Build a pitch around evidence

Decide who needs to act

A pitch for an advisor, competition jury, potential partner, or investor has a different decision at its center. Name the audience and the action you want them to take. Design the story around the evidence that helps them evaluate that action.

Build the narrative

1. Problem: who faces it, in what situation, and with what consequence?
2. Existing alternatives: what happens today, and what is missing?
3. Solution: what outcome do you provide, and how does it work?
4. Evidence: what have interviews, experiments, or actual use shown?
5. Business model: who pays, why, and what drives the cost to serve?
6. Route to market: how will you reach the initial segment?
7. Team and execution: who can deliver, and what capability is missing?
8. Plan and ask: what is the next milestone, what do you need, and what will it make possible?

The order can change. Keep the relationship between each claim and the next decision clear.

Audit every important claim

For each number or assertion, record a source, date, owner, and limitation. Label actuals, estimates, forecasts, and synthetic examples explicitly. A signed contract, a nonbinding expression of interest, and an interview compliment are different forms of evidence.

Avoid unsupported total-market claims. Explain the segment you can plausibly serve and the assumptions behind any market estimate. Use ranges when precision is not justified.

Prepare for questions

Create a Q&A record for the assumptions most likely to be challenged: willingness to pay, retention, acquisition cost, competition, operational capacity, legal constraints, and the next funding need.

Answer with what you know, the evidence, and what remains uncertain. ‘We have not tested that yet; here is the test we plan’ is more credible than an invented number.

Rehearse and review

Rehearse to the actual time limit. Ask a reviewer to identify claims they cannot follow or verify. Remove detail that does not support the decision, and keep supporting material available for questions.

Before sharing, check permissions for customer quotes, logos, research findings, and confidential financial information. Store the current narrative and outstanding questions in your Pitch stage so the team works from the same version.