I was on a panel sponsored by the NorthFront Alliance two weeks ago and one of the elements were speedpitches by two different entrepreneurial teams and then feedback from the panel.  As I looked at the notes I took during the pitches, I thought that this feedback is relevant for almost every entrepreneur.

If you are an entrepreneur, you are pitching!  If you're raising money, you're pitching! If you're finding partners, you're pitching!  If you're selling (anything) you're pitching! 

So, here are some thoughts from the first pitch - and from many others I've seen!

• Why do I care?  (Tell me what you do)
  • Be specific - you CANNOT conquer the world, no matter how cool you are
• Tell me about your team - but do that later in the pitch  ("why is this the dream team to solve this problem?)
• Practice, Practice, Practice! 
• Show me the numbers on the screen
• Explain your acronyms
• where are you in your progress (are you currently selling?)
• If you have customers, show me the goods
  • Don't show the list of every "maybe" you have, because the next time I see you, I'll want to know if they've all signed

Here are notes from the second pitch

• Give me the elevator pitch
• Where's the Pain
• Tell me about your IP
• Don't show too many potential leads (see above)