Conversation notes
Dates and what they said, in their words. This is your proof. A market slide will not survive a question.
How to Pitch an Idea
Pitch an idea as a problem you have watched, not as a product you have imagined. The listener should be able to see the workaround. They do not need a roadmap.
Who is in the room
A design partner, a first advisor, a teammate, or a small cheque that pays for the test. Not a seed round. If you are raising on a product that exists, use the investor pitch.
One minute. Longer than that, you are pitching features of something you have not built.
[Who] still [workaround] because [what breaks], and the first version only has to [the smallest job].
What to say, in order
The person
Where you met them and what they were trying to finish. “Users” is not a person.
This week’s workaround
The tool they actually opened. A shared spreadsheet, a WeChat group, a night of copy-paste.
What breaks
The specific failure: the missed follow-up, the wrong file, the hour lost. One failure.
The smallest thing
What you could put in their hands in a month, and the one job it does. Not the platform.
What you are asking
A design partner, an introduction, or a small amount to run the test. Say which. Do not ask for a round.
Fill the brackets
If a bracket has a missing fact, cut the sentence. Do not invent a number to make the line sound finished.
- Person
I sat with [who] while they [the job]. They still [the workaround].
- Break
It breaks when [the failure], and that costs them [what you saw, or say you do not have a number yet].
- Heard it again
Of [N] people in the same job, [N] described the same break.
- Smallest version
The first version only [one job]. It does not [the tempting extra].
- Ask
I am looking for [a design partner / an intro to one of these people / a small amount for the test], by [date].
What to have ready
The job, cut down
One sentence the first version refuses to do. If you cannot name what you are cutting, you are pitching a company, not an idea.
What you will not claim
No revenue, no retention, no “we will be the standard.” Say the stage out loud.
The ask that matches the stage
A partner for the test, or money for the test. A seed round is a later pitch.
Proof at this stage is conversations, not a market
“I spoke with twelve clinic managers. Nine still run follow-up in a group chat, and seven lost a patient to it last month.” That is an idea pitch. “The market is forty billion” is a costume.
Do not invent a product demo, a logo lockup, or a growth curve to look further along. People who can help an idea can tell. The ones who cannot were never going to be useful at this stage.
Where it goes wrong
A feature list for a product that does not exist
Features are promises you cannot show. The workaround is something you have seen.
Asking them to sign before they understand
An NDA as the price of hearing the problem signals that the problem is not interesting enough to risk. Explain the problem. Keep the implementation detail back if you must.
Asking for a round
Money for a test is a different sentence from a seed round. Mixing them makes both sound false.
Speaking for “the industry”
You watched a handful of people. Say the handful. The industry can wait until the handful agrees.
Make it a film
Make a one-minute film of the person, the break, and the smallest version, and send it to the design partner you want.
A project video runs about a minute, in three chapters: the painful situation, the solution, and the advantages. You submit the name, the audience, the situation, the solution, how it works, the evidence and the next step, and you can upload a plan, a deck, a PDF or photos. You see the production plan before anything is made. Do not include a result you cannot source. A film is delivered only after it passes checks, and charged only once delivered.
During the beta, a new address needs an invite code. If you do not have one, write to sales and ask for access.
FAQ
How do I pitch an idea without it being stolen?
Pitch the problem, the workaround, and the smallest job. That is what a collaborator needs. Keep the implementation detail until someone is actually working with you. A good idea is rarely stolen from a one-minute explanation. A vague one is easy to ignore.
How is an idea pitch different from a startup pitch?
An idea pitch admits there is no product yet and asks for a test. A startup pitch describes a company that does a job today. If you pretend the idea is already a company, the first hard question ends it.
Should I pitch an idea to investors?
Only if the money is for a defined test and you say that. A seed narrative on top of conversations is a mismatch. Most early ideas need a design partner before they need a fund.
What counts as enough research?
Enough that the same break shows up without you prompting it. A dozen conversations in one job is a solid start. Two conversations and a deck is not.