Let me tell you about the moment I usually stop listening at a pitch

At almost every pitch I hear, there's a point - around twenty seconds in - where the founder stops pitching and starts reciting. The voice flattens. The features start stacking. And I feel myself having a hard time focusing.

It's never because the idea is bad.

It's because the pitch has no shape.

And here's the thing about those first sixty seconds: you don't get them back.

Founders Try to Say Everything

Most founders treat the elevator pitch like a download.

Everything they know about the product, crammed into one breathless minute. Every feature. Every roadmap item. Every clever detail they're proud of.

The logic feels right: the more I tell them, the more convinced they'll be.

But it's backwards.

When you say everything, I remember nothing.

The misconception is that an elevator pitch is a summary. It's not.
It's a hook with a purpose.
It’s sixty seconds designed to do one job:  - make the other person want a second conversation.

That's it. The pitch doesn't close the deal. The pitch gets the meeting.

Four Jobs, Not One Speech

Here's what the founders who win the room understand:

A great elevator pitch isn't one thing you say. It's four jobs you do, in order.

Most founders only do one of them - they jump straight to the solution and talk about what it does. So the listener never feels the problem, never sees what's different, and is never actually invited to do anything.

Four jobs. Sixty seconds.
Do them in sequence and the pitch builds tension instead of dumping information.

The Strategy: The Four Elements

1. The Hook

Open with something that makes me want to hear the next sentence.

A sharp question. A bold claim about your space. A number that doesn't sound real (if you use one - make sure it's true and you can back it up). The goal isn't to be clever. The goal is to make me lean in instead of nod politely.

Action step: Write your first line so it could never be the first line of a boring pitch. If it could open anyone's pitch in your industry, it's not a hook yet.

2. The Problem

Now make me care. Name the problem so clearly and so relatably that I feel it before you've mentioned your product.

If I don't understand the problem - or worse, don't believe it matters - I will never care about your solution. The problem is the doorway. The solution is just what's on the other side.

Action step: Describe the problem in terms of a real person's pain, not a market category. "Founders waste hours on X" is way better than "inefficiencies in the Y sector."

3. Your Unique Solution

Now you get to talk about what you've built - briefly.

Don't explain how it works. Explain why it's different. What do you do that the existing alternatives can't? One sentence on the solution, one sentence on what makes you unique.

Action step: Finish this line out loud: "We have found our sweet spot in the market by ….. Or “Unlike everyone else, we”______." If you can't fill that blank fast, your pitch isn't ready - and frankly - neither is your positioning.

4. The Call to Action

End by extending the conversation. This is the job most founders forget entirely.

Don't trail off. Don't say "so… yeah, that's us." Ask for the next step. A meeting. A demo. A single pointed question that pulls the other person in.

Action step: Decide your one ask before you open your mouth. Sixty seconds should always end with a clear, confident door held open.

The Bottom Line

You don't have sixty seconds to explain your company.

You have sixty seconds to make someone want sixty minutes.

Stop trying to say everything. Pick your hook, land the problem, show what's different, and hold the door open.

Four elements. One shot. Make it want to be continued.

Thats all for today.
See you next week!

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Whenever you're ready - here is how I can help you.

1. Deep-dive Digital Courses - Self-paced courses teaching you the essential tools and skills you need to create and deliver a fantastic pitch so you can go from “I do not know what to say” to “when can I pitch next?

2. Speaking Engagements - I have done in-person and virtual speaking engagements at a number of companies, conferences, and private events covering a variety of topics.

3. 1:1 Coaching - Due to limited time, I only work with a handful of clients each year. If you're interested, click to apply.