1. Shark Tank Pitch Guidance
11/22/2018
The Pitch – 12 to 14 Slides
Cover Slide
Problem
Solution
Business model
Business model cont. (if needed)
Marketing
Promotion
Competition
Team
Financials
Timeline
Exit Strategy
Summary and call to action
Creative slides may be added as needed.
The Pitch: Presentation Policies
Each student/student team (candidate) will have exactly 11 minutes in the conference room with the judges, both for presenting their business pitch as well as to listen and participate in the judges’ questions regarding the presentation.
Each candidate will have exactly 6 minutes of time to present his or her business pitch to the judges.
The timekeeper will notify the candidate when his or her time begins, with 2-minutes remaining, 1-minute remaining, and when the time limit is up he or she will notify the candidate.
After the candidate has delivered his or her business pitch the timekeeper will notify the judges that they will have exactly 5 minutes to ask the candidate questions regarding the presentation.
The timekeeper will notify the candidate and the judges with 1 minute remaining and when time has expired.
There will then be an additional 2-minutes provided to the judges for deliberation AFTER the candidate has left the room to help with scoring between different presentations. The timekeeper will notify the judges of the 2-minute interval.
Timing will be very strict and not go over more than a few seconds of the 13-minute mark for transition.
Slides for Presentation or Handout: The slides my use limited product demos. Will your slides be designed for the big screen or for handouts. Here are a few thoughts on slides for presentations, as different from slides for handouts:
Slides should have minimal text (I like to have no more than 10 words)
Font sizes shouldn't be smaller than half the oldest age in the audience (e.g. if someone in the audience is 60, the font size shouldn't be smaller than 30)
Tell a compelling story while still getting to the value proposition quickly
Make the 'ask' at the end of the presentation
Presentations should be rehearsed to fit the allotted time (many presenters are far too short or go too long)
The next time you open Keynote/PowerPoint, ask yourself if it's for presentations or for handouts.
General Instructions: Each pitch must contain at least 12 slides, and no more than 14 slides. Remember that each student/team has only 6 minutes for their pitch. The Cover slide must be the first slide and the Summary and Call to action slide must be the last slide. The slides do not need to be numbered in the header text, however, please number the pages. Slide twelve will become slide 14 if both creative slides are used within the presentation. The order of the slides must be as illustrated in this slide above. Two additional creative slides may be added for critical information and interest anywhere within the first and last slide. The content of the slides should address the area for that slide. Two slides may be added by the student(s) to enhance or personalize the pitch.
Bring 9 printed and stapled copies (sets) of the slides to the Pitch. Please use page numbers on the printed sets. Also, bring your presentation on a flash drive for loading on the computer for presentation.
Cover Slide-contains the business name, school, business logo, the date of the pitch, the student or students names, and the instructor’s name. This slide should be customized for the business.
Problem-Clearly state the problem you are solving. Share your passion or pain related to the problem. Clearly share your passion. This is presented through a pitch technique such as a story or imagine approach.
Solution- Transition verbally from problem to solution by stating your 15 second purpose statement. Clearly state your value proposition. Clearly state your solution. What are you doing, for whom, and why. It’s not about your idea or product. Clearly illustrate the customer benefit.
Business model- Use this slide to explain how your business operates. For example: What is your business structure? Sole Proprietorship, Corporation, LLC, Partnership. Share key areas from the Business Model Canvas that are not covered on other slides (shown on slide 2 of these instructions). Share your business concept (the how). Show understanding of the business and its customers? What technology, manufacturing, equipment is needed? Are you using it now? Briefly share how you will develop or address this need. Examples: online database, commercial kitchen, lawn equipment, Website, storefront, … . What do you need to produce your product or deliver your service?
Business model – Continue on a second slide ONLY IF NEEDED
Marketing -Discuss your target market, customer relations, and customer segments. Talk about the market. Who will buy your product/service? Clearly identify who you will market to and how.
Promotion – Describe your promotional mix (advertising, sales promotions, personal selling, public relations). Provide picture evidence (ex. Screen shot of web page, flyers, Instagram, Facebook, Etsy, etc.) This is where you emphasis any social entrepreneurship/philanthropic efforts you have.
Competition-Clearly identify your competition and how you will overcome their presence in the market. Offer industry perspective. How are you differentiating from your competition?
Team-Who is on your team? Key partners? Key people resources? Who are they? Yes, the teacher is a key people resource. Who else?
Financials – What is the current status of your business: moving to revenue, have current sales? Break down your business costs: EOU and break-even. Share a summary 1-year proforma. (Use a second slide if needed.)
Timeline-How will you act on the information shared in the financials slide? What will you do over the next four months in your business? Offer an action plan?
Exit-Do you have an exit strategy? Briefly describe your intentions-Close this business and move on to another class, continue through the summer and re-evaluate, plan on taking Entrepreneurship next year … . Are you launching for a summer job?
Summary and call to action- How much “venture capital” award is needed and why. Why do you need the money? How are they going to use the money? List item(s) needed with cost.
Ask for funding. What actions will you take? What actions are needed from the jury? Share proof the company is ready to crawl and more. Close the deal? Make the ask: ask for a mentor, a contact, a customer, the money, etc.
Make the pitch succinct and to the point? There is much asked for in the above descriptions. You do not need to cover every point. Address those points of each slide that are most relevant to your business concept problem and solution. Demonstrate that you are coachable entrepreneurs. Remember you only have 6 minutes to make your pitch.
The Business Canvas Model and the One-Page Strategic Plan are provided for reference as you prepare your pitch and slide deck.
The Pitch will be scored as follows:
Scoring (1-5)
Business Concept (How)
Customer Benefit (Why)
Feasibility of Success/Intention (Launch for a summer job)
Shared/Demonstrated Passion
Pitch Considerations:
Who are they and why do they need the money? How are they going to use the money?
Did they offer an action plan?
Do they understand the business and its customers? Did they offer industry perspective?
Look for proof the company is ready to crawl before it can walk. Are they coachable entrepreneurs?
Did they identify the benefit?
Do they have passion?
Did they add the magic dust?
Did they close the deal? Was the pitch succinct and to the point?
Entrepreneurship Alliance/City of Snellville
The Entreprenurship Alliance

2. Shark Tank Pitch Guidance
11/22/2018
The Entreprenurship Alliance