The Elevator Pitch

The term ‘elevator pitch’ is used to describe the overview or presentation that an entrepreneur might give to describe their business, products or services to an investor or business angel.

As the name suggests, the pitch is usually delivered in the time it would take to ride an elevator (anything from 30 seconds to 2 minutes) and is used to help an investor weed out bad ideas.

An elevator pitch is usually done face to face, although can sometimes be done in writing (see 'Writing a Business Plan') or by video submission.

In fact, the BBC TV show Dragons’ Den has become so popular at showing how new businesses can pitch for investment that aspiring entrepreneurs can now upload their elevator pitch video direct to their website at www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/onlineden/.

Furthermore, part of the judging process for the £1,000 Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Awards involves those who have been shortlisted being asked to submit a short (up to 1 min) elevator pitch video so that other Shell LiveWIRE members can vote on their favourite and help choose the winners.

For tips on how to do a good elevator pitch we've produced our own how to do an elevator pitch video! In this short video, Shell LiveWIRE Project Director, Stu Anderson, talks about the steps you can take to ensure a successful and effective elevator pitch.

Elevator Pitch Examples

For inspiration on how to do an elevator pitch for your business idea, take a look at some of the videos by former Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Awards winners and shortlisted entrants in our Video Lounge at: www.shell-livewire.org/video-lounge/?category=awards and
www.shell-livewire.org/video-lounge/?category=elevator-pitches

Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2007 (North East) winner Nicky Gray (Kiki’s Kabin / Fidgets) also offers some useful tips on how to do a great elevator pitch in her video interview (around 6mins 20secs) at: www.shell-livewire.org/video-lounge/nickygray-interview/

Find Out More

Read what Shell LiveWIRE members are saying about this topic in our Discussion Forum at: http://www.shell-livewire.org/forums/tags.php?tag=elevator+pitch