The 60-second pitch that got me a Shark Tank audition

There’s a saying I once heard from an investor:

“If you can’t pitch it in 15 seconds I’m not buying”.

It was something that was very front of mind for me the day I got the chance to pitch an idea to the investors that form the panel of Shark Tank.

While my pitch wasn’t 15 seconds (they give you a bit longer than that on Shark Tank!) I did keep it to under 60 seconds. I crafted and tailored it to within an inch of its life and practised it more than 20 times before delivering it.

The result?

Two days later I got a call from the Shark Tank producer Tim Underwood inviting me to submit a business proposal and audition for their program.

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Yeee haaa!

The business I pitched to Shark Tank is an online platform for people to buy and sell plant-life and produce.

What were the steps I used to create and hone my 60 second pitch?

1. Build a visual memory map – this is your business on paper
2. Create a killer headline
3. Support your headline with just three key benefits – no more than that
4. Reinforce with statistics and stories and trim the fat.

Here was the final 60-second pitch that got me the call back from Shark Tank:

Hello Shark Tankers

My name is Emma and I’m from Coogee in Sydney. I’m the creator of Gardenhood – a gardener’s marketplace – grown with love.   

Gardenhood’s target market is micro-nurseries and baby boomers. We have 10,000 baby boomers retiring every day for the next 19 years! 36% of our pensioners live below the poverty line right now. Baby boomers aren’t retiring, they are setting up shop on social media and earning from hobbies.  

Organic produce is at a premium but our farmers aren’t paid a premium and micro-nurseries are struggling against major retailers like Bunnings.

Gardenhood solves these problems by connecting direct with a grower or gardener, so your money goes direct to a person who works the soil every day. Invest in growers and gardeners and you invest in sustainability, you keep people off the poverty line, you help niche and micro-nurseries get found and remain competitive and you invest in our earth’s future.

Tada!

It sounds pretty amazing, right?! I actually pitched it just last night to Start-Up Tasmania in Hobart and won a prize.

I’d love you to take the four steps above and craft your own pitch. If you do, feel free to share it in the comments. And if you have any other questions about pitching, you can ask them there too!