Is This Business Idea Too Good Not to Steal? Find Out on This Episode of 'Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch.' In this episode, contestants come with great products — and investors come with tough questions.
By Dan Bova Edited by Jessica Thomas
Key Takeaways
- Know your target audience. Three investors can hear the same pitch and take it in differently based on their personal experiences.
- Investing relies heavily on relationships. Being an alumnus of the same college or growing up in the same area as an investor can get you a meeting.
- Prepare, know your numbers, and, as Kim Perell points out, it never hurts to plant a money tree in your house for good luck!
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The show is Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch, and it challenges contestants to pitch their company to our board of investors during a 60-second ride to the boardroom. If the investors like what they hear, the elevator doors open, and the negotiations begin. If they don't like what they hear, the elevator goes back to the ground floor, and the entrepreneurs leave empty-handed.
Related: Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph Reveals the Magic Formula for Grabbing an Investor's Attention
Negotiations can be tricky, with investors typically digging into the weeds of every tiny facet of a business, from sales traction to overhead costs to team member qualifications. But this week, our board asked some unexpected questions that rattled contestants down to their core:
- You gave a great pitch, but does that mean you have a great product?
- What is to stop a big corporation from swooping in, iterating on your concept and pushing you out of business?
This intense episode has big questions — and bigger investments. Watch and learn from the entrepreneurs who can stay on their feet and convince investors to push their worries aside and take a gamble on the next big thing!
Related: Investors Weigh In on Crazy New Food Biz Pitches
Season 11, Episode 6 Board of Investors
- Marc Randolph, co-founder and first CEO of Netflix, master of scaling
- Kim Perell, CEO of 100.co, serial entrepreneur and investor
- Dhani Jones, former NFL player and serial entrepreneur
Season 11, Episode 6 Entrepreneurs
- Aabesh De, founder of Flora, an app and device that provides care guidance for more than 10,000 types of plants.
- Kalyn Johnson Chandler, founder of Effie's Paper, a Black- and female-owned personalized stationery business.
- Mario Soave, founder of CleverFi, which connects users to Wi-Fi automatically without the need for passwords.
How to Watch
Season 11 of Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch is presented by Amazon Business. New episodes stream on Wednesdays on Entrepreneur.com and EntrepreneurTV. Follow Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch on Facebook, YouTube and IGTV.
