You will pitch far more often than you expect: to a customer at a door, to a teacher, in a competition, to a relative who asks what you have been working on. The same structure works for all of them; only the length changes.
If a pitch is hard to write, that is useful information. Confusing pitches almost always come from a part of the business that is still fuzzy, not from weak speaking skills.
The eight parts of a clear pitch
Keep them in this order. Each part answers the question a listener is already forming.
1. Problem
Open with the problem in plain language, described concretely enough that the listener can picture it happening to a real person. No statistics you cannot source, no dramatic claims.
2. Customer
Say exactly who has this problem. “Parents of children under six in my neighbourhood” lands; “busy people” does not. Naming a specific group makes everything after it more believable.
3. Solution
Describe what you do in one or two sentences: what the customer gets and how it works. Skip the feature list. If someone cannot repeat your solution back correctly, shorten it.
4. Why it matters
Explain what changes for the customer — the time, money, stress, or opportunity involved. This is where you connect the small business to something the listener cares about.
5. Business model
State how you make money: what you charge, per what, and roughly what it costs you to deliver. One clear sentence beats a spreadsheet on a slide. “I charge a flat fee per garage, and my supplies cost about a fifth of that.”
6. Evidence
Share what you have learned from real people: how many you talked to, what they told you, what they did. Only use numbers you actually collected. Never invent a survey, a quote, or a research finding — one fabricated detail costs you the entire pitch.
7. Progress
Say what exists today: the first version built, customers served, sales made, deliveries completed. Progress is the most persuasive part of a young founder's pitch precisely because most people only talk about plans.
8. Next step and ask
End with what you want. Every pitch has an ask: buy, book a time, introduce me to someone, let me run this at your school, give me feedback on this part. A pitch with no ask leaves the listener nodding and doing nothing.
Three lengths of the same pitch
Write one pitch, then cut it down. The short versions are not different pitches; they are the same story with fewer parts.
- 30 seconds
- Problem, customer, solution, ask. Use it when someone asks what you do.
- 90 seconds
- All eight parts, one or two sentences each. This is the workhorse — competitions, meetings, teachers.
- 5 minutes
- The same order with examples, a story from a real customer conversation, and detail on progress.
If you use slides, one idea per slide, big text, and no paragraph you intend to read aloud. Slides support the story; they are not the story.
Make it a story, not a list
Listeners remember people, not categories. The simplest upgrade to any pitch is to anchor the problem in one specific person you actually spoke to.
- List version
- “Many families struggle to keep their garages organized.”
- Story version
- “My neighbour has parked on her driveway for two years because her garage is full of boxes she keeps meaning to sort.”
Use a real example, described accurately. Do not invent a customer or a scene to make the story better — an honest small example is stronger than an impressive one you made up.
Rehearsing and handling questions
Rehearsal is not memorizing a script word for word, which usually sounds stiff and collapses when you are interrupted. Learn the eight parts in order, then practise saying each one in your own words.
- 1Say it out loud once. Notice where you hesitate — that is a part of the business you have not settled.
- 2Record it and watch once. Fix only the weakest sentence.
- 3Deliver it to someone who knows nothing about your idea and ask them to explain it back.
- 4Practise standing still, ending sentences instead of trailing off, and pausing rather than filling gaps.
- 5Prepare the three questions you least want to be asked, and answer them plainly.
When you do not know an answer, say so and say what you would do to find out. “I have not tested that yet — my next step is to ask ten customers” is a strong answer. Guessing confidently is the weak one.
Young founders using Coach Kingsley can reinforce this skill through Pitch Practice, which walks through the structure and gives feedback on clarity and evidence rather than delivering the pitch for them.
Pitch checklist before you present
- Can a stranger repeat my problem and solution back to me correctly?
- Have I named one specific customer group?
- Is every number in the pitch something I actually collected or calculated?
- Have I said what exists today, not only what I plan?
- Is there one clear ask at the end?
- Is it under the time limit when spoken at a normal pace?
- Have I removed every word I would not use in conversation?
Common mistakes
Starting with yourself instead of the problem
Listeners care about your business once they understand the problem it removes.
Inventing evidence
A fake statistic or made-up quote destroys trust in everything else you said, and it is easy to spot.
Explaining features instead of results
People buy outcomes. Say what changes for the customer, then how it works.
Ending with “thank you” and nothing else
Without an ask, a good pitch produces polite silence. Say exactly what you want next.
Reading slides aloud
If the slide says it, you do not need to. Slides show; you explain.
Write and deliver a 90-second pitch
One sentence per part, then rehearse it out loud twice. Keep it on a single page.
- 1Write one sentence for each of the eight parts.
- 2Replace your problem sentence with a real example from someone you actually spoke to.
- 3Read it aloud and time it. Cut anything that pushes past 90 seconds.
- 4Deliver it to someone unfamiliar with your idea, then ask them to explain it back.
- 5Write down the three questions you hope nobody asks, and prepare honest answers.
- 6Record one final version and fix only the weakest sentence.
Key takeaways
- Use one order: problem, customer, solution, why it matters, business model, evidence, progress, ask.
- Name a specific customer instead of a vague group.
- Only use evidence you genuinely gathered — never invent numbers or quotes.
- Progress beats plans, so say what already exists.
- Always finish with a clear ask.
- Rehearse out loud; hesitation shows you where the business is still unclear.
Related resources
What Is an MVP?
Minimum, viable, product — what each word means, with first-version examples for every kind of business.
How to Price Your First Product or Service
Cost, price, profit, margin, and break-even explained — then how to choose a number you can defend.
How to Start a Business as a Teenager
The full path from noticing a problem to launching, in the order a teen founder actually works through it.
Browse everything in the Resources hub.
Apply this to your own idea
Learning entrepreneurship works best when it is attached to something you are actually building. Coach Kingsley teaches each step, then asks what you think before it answers.