5 ways to make your startup pitch pop

Learn from the pros. Gain some valuable advice from some of our PITCH competition finalists.

Are you gearing up to pitch your startup? Whether you’re preparing for a competition, seeking funding, or trying to win over potential clients, crafting a compelling pitch is crucial. 

We’ve put together some advice from six finalists of PITCH – the Web Summit startup competition –that will help you refine your presentation and stand out from the crowd.

Craft a clear value proposition

Maria Cecilia Marques of Rio-based deco.cx, a front-end platform that enables technology teams to create and scale high-performance digital experiences, and winner of PITCH at Web Summit Rio 2024, emphasised the importance of having a clear value proposition.

The business development manager advised highlighting how your product or service solves a problem or improves upon existing solutions. For the deco.cx team, Maria Cecilia said this meant “highlighting how [they] simplify web development, boost performance, and enable seamless team collaboration”.

Tell a compelling story

The power of storytelling in pitches is something everyone aims to hone in on. Kseniya Lenarciak, CEO of Italian startup Sly – a sensing platform that offers wildfire and industrial gas leak monitoring – noted the knock-on effect of successfully bringing people into your story.

“Telling a story and sharing an educational message are key components of my presentations, as opposed to purely selling the idea or business. This approach allows us to build empathy and trust with the audience, and naturally gain their support for our project designed to achieve a meaningful positive impact on a global-scale problem,” said Kseniya.

Karolina Valente, CEO and CSO of VoxCell BioInnovation – a Canadian startup creating human-like vascularised tissue models as a screening platform in drug development – feels it is all about engagement, with a cleverly crafted story helping to get the name out there.

“We crafted a compelling narrative that outlined our journey, the challenges we overcame, and the innovative solutions we developed. This storytelling approach helped to engage our audience on an emotional level, making our pitch more memorable,” said Karolina.

Use data and metrics, but add visual appeal

Backing up your claims with concrete data can significantly strengthen your pitch. Maria Cecilia recommended “presenting metrics such as six-times performance boosts and 40 percent sales increases” to showcase your startup’s impact.

However, don’t underestimate the power of a visually engaging presentation. The business development manager advised having “sleek, visually appealing slides” to accompany your metrics.

Vitor Lopes da Costa of Bahia, Brazil-based startup Bee2Be – a startup offering sustainable enterprise solutions – agreed. “Using clear and impactful visuals helped us communicate our message effectively,” added the founder.

Practice, practice, practice

Manycontent CEO Bruno Mello emphasised the importance of consistent practice: “A pitch is something that always needs to be trained and refined. I usually make a lot of pitches during the week, but in the beginning, I practiced at home repeatedly in front of the mirror, walking around the house and making my pitch to my wife and partners.”

“Furthermore, timing everything is super important, as pitches always have a time limit, whether for competition, sales or for those looking for funding,” added the CEO of the São Paulo, Brazil-based startup.

Similarly, Bruno Multedo, co-founder of Rio-based sustainable agritech startup Lets Fly, said, “I repeated a million times to myself and to other people in a very open for criticism way”.

Always be ready to impress investors

Investment opportunity can strike at any time, so you need to have a polished pitch on stage and off, as Manycontent’s Bruno Mello found out: “At the [Web Summit] opening party, my partner and I already made a connection with … a large American investor. In the following days, the more we spent in the competition, the more possibilities emerged”.

Having said that, making it to the PITCH finals elevates your opportunities. “The exposure we received from presenting our 3D bioprinted human-like cancer tissue models to a global audience of investors, industry leaders, and innovators has significantly accelerated our growth,” noted VoxCell’s Karolina Valente.

Making it to the PITCH finals meant the startup “forged strategic partnerships and attracted interest from potential investors, which has provided both financial support and invaluable industry connections,” said the CEO.

Are you a startup? Apply to our startup programme at Web Summit in Lisbon this November.

Main image: Web Summit