The Innovators of Tomorrow Solving the Problems of Today
Build your entrepreneurial pitch in 5 sessions. Learn to identify problems, validate solutions, understand your market, and present a compelling case for your Big Idea.
Intro to Pitching & Public Speaking
Understand what a pitch is, explore funding sources, and develop your elevator pitch and public speaking skills.
Problem + Solution
Define the problem you're solving, validate it with research, and craft your MVP (Minimum Viable Product).
Market Research
Identify your beachhead market, build customer personas, and conduct customer interviews to validate your idea.
Competition, GTM & Business Model
Analyze your competitors, build a go-to-market strategy, and design your revenue model.
The Ask & Summary
Build your cost structure, determine your funding ask, introduce your team, and craft your closing slide.
Intro to Pitching & Public Speaking
Discover how entrepreneurs fund their businesses, what makes a great pitch, and how to develop your public speaking skills and elevator pitch.
🎯Session Objectives
- Identify funding resources for start-ups
- Understand the purpose of a pitch and pitch deck
- Demonstrate public speaking tactics and present an elevator pitch
📖Key Terms
💡What is a Pitch?
A pitch is a presentation of a business plan. It explains:
- What problem you are solving for your customers
- Who your customers are and how large your potential market is
- How your product works and how you plan to produce and market it
- How you will ultimately make money from your product
Your pitch should consist of: a pitch script (6 min), a pitch deck (~10 slides), and a 60-second commercial. Total presentation time: 7 minutes.
🎤Public Speaking: The Three P's
- Prepare — Know your product and market deeply. Preparation builds confidence.
- Practice — Present your pitch every week, even if it's incomplete.
- Present — Use strong body language: stand straight, use natural gestures, take up space on stage.
Power Poses: Practice power poses before presenting — make your body larger and show confident body language. It can help you feel more confident on stage!
Elevator Pitch
Create a 30-second pitch that answers three questions: (1) What is your product? (2) Who is it for? (3) Why is it unique and necessary? Practice using the body language techniques from this session. You'll need to share this during the next meeting!
📹 Session Videos
All video links are compiled at trustyourcrazyideaschallenge.org/idea-accelerator. Preview the videos below and visit the site to watch.
Discussion Prompt
Watch Kelly's pitch video and reflect: Would you invest in her idea? What did you like about her presentation? What would you do differently? Share your thoughts below.
Problem + Solution
Learn to articulate the problem you're solving, validate it through research, and define your Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
🎯Session Objectives
- Identify your problem and your customers' pain points
- Identify your MVP and clearly list your solution's unique value proposition
📖Key Terms
❗Your Problem Slide
Your problem slide is one of the most crucial parts of your presentation. Ask yourself: What would happen if no one solved this problem?
💡Your Solution Slide
⚡The Lean Startup & MVP
In this course, we use the lean startup method — look at your idea in its most basic form, experiment, and learn. What you learn helps you create better iterations of your big idea.
Your MVP is the simplest version of your product that still demonstrates your unique value proposition — the specific features most valuable to your customers.
What's Your Problem? (Student Guide: Page 6)
Complete the "What's Your Problem?" worksheet. Describe the problem you are trying to solve, what specific pain points your product addresses, how customers currently solve the problem, and why your solution is better. Share and discuss with the class.
What's Your MVP? (Student Guide: Page 7)
Work with your group or mentors to determine which features should make up your MVP. Remember: your product needs to have that special something that makes it unique and better than your competition.
📹 Session Videos
Discussion Prompt
Think about the problem your Big Idea solves: How are your potential customers currently dealing with this problem? Is their current solution difficult or unsatisfying? How does your product do it better? Share your problem and get feedback from classmates!
Market Research
Identify your beachhead market, create customer personas, and learn how to conduct customer interviews to validate your idea.
🎯Session Objectives
- Identify your beachhead market and create customer personas
- Conduct customer interviews to test assumptions about your idea
📖Key Terms
🎯Finding Your Beachhead Market
Ask yourself these questions to identify your beachhead:
- Who are your customer segments?
- From those groups, who is your solution most valuable to?
- Who has the most serious pain points?
- Who can afford the solution?
- Who can lead you to even more markets?
👤Customer Interviews: The Mom Test
Done correctly, customer interviews can produce incredible insight. Questions must be carefully constructed to gain insight without leading the customer to confirm your assumptions.
