Anatomy of a Pitch Competition
A Founder’s unreliable recollections.
Background
I launched Stockphoto.com in 2013 with money I had saved. You can read more here:
TL;DR
You’ll be on stage. So if you’re potentially going to cock it up, do it as far from home as possible.
I thought my Pitch Coach would understand my pitch like my Co-Founders. WRONG.
Pitching is something that the Yanks do. (And how an Australian would do it)
Pitch competitions are like playing pretend.
If you have (absolutely) nothing better to do. Do it as far away as possible.
The worst thing about bootstrapping, is that you can’t throw more money at engineers to speed things up.
Retained earnings only allow you to move at a certain speed.
So I figured that while I was waiting for the new platform to be completed, I would learn how to pitch. Otherwise I would just drive myself (and my engineers) raving mad.
Also, in the event that our new offering worked we might need funding. (But more on that, perhaps in another article)
I reasoned that a pitch competition would provide:
- The external feedback I needed on my new platform (beyond my small test group of photographers and advisory board members)
- A time-boxed, outcome-driven opportunity to upskill rather than a passive workshop format. I’d be forced to absorb, craft and deliver on a scheduled Demo Day of sorts.
My one proviso was that if I was going to make a dick of myself on stage, that stage should be as far away as possible.
IGNITER + STARTUP WORLDCUP THAILAND PITCH COMPETITION
Pitch your startup at Centara Grand Convention Center, Bangkok infront of 40+ prominent investors of Silicon Valley and Thailand, ranging from Garage Ventures, Alchemist Accelerator, Swarm Funds and more.
We are partnering with StartupWorldCup.io Thailand, so the Final winner of IgniterCon Pitch Competition will get a GOLD Ticket to the finals at StartupWorld Cup in San Francisco to compete for a GRAND PRIZE OF 1 MILLION DOLLARS
BREAKDOWN OF THE PITCH COMP
- Apply for the Pitch http://bit.ly/IgniterSEA-Pitch
- 15 minute online orientation with the Organiser
Learn the Pitch Format
5 Minute Each Pitch by the presenter with One Slide for Background the background with company logo on it (no notes). You do not use notes or flashcards while pitching, it must be by memory.
Is it a good idea?
Is it clearly communicated?
Is the pitch interesting?
Would you like to see this idea developed further?
Overall impression.
3. Attend the online screening with the Pitch Coach. Shortlisted candidates progress to the Pitch contest in Bangkok.
4. Shortlisted candidates to attend pitch training and dry run with Pitch Coach in Bangkok (the day before the event).
5. Pitch on stage!
Step 1 — 15 minute Orientation with Raj Lal (Igniter)
I envisioned this to be a pre-screening activity where people like me would be weeded out. I burst through the gates with my company spiel before Raj reeled me back. Think this was just a meet-and-greet and an opportunity to run through the ground rules. After ten minutes and an aborted Shank Tank-esque pitch, I was instructed to cough up the application fee and await instructions.
Step 2– 45 minute ‘How to Pitch’ webinar with Jennifer Carter Toll Peatman
KEY POINTS:
- Tell a story
- Keep it so simple your Grandmother would understand
- Demonstrate your passion
- Check out Youtube for examples of successful pitches
Step 3–60 minute online screening with Roy Terry
One of two sessions with Silicon Valley Pitch Doctor, Roy Terry where you presented (aka ‘read’) your five minute pitch.
I had been working on this initial version for about two weeks and had convinced myself that I was on a good thing and it needed no further alteration.
I can’t recall Roy’s exact turn of phrase but he thought it was shit.
In hindsight, it was indeed shit.
I spent too much time getting to the Problem.
The Solution was too ‘techy’.
The Problem wasn’t a problem that ordinary people could understand.
It lacked the Story. It wasn’t compelling.
The telling moment was when, in my exasperation with Roy, I asked him if he was an investor — would he invest? Say no more.
I remember hanging up in a state of utter denial. How could anyone in their right mind, not like our business?
I slept (uncomfortably) on it that night and shot an email to Raj the next morning asking for an opportunity to pitch again in the second screening session. He was kind enough to agree.
Step 3 (Part 2) — 60 minute online screening with Roy Terry
Despite my dented pride and lingering denial, I wanted to demonstrate I was willing to learn and adapt. I was going to be flexible and open-minded. I was willing to see where they would take me.
