Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Season 4 Episode 5: 'I Invest in People' This episode of our weekly pitch show catches up with a pair of furniture founders from last season.
By Entrepreneur Staff •
Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch invites ambitious entrepreneurs to step into the Entrepreneur Elevator, then gives them 60 seconds to pique the judges' interest. It's a high-pressure, fast-paced environment in which startup founders need to race the clock while maintaining their composure to make a clear, deliberate pitch that covers at least three essential components:
- Defining the company
- Making the request
- Specifying what the investment money will be used for
The investors watch the pitch through a video livestream while the elevator ascends to the boardroom floor. Once the 60 seconds are up, the group votes on whether to open the doors or send the founder back down and pass on investing.
Related: Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Season 4 Episode 4: 'It Hit All the Ingredients Except a Good Product'
This episode of Elevator Pitch starts out with a pair of entrepreneurs who leave the judges split after 60 seconds. "I invest in people," says judge David Meltzer, "and I don't see the competence," while Peter Goldberg thinks "there's more to this story that's positive that they just didn't convey." Eventually, the investors agree to open the doors, but will the founders be able to convert that opportunity into dollars and cents?
Next up is a man selling products for women. His pitch starts with the words, "Yes, that's right," and ends with one judge saying, "This is crazy."
After that, the show checks in with a company, Fernish, that earned an investment from the judges in season three. The co-founders break down the growth they've seen in their business since appearing on Elevator Pitch, from the sheer volume of their team to the amount of brand awareness they've enjoyed.
Another quick cutout of the episode breaks down some tips you can use while pitching, starting with the fact that when you pitch your business, you're really pitching yourself. That means:
- You should talk about yourself, your background and your expertise.
- You should tout your team's accomplishments.
- You need to prove you're the right leader for this venture.
As Meltzer says, "The right person can make a company succeed." Prove that you can do just that, and you're well on your way to earning potential investors' trust.
For more tips and the rest of the pitches in this episode, click play.
Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch in partnership with Sports 1 Marketing streams Wednesdays on entrepreneur.com. Follow Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch on Facebook, YouTube and IGTV.
