It's important to tailor this pitch to your audience depending whether it's general interest or to VCs who specialize in your field, Marinucci said. Marinucci also said it is important for entrepreneurs to understand that they are not there to entertain the audience, or to act as a motivational speaker, which can turnoff skeptical investors. This means the business has to be appealing, perhaps by virtue of how big it can be or the kind of impact it can have, she said. Practice makes perfect Melching and Marinucci both said it was important for entrepreneurs to memorize their pitches to make them as crisp and refined as possible. Otherwise, entrepreneurs can be consumed by their passion and get carried away.
Some entrepreneurs have the opposite problem.
Matt Noah , who owns NetSuds , a business development and networking group in Minneapolis and co-organizer of the National Entrepreneur's Conference last month in Silicon Valley, recalled the worst pitch he heard. I don't even remember the name of the company. The poor guy was nervous. You don't know if he didn't practice, but it was nerves. It was delivered by Steven Friswold , who launched a Minneapolis-based health and beauty site that focuses on cosmetic surgery.