7 Don’ts when you pitch

Ana Carolina Merighe led a webinar on pitching, and during her talk, she revealed the seven things that will spoil your pitch. We summarise them in this list. Take note!

Veritise's CTO Ana Carolina Merighe knows how to make the perfect pitch. She has participated in many startup competitions and witnessed many pitches. As a result, she has given us something valuable: the seven things you should never do in front of your audience.

1. Not knowing your audience. You can connect better if you research the person who will listen to you. A good trick is to use words they have used to describe the problem. If you don't "hook", you can get to the next “don’t.”
2. Being "forgettable". You arrive, you deliver your speech, and they forget about you before you close the door. Avoid this with surprise elements and shocking data. But remember, be honest.
3. Lying. Selling is not about misrepresenting reality; don't lie.
4. Failing to show what you do best. For example, you may do your job well, or the product you propose may be excellent, but nobody will be interested if you don't have a marketing expert to "sell" it well.
5. Not explaining clearly what you are looking for.
6. Not following up. You may not have convinced potential investors initially, but don't worry: keep informing them of your steps and achievements (without overwhelming them), and you may change their minds.
7. NOT SPEAKING ENGLISH. Ana Carolina insisted on this point vehemently: "Many of your pitches will be in English. Besides, you can't run a company, even a local one, without knowing English". You will have to negotiate with suppliers, you will have to look for partners, and you will have to do business with other people who may not speak your language (think about networking and the global expansion of your network). Investors must have the guarantee that you will know how to handle yourself in situations.

Now that you know the common mistakes that could spoil your whole pitch, avoid them and succeed in front of your audience!

*Bonus: in addition to these tips, Veritise's CTO gave us tips on what to do in a pitch and answered questions from the audience, who asked fascinating questions. You can watch the webinar here: