Exercises: Presenting a project

Explain what an elevator pitch is, how long it usually lasts, who it is aimed at and what its actual objective is, which is not to 'make a sale' right then and there.

List the essential elements of a project presentation (problem, solution, market, business model, team, and ask) and explain in one sentence what each should contain.

The figure shows the structure of a project presentation in five connected blocks. Identify the missing block, marked with '?', and indicate what information it should contain.

An entrepreneur begins their pitch by spending five minutes explaining the product's technology, without stating what problem it solves or for whom. Restructure their presentation by indicating the correct order of the blocks and explain why the problem should come first.

Storytelling applies narrative structures to presentations. Explain how you would use the structure 'initial situation → conflict → resolution' to present a ski equipment rental company, and why it is more engaging than a list of features.

The same project, a peer-tutoring app, is presented to a group of investors and to a parent-teacher association. Indicate what emphasis you would change in each case (profitability and market versus safety and educational benefit) and why tailoring the message is not manipulation.

The startup 'SaludOffice' provides daily healthy subscription-based menus to employees in a technology park. After a 3-month pilot, they have 45 active users, charge 7.50 pesos per menu with a unit production and delivery cost of 4,20, pesos and have a monthly retention rate of 88 %, but they need 30,000 pesos to purchase an insulated vehicle and expand into two nearby business parks.

1. a) Draft the outline script for a 60-second pitch structured in five parts (quantitative hook, B2B problem, validated solution, traction metrics, and call to action with valuation and a specific milestone).
2. b) Justify why, in this specific case, retention and unit margin metrics are more crucial to convince an investor than a detailed description of the ingredients or recipes.

Analyze the following real transcript of the closing of a pitch before an investor panel:

“...and well, as you can see on this slide where we've put all the Excel spreadsheets with the 25 business indicators, the global pet market moves billions of pesos. Our team is super hardworking and we are passionate about animals. We are open to any type of collaboration or money you want to contribute so we can see how we move forward.”

1. a) Identify the three serious strategic mistakes the team makes in this closing and explain their impact on the investor's perception of financial risk.
2. b) Completely rewrite this closing (maximum 70 words) to transform that vague farewell into a professional, quantitative call to action linked to a measurable operational milestone.

Two circular economy projects are competing for the last spot in a business accelerator program:

• Project A (Narrative/emotional approach): Presents an impactful personal story about local textile waste, shows a very attractive physical prototype, and builds a strong emotional connection with the audience, but provides no data on unit cost, scalability, or monetization model.

• Project B (Analytical/traction approach): Presents rigorous metrics (CAC of 8,50, pesos LTV of 34,00, pesos 400 pre-sale customers, and a gross margin of 65 %), but the presenter merely reads text-heavy slides, without eye contact or a clear explanation of the customer's real problem.

1. a) If you were the program's admissions director, which project would you select and which one would you discard? Justify your decision by evaluating which of the two shortcomings is easier to address during the acceleration process.
2. b) Design a three-point improvement proposal for the selected project, indicating what immediate changes it should apply to its pitch before presenting to real investors.