Open questions should NOT:
- Ask hypothetical questions about the future (e.g. "If there was an app that...")
- Directly mention the product (e.g. "StudyBud helps students find study groups")
- Ask questions that lead the customer to a conclusion (e.g. "Isn't it true that...")
Find Your Beachhead Market & Build Personas (Student Guide: Pages 12 & 13)
Build 2–3 customer personas for your beachhead market. Base them on real people you know. Include their interests, pain points, current solutions, wants, goals, and sources of information. These personas will help you test your ideas.
Customer Interviews: Writing Open Questions (Student Guide: Page 16)
Work in groups or with mentors to create a customer interview you'll use with a real person in your beachhead market. Focus on what they currently do and what issues they experience — not on your product idea.
📹 Session Videos
Discussion Prompt
Share your beachhead market and one customer persona: Who are they? What is their biggest pain point that your product solves? What did you learn from your customer interview that surprised you?
Competition, Go-to-Market & Business Model
Analyze your competitors, build a go-to-market strategy, and design your revenue model so investors understand how your business will succeed.
🎯Session Objectives
- Identify your competitors and competitive advantages
- Construct a go-to-market (GTM) strategy for your product
- Describe your business model and revenue streams
📖Key Terms
⚔️Your Competition Slide
💰Business Model Slide
Your business model slide tells investors how you plan to make money. Answer these questions:
- How will you make money? (Advertising, subscriptions, direct sales?)
- Will you have different levels of service or a membership fee?
- Will you offer premium versions, add-ons, or special editions?
- How much will it cost to get started?
- How much will it cost to reach market-fit?
🚀Go-to-Market Strategy
Now that you know your market, you need a plan to get your first customers and grow over time. Consider:
- How are your beachhead customers currently buying products like yours?
- How are they hearing about new products?
- Which channels best fit your beachhead? (Social media, in-person, partnerships?)
SWOT Competitive Analysis (Student Guide: Page 19)
Research 3 competitors for your product online. Complete a SWOT Competitive Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) for one of those competitors. The more you learn about your current market, the better you'll be at innovating.
Business Model & Go-to-Market Worksheets (Student Guide: Pages 22 & 24)
Work with your group to complete your business model worksheet — map out your revenue streams and potential costs. Then use the Go-to-Market worksheet to explain your strategy for reaching your beachhead market immediately.
📹 Session Videos
Discussion Prompt
Who is your biggest competitor? What did you learn about them from your SWOT analysis? What is your competitive advantage — what do you offer that they don't? Share your go-to-market strategy and explain how you'll get your first 10 customers!
The Ask, Your Team & Summary
Build your cost structure, determine how much funding to ask for, introduce your team, and craft a powerful closing that leaves investors excited about your Big Idea.
🎯Session Objectives
- Research your cost structure and create your "Ask" slide
- Write a summary and conclusion for your presentation
📖Key Terms
📊Cost Structure Slide
Your cost structure explains your start-up costs to investors. Remember: you're asking for money, so you need to know how much and why you need it.
💸The Ask Slide
👥Team & Summary Slides
Team Slide: Introduce everyone on your team and explain the expertise each person brings. Include advisors (but ask them first!). Highlight relevant skills, market connections, and experience.
Summary & Conclusion: Emphasize major points you want to stick with investors. Restate why your idea is the best possible choice. Use a tagline like "Go Further with..." or "Imagine the possibilities." End with energy!
Cost Structure Worksheet (Student Guide: Page 28)
List all expected costs for your business — design, manufacturing, personnel, storage, shipping. Research average prices for developing products like yours online. Don't forget to include paying yourself!
🎉 You've Completed the Course Curriculum!
Remember: each week, present some version of your pitch — even if it's incomplete. A Q&A will follow your final pitch presentation. Feel comfortable answering questions about your product and business. You've got this!
Questions? Visit trustyourcrazyideaschallenge.org or email [email protected]
📹 Session Videos
All video links available at trustyourcrazyideaschallenge.org/idea-accelerator
Final Reflection
You've completed all 5 sessions! Reflect on your journey: How has your Big Idea changed since you started? What's the most important thing you've learned? What are you most nervous about for your final pitch — and what are you most excited about?
