Living Entrepreneurship Blog / Babson Entrepreneurs

Rocket Pitch Crash Course in a Youtube Video

As a first year in the two-year MBA program, I’ve become a little more than familiar with the all-too famous Babson catchphrase: Rocket Pitch. For those of you who aren’t familiar, it is the phrase that describes a 3-minute pitch to sell your business idea. The Rocket Pitch Challenge is one of the most-widely attended Babson event and takes place this Thursday from 1:30-4:30 pm with nearly 100 pitches scheduled throughout the day.  Participation is highly recommended both by professors and students to take advantage of the opportunity to hone presentation skills. If there is any skill Babson wants its students to take away from a business education it is the ability to convey ideas succinctly and persuasively in order to gain support from business partners, advisors, funding or customers.

Typically an effective pitch will touch on 6 components:

  • The market opportunity
  • Value Proposition
  • Market Size
  • Revenue Model
  • Founder/Team Fit
  • Call to Action

More important than these components, however, is actually YOU, the presenter!

That’s right. In order to engage an audience, a rocket pitcher must sell themself, not just their idea.  There are many ways to sell yourself, including the way you dress, your presence, your mannerisms, your articulation, your vocal projection, etc.  With just three days left to prepare for the rocket pitch, we all know that’s not enough time to change or improve every way you sell yourself. Aside from making last minute speech center appointments, there is lifeline for all of you in your prep stages. After many visits to the Babson Speech Center, one of the more useful pieces of advice I received was to take a few moments to watch the video of Steve Jobs introducing the iPod in 2001. Jobs’ presentation is exceptionally clear, simple, and personable, making for one of the most successful pitches in history. Steve Jobs really sold the iPod, but more importantly he sold Apple and the leadership team behind Apple. Though the video is longer than the allocated 3-minute rocket pitch at 9 minutes long, I highly recommend watching it for your last-minute preparation and inspiration

Best of luck Thursday!