I have so much respect for people who are not afraid to put themselves out there in this typically unforgiving world. Rejection stings.
The odds seem to be stacked against the passionate entrepreneurs, as well. This week, we learned that fewer than 1 in 20 elevator pitches make it to the venture pitch. Of those that do, fewer than 1 in 20 venture pitches make it to the business plan. And of those that make it to the planning stage, most fail during the execution of the plan. All of this failure and loss, despite the best efforts of a team of passionate people, who have likely invested money themselves!
That is incredibly depressing! Who would put themselves out there with such ridiculously horrible odds?
Not a mathematician, that’s for sure.
I sense that those with the entrepreneurial spirit, are powered by something special, though. Something that us folks with Pension Plans, may not recognize or understand. Like an adrenaline junkie, an entrepreneur has to keep following their passions, to get their next “hit” with a potential investor. Those with true talent will undoubtedly have a higher rate of success, than those whose talent is perceived. Perhaps the terrible odds are due to too many day dreamers!
For my post on this week’s task, I found the following pitch. Would you invest your money with this young entrepreneur?
In my quest to locate a current elevator pitch worthy of analyis, I found countless videos of entrepreneurs’ products, without the actual pitch. It seems as though the art of making a pitch is evolving into a hybrid format, that combines elements of an elevator pitch and elements of a venture pitch. Sites like Kickstarter and AngelList vastly contain videos that sell the product, as opposed to obtaining investors. The pieces of the traditional elevator pitch are typically listed below the product video, in graphic or paragraph format. It makes me wonder if the traditional elevator pitch is on its way down?
I have decided to present this “eleventure pitch” for two important reasons:
- It contains some of the “Five T’s” of Adam Lorant’s lecture, “Perfecting Your Pitch” (jump to the 8:40 mark for the 5 Ts). The T’s that are not included in the video, can be sourced from the Microventures.com site. This webpage is very well laid out and will answer many questions that a potential investor may have. (Should one of my ETEC 522 classmates decided to critique this hybrid pitch, please go to the Microventures.com site, to find the remaining elements.)
- This is a pitch that is very active. Money is coming in as I type this sentence! The CEO is answering questions, as they come in. I am finding it very exciting to be following this venture, in real time.
Admittedly, prosthetics are not directly related to the world of Ed Tech. However, this product utilizes both 3D printing and AI technologies, both of which are technologies moving into the world of Ed Tech. Moreover, this is one product that makes me want to invest! CEO Easton LaChappelle conveys passion, domain expertise, and leadership in his eleventure pitch (complete with inspiring “eleventure music”!). These are but some of the qualities that David Rose talks about in his TedTalk, “How to Pitch to a VC (Venture Capitalist)”.
Click here to read my classmates’ replies to my post. Then scroll to the bottom. 🙂