Design Thinking
PITCH
Selling Your Idea
Course Content for ENT3607 Innovation by Design - Syllabus
Design Thinking > How Might We > Team > Plan > Empathize > Synthesize > Reframe > Ideate > Select > Build > Pitch
The pitch is crucial for articulating a compelling vision, securing vital resources, and generating interest by clearly defining a problem and selling your unique solution.
The Pitch
Conduct a Google search on “Pitching an Idea” and you’ll find no end to the experts giving advice and templates for slide decks. One thing is clear, a successful pitch must engage the audience around the challenge, and convince them that you have solved it. This involves story-telling and persuasion - two skills that entire college courses are built around, in fact you can find several online that you can take.
A General Pitch Outline
Richard Holmam at Medium says that “The Pitch” requires Four Essential Ingredients:
The Challenge is the business or strategic or brand problem you are being invited to solve, summed up in a single sentence.
The Key Insight is the key to unlocking the the problem. It’s the way into the creative, the foundation of your concept, the reason your idea makes sense.
The Idea is … your idea, but described in the single most elegant and evocative and compelling sentence you can think of.
The Execution is where you enable the audience to envision your idea with all the color and passion and verve that you do.
Pitch Slide Deck
Guy Kawasaki at Canva takes an entrepreneurial approach and breaks it down into ten slides:
Title
Problem/Opportunity: Describe the pain that you‘re alleviating or the pleasure you‘re providing.
Value Proposition: Explain the value of the pain you alleviate or the value of the pleasure you provide.
Underlying Magic: Describe the technology, secret sauce, or magic behind your product.
Business Model: How will you fund your business.
Go-to-market Plan: Explain how you are going to reach your customer without breaking the bank.
Competitive Analysis: Provide a complete view of the competitive landscape.
Management Team: Describe the key members of your management team, board of directors, and board of advisors as well as your major investors.
Financial Projection and Key Metrics: Provide a three-year forecast containing not only dollars but key metrics such as the number of customers and conversion rate.
Current Status, Accomplishments to Date, Timeline, Use of Funds
Example Pitch from Doordash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNAOXokK--o
Design Thinking Informed Pitch
Your Design Thinking process should provide you with all you need to build your pitch desk:
An engaging Design Challenge Problem
The research that validates the problem
Stakeholder quotes, a persona, and journey map that describes the pain points
Key Insights that led to your innovation
A great solution validated by stakeholders
An Analysis of the competition
A prototype to demo (consider doing so in a video)
Activities
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Design and Deliver Your Pitch
A business pitch requires a combination of skills and resources. You will need to include a compelling demonstration of your prototype, and your branding. Graphic Design skills will be required for the slide deck. Communication and Presentation skills will be required throughout!
Determine who on your team is best equipped to deliver the presentation. Allow your best presenter(s) to give the presentation while the others support and help with questions from the side.
There’s enough work here for all the team:
- prototype development
- branding
- content development
- stakeholder validation
- slide deck design
- possible video production
- presentation delivery
Check your understanding of
What two skills are required for providing an engaging pitch?
What four elements should a successful pitch include?
What elements should an entrepreneurial pitch include?
How does Design Thinking inform a successful pitch?