Elevator pitches are designed to provide a potential funding source or business partner with a one-page overview of exactly what the company does, how much money they’re looking to raise, and other pertinent information in order to gain interest among the reader. It is very difficult to write a elevator pitch given that a lot of information needs the put on to one page very quickly and easily. There are a number of templates on this website that can assist you in developing an elevator pitch so that information pertaining to anticipated financial results, usage of funds, services or products offered, and the size of the market can be neatly placed onto one page. While it is common for most elevator pitches to be no more than one page in length, there are times when it is appropriate to have a 2 to 3 page elevator pitch. This is especially true if the documentation is heavily technology focused and the individual reader has a substantial understanding of this industry. As such, this can be viewed almost as an expanded executive summary rather than an elevator pitch. In many cases, entrepreneurs will develop both types of documentation so that an individual can have a one-page summary while also having a smaller document to read so that they can have a better understanding of what the business is looking to accomplish.
What is generally omitted in a elevator pitch is primarily the ongoing operating procedures of the business as well as things such as the marketing plan. Only a small table showcasing the potential financials of the business should be put onto this one page summary. Generally, a limited amount of information regarding the industry as a whole is included as well. For entrepreneurs that have an extensive amount of experience in this field they will often put in a very small biography that showcases this experience or a highly technical educational background. This can assist when differentiating a business from the numerous elevator pitches that venture capitalists, private equity firms, and angel investors read on a daily basis. One of the more typical aspects of writing elevator pitch is also managing the font so that it can be easily readable by anyone that is going through it very quickly.
One of the other things that is commonly put into an elevator pitch is a discussion that a full-scale business plan exists and is available upon request. An elevator pitch is usually just meant to provide – again – an overview of the business and is not usually required to have a nondisclosure agreement. In almost all cases where the business plan showcases a substantial amount of technical information a nondisclosure agreement is almost always included. As such, it is important to provide a significant amount of information within this one-page document but not enough where you’re giving up trade secrets. Again, this is one of the more difficult aspects of it given that you want to create a substantial amount of interest in the business you don’t want to give everything away via a one-page document.
Almost all the content that is on an elevator pitch is usually included within the business plan as well. However, it is important to note that most information that is an elevator pitch is not duplicated within the business plan itself. This is going to be one of the ongoing things that we discussed in regards to developing interest among potential funding sources. On a side note, most banks and financial institutions do not require that a elevator pitch is made when they are entertaining a loan application. These institutions primarily want to see a full-scale business plan were very large executive summary while they render a lending decision.
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