How to create an elevator pitch

What you’ll need for that all-important 30-second presentation

2-minute read

You’ve just run into a potential investor for your project. It could be time to bring out your elevator pitch.

An elevator pitch is a concise and compelling summary of an idea, product, or project that can be delivered in the time it takes to ride an elevator (usually around 30 seconds to 2 minutes).

Elevator pitches are informal, boiled-down descriptions of what your company does and can do if given the support it needs.

Writing an elevator pitch involves whittling down your business plan and creating excitement with the person who’s listening.

What is an elevator pitch?

The elevator pitch originates from the idea of standing in an elevator with someone and pitching them an idea in the time it takes to get to their floor. In that limited time, you try to whet their appetite to learn more about you or your company.

“An elevator pitch doesn’t have to be 30 seconds long or literally take place in an elevator,” says Mona Minhas, a Partner in BDC’s Thrive and Women in Tech venture funds. “The idea is that in a really short time you’re conveying a compelling overview of your business so that the audience is left wanting to learn more.”

Why do I need an elevator pitch?

“People have really short attention spans,” says Minhas.

In this era of sound bites, she says elevator pitches can quickly communicate your business idea. “It helps someone immediately understand what it is that you’re doing and what it is that you need.”

An elevator pitch can accomplish several things:

get to the heart of what you’re offering
explain complex ideas in understandable terms
help you introduce yourself
open doors to potential collaborations
communicate your value proposition
differentiate your company from the competition

If you deliver an elevator pitch and it doesn’t feel like you, then it’s not the right pitch.

What is a good elevator pitch?

A good elevator pitch is memorable to the person being pitched to, says Mihas. “They need to remember the key takeaway.”

She says elevator pitches are simple by nature. “If you had to deliver your pitch to a 12-year-old, would they get it? It’s not about diluting or diminishing what you do; it’s about putting it in terms that anybody can understand. Can they walk away and re-explain it to the next person?”

She also says energy is vital to the delivery. “If you’re not excited about delivering it, how do you expect the person receiving it to be excited?” asks Minhas, who adds that authenticity is just as important. “If you deliver an elevator pitch and it doesn’t feel like you, then it’s not the right pitch.”

5 tips to create a compelling elevator pitch

1. Keep it simple, clear and concise

In a few strong sentences, summarize your product or service. Don’t try to cram too many details into your 30 seconds and end up speaking as quickly as possible. Home in on the most salient information.

2. Adapt your speech

Fine tune your presentation depending on whether you are talking to a banker or investor, a potential customer or a future partner. Make sure your elevator pitch has the same core elements every time you deliver it.

3. Stand out from the crowd

State whatever differentiates you from the competition. Think of an "only statement" such as: "We are the only business in the city/country/world that does X."

4. Put yourself in the listener’s shoes

Your speech should be worth their time, attention and money. Keep in mind the needs of the person in front of you. What are they looking for? How can you meet their needs?

5. Be ready to answer tough questions

No matter how good your presentation is, not everyone will be immediately impressed. Assess the weak points and identify potential objections the audience might make. That way, you will have the right answers at hand.

How long should an elevator pitch be?

Elevator pitches should last about 30 seconds, though they can go as long as two minutes for the right audience.

Elevator pitch example

Minhas offers a 30-second sample elevator pitch below from a fictitious company’s CEO.

It’s great to meet you today.

Climate change is on everyone’s minds these days. Did you know that we’re overfishing our oceans and that by 2048 the world could run out of seafood?

Oceans are critical to our overall ecosystem and environment. Still, many populations rely on seafood because of its proximity to the sea or for nutritional purposes.

I’m the CEO of AlGal, and we are infusing algae oil into plant-based seafood to mirror the same nutritional benefits as regular seafood without harming the ocean. We’ve done testing to prove that it has the same benefit.

Our sales were close to $8 million last year, and we’re about to launch our products in Europe.

Algae oil can also be an alternative fuel source since companies can mass-produce it. And we’re also working on technology to extract algae to be used for multiple purposes. No one has yet figured out how to do this en masse.

We would love to schedule a call with you to share more about what we’re doing, as we will be looking for investors next year.

It’s worth noting some of the critical elements in the above sample.

After an initial greeting, the CEO uses a vital statistic about overfishing to grab the potential investor’s attention. They also introduce themselves and the nature of their company, present a key sales figure and show how their company differs from the competition.

The pitch ends with a call to action for the two parties to meet, and the CEO explicitly states that the company is looking for investors.

How to write an elevator pitch

Minhas emphasizes simplicity for your elevator pitch.

“You’re not diluting the message or diminishing the complexity of it, but making sure that everybody can understand it. You can always add complexity to it if you’re in a conference or a space where people understand your industry.”

The first step in writing an elevator pitch is the call to action. Who is your pitch meant for, and what would you like from them?

What is the call to action?

Do I want this to lead to a meeting with them?
Is this a pitch to a potential investor?
Am I trying to persuade a customer to buy my product?

Use questions or statistics

Once you’ve decided on the call to action, Minhas suggests a question or statistic that would resonate most with this audience.

“It’s something that will hook them in, where they’re going to say, ‘Tell me more.’”

As for how to put together the information, some people like to write something long and then cut it down, while others prefer to lay out bullet points and edit from there.

“But the process itself should start backward. What are you hoping to achieve? Then explain it all in the simplest way.”

Never stop improving your pitch

The pitch will also go through iterations. “It should be something that you constantly hone. You won't know how it will land until you see the person receiving it, and you hear your voice. You’ll start to see what’s working and what’s not and revise and refine it.”

How does an elevator pitch differ from a business pitch?

While elevator pitches and business pitches both offer up business ideas, a business pitch is given to people primed to hear it.

“It’s more targeted,” says Minhas. “At the end of the business pitch, you know the outcome, such as signing a contract.

What not to include in an elevator pitch

Acronyme and jargon (e.g. RFP, KPI, core competency, undesigned)
Absolute statement (e.g. "We don't have any competition")
Too many "I" statements (e.g. "I built this myself")

You’re not delivering a business pitch on the fly in an elevator. You’ll also likely use visuals and highlight successes and outcomes more.”

Elevator pitches and women

Minhas, who primarily invests in women-founded, co-founded, and women-led technology companies, says women founders receive a tiny percentage of total venture capital investments every year, which means they come up against some barriers in their elevator pitches.

“The reason why our fund exists is because women are not able to raise capital at the same rate as their male counterparts.”

According to the latest data from Crunchbase, which tracks industry trends, the percentage of venture capital dollars that go into female-founded companies is 2.3%.

Compounding that problem, says Minhas, is the manner in which many women approach elevator pitches. She has seen women more hesitant and far too measured in their approaches than men.

“Women tend to provide much research to back up their claims. It’s good to be realistic with your revenue targets, but it’s also important to think about how to get your aspirational vision across.”

She suggests that women should not second-guess themselves, downplay their accomplishments or wait to be introduced to somebody.

“If we come back to the tenets of an elevator pitch, it’s about catching that person’s attention and getting them excited.”

Next step

Download BDC’s free pitch deck template for start-ups to help you outline your roadmap and showcase the unique solutions you offer your clients.