In the spirit of upcoming Group Business Presentations, Kevin O’Leary, the most notorious dragon of CBC’s Dragons Den, has stopped by to give our fellow classmates some advice and pointers on their upcoming presentations! Being a fund manager, entrepreneur, and avid investor, Kevin has  seen thousands of pitches, and today he has helped us identify the top 3 secrets to successful pitches:

1. Clarity of Ideas: Kevin states that it is important for a team to be able to articulate their idea in 60 seconds or less, as it must be simple for the listener to understand. Personally, if i were an investor, i would never invest in something with ambiguity and therefore, clarity and simplicity in the explanation is very important for presentations and pitches.

2. Numbers: As TAs have explained in tutorials, the presenters should have numbers and calculations to back up their presentations. Kevin O’Leary also agrees as he states that winners on Dragon’s Den almost always know their numbers, as it is what sparks the interest of investors.

3. Leadership and Teamwork: Although this may not be directly beneficial to comm 101 presentations, Kevin also emphasizes the need to explain why you are the right person to carry out your business plan. Aspiring entrepreneurs should be capable and confident that his or her knowledge and/or experience in the field will allow for the successful execution of the business plan.

Good luck to everybody on the comm 101 presentations! Hopefully we can all earn an “investment” from Rob and Tamar!