I spent the next day rewriting the pitch with more of a personal story line.
Hit the Problem and elaborate on the Solution a little more quickly.
I even put a shirt on and turned on the webcam so Roy could get a better feel of the delivery.
ROY’S VERDICT = Better. But with room for improvement. Liked my numbers but wanted to know how we were going to make money. How was this going to hockey stick?
I still wasn’t happy with Roy.
He just wasn’t getting it.
In short:
- I don’t understand your business (“Why would I pay for stock photos when there’s Unsplash?”)
- I don’t understand why it’s going to grow (Are you sure there’s really a problem to be fixed?)
- I don’t understand how the stock photo business makes money.
Step 4 — Pitch rehearsals with Roy Terry (Bangkok)
I thanked Roy and Raj for their positive feedback but Roy could sense my push back. Other entrants accepted his feedback seemingly (to me, at least) without question.
Just as he didn’t know what Stockphoto.com was about, I didn’t know who he was. I didn’t know anything about his track record beyond his online bio.
I needed to know that he knew which pitches worked.
I needed to know he was capable of saying — “yup, that’s a good pitch. There’s nothing I can add to that.”
I needed to know he wasn’t bullshitting me.
I wanted him to say to me, “I worked on a pitch like yours, with XXXX just two weeks ago. That final pitch was presented intact to XXXX fund and was successful in raising $MEGAdollars in a Series X”.
This was the mountain I wanted to learn how to climb.
On the day of the pitch rehearsals, and despite my reworked pitch, Roy seemed to still be stuck on the viability of the industry, let alone the nuance I was trying to challenge.
Was it me?
It seemed so clear to me when I first scribbled down my idea.
Now I was starting to question if I had put the cart before the horse.
Roy seemed to be dogmatically wedded to a standardised rise and fall of a pitch. I was equally inflexible on the value of my solution.
The dry run was a complete bust. I tore up my version 2.0 and skipped the session in favour of Isan street food and some lukewarm Singha. I needed a timeout.
Step 5 — Pitch comp!
Pitch day saw me wake up without a pitch.
With a 3 PM kickoff, I only had a few hours to write and rehearse — which I duly did.
Put a nice clean shirt on.
Got there about 2 PM.
Got up on stage.
Came second. (Which is not the important bit.)
What changed?
Butting heads with Roy, made me realise that I needed two pitches:
- One for audiences familiar with the stock photo industry; and
- One for audiences with a general awareness.
There were three judges on the panel — Roy plus two others from Accelerators. My punt was that all three were from the latter group. But if they weren’t then I thought I could address industry specific questions in the Q&A.
So I sold my soul a little (what’s left of it, that is) and wrote a easily-digestible pitch that teetered on the mainstream. I took a leaf out of my session with Jennifer Carter Toll Peatman. It was a grandma-friendly presentation.
Frankly, it was an angle that could’ve even been used by iStock when they launched nearly two decades ago. Same business drivers. Same logical solution. But with a little A.I. fairy dust.
However, to my pleasant surprise, panellist Ravi Belani chimed in with a few marketplace-centric questions which I was more than pleased to elaborate on. Our exchange digressed from the Problem-Solution template of the competition to a more expansive discussion on our existing business (and that domain name). This gave a much better context of our proposed innovation. BINGO!
So what did Roy teach me?
Sell the burger. Not the grill.
(And for that, I will be eternally grateful.)
Pitching is such an un-Australian thing to do.
Standing in front of people, telling them how great your idea is and how you’re shit hot seems like such an American thing to do.
I remember having a drink with Roy after the event and telling him what a significant cultural shift in mindset it is for both Asians and Australians (and anyone in the Commonwealth, for that matter) to get up and pitch.
Americans seem to embrace risk taking, self interest and one-upmanship which contrasts with the Utilitarian/Confucian-ist mentality of Asians and the tall-poppy syndrome of Australians.
So what happened after the Pitch competition?
So I made a bunch of great friends. My cohort was blessed with like-minded Founders that shared their experiences without reservation or judgement.
I got what I wanted. I saw a bit more of the fan dance that characterises the fund raising process. Even picked up a few moves.
But ultimately, when you get off the plane and unpack your bags, you’re still the one with the mop and bucket.
All that positioning and stagecraft was like putting lipstick on a pig.
And I still have to get this little piggy to market.
Neeraj Aggarwala and Peter T’Sas.
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