This week marks the finale of an unusual pitch competition sponsored by Virgin Media Business (the business broadband division of Virgin Media). More than 3,000 entrepreneurs from the U.K. and Ireland took part in VOOM 2016 and submitted pitches for the opportunity to pitch face-to-face to some of the most successful entrepreneurs on the planet.
In early June, 158 contestants were invited to London to pitch to a panel of judges during a 29-hour pitchathon that was live streamed. The panel chose the top ideas and this week the six finalists are pitching their ideas directly to Richard Branson, Spanx founder and billionaire Sara Blakely, model turned fashion mogul Tyra Banks, YouTube sensation Marcus Butler, and the Managing Director of Virgin Media Business, Peter Kelly. The winners are competing for £1 million in prize money.
If you had the chance to pitch to Richard Branson, what would you do? How would you prepare? What would you say? How would you say it? The following tips are based on my interview with Peter Kelly as well as insights from Richard Branson, Sara Blakely and Tyra Banks.
Keep it short.
“The worst thing is when people repeat themselves,” says Branson. “You should be able to get your message, your idea and your personality across in two or three minutes.”
Peter Kelly agrees, telling me that an entrepreneur should be able to answer several questions in the first 60 seconds. “In 60 seconds I’m looking for precision and execution. I want to hear insight about your competition, who is currently serving the sector and how you will stand out from the rest,” says Kelly. “I need to be convinced that the solution or product you are pitching is going to work, why it will work and how it will work.”
For example, one of the six finalists, MacRebur, has developed a way to create more environmentally friendly asphalt for Britain’s roads. In just 90 seconds, the company pitch (which you can see here) outlined how it started, the problem it addresses, and the benefits of its solution. Two minutes is plenty of time to engage your listeners, outline your story, and give your audience a reason to hear more.
Keep it simple.
“Don’t use jargon,” says Branson. Period. Sara Blakely agrees. She says a great business is “Easy to understand, solves a problem and offers something better than currently exists. But easy to understand is number one. I need to be able to grasp it quickly in an elevator pitch.”
“When you explain your solution I need an instant sense of ‘that’s smart,’ says Kelly. “Not all solutions are simple, but it needs to be innovative and explained in a way that I can instantly identify how it addresses the underlying cause of the problem. If you can convey all of that in the short amount of time you have in front of us, then there is no reason we wouldn’t believe in your solution, too.”
Passion is a common theme among all the judges. “I want to see that the founder is truly passionate about the sector they’re going into,” says Tyra Banks. “I want to hear passion for the problem and passion behind providing the solution,” says Peter Kelly. “As a judge I will pick up on that energy and intensity and buy into you as the founder of the business, the person who can take it to the next level.”
I’ve personally interviewed Richard Branson enough times to know that he’s passionate about Virgin, passionate about customer service, and passionate about the role of passion in success. “When you believe in something, the force of your convictions will spark other people’s interest and motivate them to help you achieve your goals. This is essential to success,” says Branson.
VOOM finalist Iseult Ward makes it clear in her pitch for FoodCloud that she’s passionate about creating and implementing solutions to social and environmental problems. “Stores across the world are throwing out perfectly good food every day and charities in their communities are struggling to feed those in need. This is a global problem with 30% of food produced going to waste and 1 in 7 people suffering from food poverty,” Ward says. “We are a small but passionate team with huge ambitions and want to scale our solution for food waste and food poverty to communities around the world.”
Have fun.
Sarah Blakely counts Branson as a friend and a business mentor. She recalls her experiencing pitching Branson for her own idea in 2004 on a reality show called The Rebel Billionaire. “Humor was a big part of it,” says Blakely about her success. “I wanted to stand out by making him laugh. I started out selling fax machines door-to-door for seven years before I started Spanx. I quickly learned—through a lot of rejection— that if I could make someone laugh or smile in the first 15 seconds I usually got another 15 seconds.” Blakely and Branson look for humor in the entrepreneurs pitching their ideas. “Fun is one of the most important and underrated ingredients in any successful venture,” Branson once said. “If you’re not having fun, then it’s probably time to call it quits and try something else.”
VOOM finalist Sibberi bottles and sells tree water tapped from birch, maple and bamboo trees. Founded by Clara and Mehdi, two people who met in college, the two entrepreneurs created a product that is now sold in 800 stores. They’re looking for investments to take them to the next level. While they’re serious about tree water, they approach the subject playfully in this video. Mehdi describes himself as “a reformed banker from Goldman Sachs” who said his friends thought he was nuts when he told them why he was leaving his job. Their fun approach to a serious product won over judges at the pitchathon, giving them the chance the win some big marketing dollars in the final competition.
Learning how to pitch your idea is an essential skill for success. “I’ve seen many business owners who have a great understanding of a real problem and a solution for that problem, but they cannot adequately explain how they will execute the plan,” Peter Kelly told me. An entrepreneur can have the right experience, the right solution for the right problem, but if they can’t inspire confidence in investors, partners and employees, their initiative might very well fail before it even gets off the ground. Watching the finalists in pitch competitions like VOOM 2016 can help you avoid communication pitfalls.