Tips for teens: How to make a start-up pitch

Entrepreneurs come in all sizes. Pre-teen kids may also show a propensity for start-ups. But usually preparing a serious start-up pitch for funding does not happen before mid-teen. We have put together some points on creating a successful pitch for teenage entrepreneurs.  

But before that, what is a pitch? 
It is a concise presentation of a plan to launch or grow a business. The goal is to present your idea as a business opportunity to investors in a way that convinces them to fund your venture. The pitch is like a mini-summary of a business and its goals, market, and growth plans. 

As a presentation, written or verbal, a pitch usually takes between 10-20 minutes. Pitch decks are the graphic part of the presentation, in formats such as PPT, PDF, Sharepoint, mixed files or a microsite. Pitch deck templates, including free ones, are available on the internet. And here is what you can include in them.  

Business Goals: A short introduction into the business, the vision or mission, and the overall financial and sales goals. 
 
Timeline: Launch dates, marketing timelines, a hiring plan, growth phases – all need to be quantified – so that funders get a clear 3 to 5 year roadmap.   

Audience or Buyer: This is information on the demographics of target audience or buyers, along with research data and business projection.  
 
Marketing Strategy and USP: What is your Unique Selling Point and how will you tell the world about it? Marketing requires budget, and unless you can convince funders about your USP, why will they pay? Make sure these two aspects are included in the pitch in an attractive way.  
 
Financials:  You can state funding requirements per section, but you will still need a separate slide on money matters. Here you need to be clear about assets and liabilities, projections on average revenue per customer, monthly customer growth, and monthly/quarterly revenue. You will also need to include monetization timelines after launch.  
 
Business story: Even hardened funders cannot resist a story. Tell how you had the idea, why this is important to you, and how your business will solve a common problem or innovate on a product.