On yesterdays Leaders of Tomorrow event organised by Accenture Ireland, we’ve seen six groups presenting their solutions for problems spotted in our modern world. Each of them had only 7 minutes to pitch and present their projects. They asked for funds from 0.5mln up to 3mln euros.
The winning team was tackling the carbon emission problem with the connection to possible personal control over it for every single individual. The amount of work the Thunderbirds team has put into this project behind the scenes was high. The pitching itself was on top of it and required a different set of skills altogether. And they did it ALL! It was a great success for all the team. I am looking forward to using the product as soon as it will be available.
(Apologies for a bit enigmatic explanation, we all promised to not share details of the projects to the general public.)
Why did they win?
They ticked all the boxes in the creation process and pitching!
HOW TO SETUP YOUR STARTUP FOR SUCCESS?
It requires both courage and clear vision to pursue the idea of own startup. 90% of startups fail within the first 12-24 months. What makes the 10% successful?
There are unarguably many factors. An idea itself is important and in connection to deep research is a great starting point. Next is prototyping and testing and ITERATIONS. The best practice is to assure your digital product is compliant with principals of user experience design and preferably accessibility compliant.
When you have the main idea framed and a low fidelity prototype tested the time for the visual design comes. Is it certain?
PearDesign Article – the word NO
Jumping straight into the design, rushing it can work against you. It is natural to be excited at this stage. If your background is not in the design world you may be tempted to get a designer on board and get it all done quickly, but sometimes ‘quickly’ can produce a result which is good enough, but not exceptional. And the exceptional is the key.
Especially if you need investors.
Especially if you need to pitch.
Especially if you want to set up your startup towards success.
BE PROFESSIONAL
Brand your product, consult with branding specialist, with a visual designer, with a marketing specialist. That extra time will benefit you in your journey.
The visual deliverables such as logo, graphics, patterns, videos are on the actual top of the branding pyramid. The more work you’ll put into the base of it, the more stable your project becomes.
branding process explained
Imagine how different your startup future will be with you – confident about your mission, vision and communicating them clearly to investors and customers. The added value comes from the branding process and feeds the overall design.
How much should it cost? Is it worth any money? Let’s consider the expert advice on it.
Ralph Speth on Design – PearDesign article
BE REMARKABLE
When you have it all done and wrapped up nicely you are ready for pitching. A good pitch is worth the funds and it’s definitely exciting. You can use your personas to illustrate the results of research, guide through tasks, prepare great slides to show, but
The main ingredient is YOU,
YOUR personality,
YOUR ability to communicate,
YOUR on-spot answers to questions
After all the hard work and checking every detail, you surely have the confidence in your project. REMEMBER – Not every pitching is successful, sometimes you’d have to pitch many times to find a perfect fit. Never, ever give up!
Start of the rocket graphic
HOW CAN WE HELP?
First of all – thank you for reading!
Now it’s time to talk! Tell us about your goals, blockers and opportunities. We can help you with branding, visuals and UX design, therefore
If you are not sure if your design fits the audience profile
If you want your product to look nit
If you want to assess the functionality, UX, accessibility
If you feel there is something missing in your pitching plan
Click here to contact PearDesign for an initial consultation
