked with in the
past, or people who are in this industry and kind of
understand the problem, and see if you can get them to nod
their heads.
Then move on to investors and that kind of thing.
ZACHARY COHN: Cool.
Well, how would you structure a pitch.
We talked a little bit about that, but could we go into
more detail about the different things that you
should have in, what you should say first, what you
should say later on?
DON DODGE: So there are three main things
in an elevator pitch.
The problem that you're solving, your solution, and
the team that you have that can solve that problem.
Those three things.
So again, start with the problem you're solving.
If they nod their head like, yeah, I understand that
problem, I've seen that, then move on to your solution.
What is your solution?
Why is it better than what exists out there today?
And then close with the team, and why this team is capable
of putting together this solution.
If you cover those three things in a minute to a minute
and a half, now you have permission to go deeper.
If you don't see them nodding their head at those three
things, stop and move on to the next one.
ZACHARY COHN: Great.