I believe that the craft of pitching seems simple at its core, but is also incredibly complex. It seems to be filled with paradoxes – you want to introduce a new concept, but in a relatable way. You want to make investors feel like they’re part of something much larger than themselves (as Alex notes via his choice to include bold numerical statistics) but you also want to seem personable and realistic with your goals. It seems that the art of pitching is learned like most things, with practice – as shown when Alex pitches to Chris, takes Chris’s notes, and then rephrases/tries again mid-pitch (and sometimes mid-sentence!) I also feel that a good pitch is pivotal to the success of a business, for a number of reasons. Firstly, as Chris notes, a pitch forces an entrepreneur to boil down their idea to a short period of speaking time; they must succinctly and coherently express the problem, how the company will solve the problem, and how solving that problem is going to make large amounts of money for all involved with the company. If any part of the company’s mission or launch plan is too complicated or unfeasible, having to create a pitch will expose those issues; this roadblock can help the company to reexamine its strategy and priorities – which is what Alex ended up doing as he worked with both Chris in episode 1 and his friends in episode 2 to rephrase and summarize the company’s goals. A good pitch is also necessary for the more obvious reason – to gain support and money from investors! I also greatly admired Chris’s approach with Alex’s first pitch in that he was able to pitch the concept back to Alex – showing him just how concise and enticing he could boil it down to. I feel that a good pitch has to be engaging, informative, and personal – which was shown in Alex’s decision to include an anecdote from his life in his second pitch. I also loved the idea that a pitch should leave the investors with FOMO (or fear of missing out) on a great opportunity, as if you’re inviting them for a ride they won’t want to miss.
Personally, I feel that delivering pitches is an exciting opportunity to present an idea you’re passionate about. Especially with my theatre background, being an engaging, exciting public speaker has been ingrained in me from a young age, and has only strengthened with the academic support of my theatre major. As an actress in an audition room, or a playwright to a theatre company deciding their season, I’m constantly pitching myself and my work. I don’t have any reservations about speaking in front of strangers, and do not feel incredibly intimidated by the “investors” of the theatre world (i.e directors and casting teams), for I feel that if I have enough confidence to essentially pitch “myself” as a theatrical artist and work I’m passionate about, I definitely will have the drive and confidence to pitch a new product or service. Theatre as a business is driven by receiving feedback/taking notes and implementing them, so I’d be eager to receive notes about my pitching style and improve from there. Lastly, since so much of my experience in the arts involves personal elements, I’d feel very comfortable using the tactic of personal anecdotes (as Alex mentions) to add an element of vulnerability/relatability to my pitch for investors.
