The golden rules of pitching

Some entrepreneurs are natural at pitching their businesses to potential investors, others find it hard and often stressful. But it doesn’t have to be if you follow some simple but effective tips. Guy Kawasaki, the renowned American marketing guru, author, and Silicon Valley venture capitalist, suggests following his 10-20-30 Rule of Presentation if you really want to make a pitch count. He may have created this golden rule more than a decade ago, but it still works really effectively. If you are giving a pitch presentation, and using slides to get your message across, the 10-20-30 rule says you should use just ten slides, your presentation should last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points. The topics for the ten slides should focus on the problem, the solution, the business model, the underlying technology, sales and marketing, the competition, the team, projections and milestones, status and timeline, and summary and call to action. So, if you want to make your pitch work for you and help you to close the deal, then remember the 10-20-30 golden rule. Happy pitching!