Making the Spontaneous Pitch

At the Atlanta Tech Village I bump into new entrepreneurs on a daily basis and get spontaneously pitched a couple times per week. Naturally, most of the entrepreneurs are nervous but really want to tell me about their startup. After hearing dozens of these, here are a few tips for entrepreneurs:

• Rehearse your pitch in advance so that it’s always polished and ready (Pitch Practice is every Friday at the Village)
• Keep the pitch brief and to the point (don’t show up and throw up)
• Provide social proof and evidence of progress (ideas are worthless — it’s all about the execution of the idea)
• Make the ‘ask’ at the end of the pitch (e.g. want to raise money, intro to potential prospects, need some key recruits, seeking advisors, etc)

Entrepreneurs, especially less sales-oriented entrepreneurs, need to practice their pitch and deliver it with confidence at all times. Making spontaneous pitches is part of the process and should be done well.

What else? What are some other thoughts on making a spontaneous pitch?