Elevator pitch

A slang term used to describe a brief speech that outlines an idea for a product, service or project. The name comes from the notion that the speech should be delivered in the short time period of an elevator ride, usually 20-60 seconds.

In the financial world, the speech refers to an entrepreneur's attempt to convince a venture capitalist that a business idea is worth investing in.

Investopedia Says:
Venture capitalists use the quality of the elevator speech as a way to judge whether to continue with an idea. The elevator pitch is also used by project managers, salespeople and jobseekers as a way to market themselves or their ideas. An elevator pitch should include why your product, idea or project is worth investing in by explaining such things as the features, benefits and cost savings.

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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2009)

An elevator pitch is an overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The name reflects the fact that an elevator pitch should be possible to deliver in the time span of an elevator ride, meaning in a maximum of 30 seconds and in 130 words or fewer.^{[citation needed]}

The term is typically used in the context of an entrepreneur pitching an idea to a venture capitalist or angel investor to receive funding. Venture capitalists often judge the quality of an idea and team on the basis of the quality of its elevator pitch, and will ask entrepreneurs for the elevator pitches to quickly weed out bad ideas and weak teams.

A variety of other people, including entrepreneurs, project managers, salespeople, evangelists, policy-makers, job seekers, and speed daters commonly use elevator pitches to get their point across quickly.

Elements

An effective elevator pitch generally answers questions such as:

• What the product, service, or project is.
• What it does for the buyer, investor, or sponsor (i.e. the benefits).
• Who you are and why you will be successful.

References in fiction

An elevator pitch (literally done in an elevator) is a key scene in the movie Working Girl.

External links

• Video on how to create an elevator pitch from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

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