What is pitching and why is it so important?

If you have decided to develop a new project and have talked to at least some investors, you have probably come across the term "pitch", which has become actively used by start-ups.

It's actually a short presentation telling about your startup in less than 10 minutes. Presentation in front of a large audience or for one potential client, partner or investor is equally important for your project. Why? To sell your product, you need to sell it better every time.

Finding partners and getting funding are key issues for many start-ups. Proving your uniqueness requires more than just a great idea and a stylish presentation. You need to overcome your fear of public speaking and prove that you can be relied upon.

• You have to convince your audience to believe in you and your product We live in a hyper-competitive world. You need to communicate to get your message across to as many people as possible;
• If you as an entrepreneur cannot present your product in 5 minutes, how will you convince your customer to buy it?

Your audience of potential customers, investors, employees in today's saturated and noisy world is inundated with marketing messages. Customers are inundated with an assortment of different products, and services, investors are inundated with offers to invest. The best opportunity to persuade them is by managing to capture their audience's attention.

It's the substance that counts. It often happens that behind a cool pitch, you don't see the essence of the project. Sure, your presentation can be impressive. But if you don't get the message across, it doesn't go any further than that.

Developing your pitching skills should be part of your daily life. Here are some simple tips:

1. Start practising. If you are a beginner, you need at least 20 hours with an audience to develop your skills and become more confident.
2. Attend as many meetings as possible where there is an opportunity to talk about the project
3. Arrange with HEIs to give a presentation on any topic. Practice on students, they are forgiving of mistakes. (adapted from nextbigwhat, chicago-inventors)

Do you think being able to identify the key idea of a project/product and present it in 1 minute is an important skill for an entrepreneur?

If you are interested in practicing investor presentations and public speaking in front of an audience with a trainer, write about it in the comments.