The Pitch Canvas is an entrepreneurial brainstorming tool that helps you structure and visualizes your pitch on one page. It is created by David Beckett with an investor-centric design approach by using the investment winning elements of a Startup Pitch.
Nobody has more time to listen to your complex yet long-lasting pitch. Short but focused is a great pitch design property. Doing it in just a few minutes is even harder! But that is how it should be done today.
How to use this Canvas?
As per the guidance by David Beckett. Draw it up on a flipchart and use Post-It notes to brainstorm all your ideas about each block of The Pitch Canvas. Ideally, you do this as a team, but you can also brainstorm on your own. Get the pitch out of your head so that you can organize your thoughts. Once you’ve covered all blocks, you can then develop your script and your slides.
How many post-its per block?
To begin with, use as many as you need. It can get messy, like all brainstorms, and you need to get everything you might say about your business, out of your head. Finally, when your ideas have started to dry up, take a step back, remove duplicate ideas, and focus down on the really important points that you don’t want people to forget.
What’s the difference between a team and why you?
All investors will tell you that the Team is the most important part of any Startup. If the team is strong, problems with the product and business model can be overcome. That means you need to explain who the people are that work on the business, why they have the relevant skills, and why you as a group are committed to stick together and make what you promise to become reality. Equally, there is an individual making the pitch. The audience wants to feel that an individual’s passion and commitment to the concept they are pitching. In short: The team is about the people behind the product, and Why You? is about the person in front of the audience, giving the pitch.
Do I have to cover all 11 blocks in every pitch?
No: it depends on how long the pitch is, and what stage your business has reached. If you have a 3-minute pitch, you will need to leave out some blocks. Choose the areas you are strongest – but certainly include the Pain, the problem you are solving. If you are an early-stage team, your focus will be mostly on Pain and Product, and less on Customer Traction, or Business Model. However, if you are focused on winning investment, then Pain, What’s Unique, Customer Traction, Business Model, Investment, and Team are essential.
Do I need to follow the order from top to bottom?
No, not necessarily. Be creative and find your own way to structure your pitch. Ensure you stand out by focusing on your key strengths, as a team, and as a business., For example, you can start with the Pain, or Why You? The Team can come earlier in the pitch if it is especially strong. However, if you are not sure where to start, the order of The Pitch Canvas© is not a bad way to structure your first pitch.
Download the original version of The Pitch Canvas©
