Category: Telling Your Entrepreneurial Story and Pitching the Idea

7.1 Clarifying Your Vision, Mission, and Goals The most basic formula for telling the story of your innovation is the problem-solution narrative. Entrepreneurs are problem solvers, but they need to strategize to battle competitors and to weather the risks inherent in starting a new venture. Vision and mission statements are crucial to planning a venture. Vision…

Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you should be able to: Now you have an idea of how to communicate the purpose of your innovation through clear mission and vision statements, while setting tangible SMART goals for your startup. You should also have a basic understanding of how to pitch your innovation to…

Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: When you start to pitch your idea, it means you are sharing it with a variety of people for different purposes. When encouraged to develop entrepreneurial ideas, students often ask, “How can I be sure no one is going to steal my…

Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Let’s look more closely at how to develop pitches. Remember that we defined a pitch as a formal but brief presentation that is delivered (usually) to potential investors in a startup. As such, a pitch is designed to be clear, concise, and compelling around…

Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: The popular reality TV show about entrepreneurs making pitches, Shark Tank, is sometimes erroneously described as a show about pitching. This is false. Shark Tank is a show about people, usually inventors, with interesting back stories who are now looking for help getting their product…

Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you will be able to: Entrepreneurs can sometimes be compared to superheroes: They solve problems. They wield great power and responsibility. They’re willing to take on risks the way superheroes are willing to take on villains. They are undaunted in the face of failure. They seek solutions…

Figure 7.1 A pair of entrepreneurs pitches their venture at the “Risk City” Global Entrepreneur Week in Memphis, Tennessee. (credit: modification of “Risk City. Global Entrepreneur Week.” by Brad Montgomery/Flickr, CC BY 2.0) Chapter Outline 7.1 Clarifying Your Vision, Mission, and Goals 7.2 Sharing Your Entrepreneurial Story 7.3 Developing Pitches for Various Audiences and Goals 7.4 Protecting Your Idea and Polishing…