How to pitch out loud

1. The 60-second opening

Judges decide whether to lean in long before you finish. Cover four things, in this order, in about a minute:

• Who you are, in one line. Your name and why you're the person to build this.
• The problem, as a real moment. “Parents pack a hot lunch at 7am and it's cold by noon” beats “the food-temperature market is underserved”.
• Your proof. The strongest true thing you have: sales, repeat buyers, a waiting list, a pilot, even ten conversations.
• The ask. How much, for what, and what it gets you to. “₹50 lakh for 10% to open our next four kiosks.”

Then stop talking. Silence after the ask is normal, so let the panel go first.

2. Numbers to know cold

You don't need every number, but you can't hesitate on these. Write them on one card and learn it:

• Sales to date, and over what period.
• Cost to make or deliver one unit, and the price you sell it for.
• What you keep from each sale after all costs (your margin).
• What it costs to win one customer, and how you know.
• How many customers come back or buy again.
• Exactly what the money will be spent on in the next 12 months.

If you don't have a number yet, say so plainly and say how you'll get it. “We haven't measured repeat rate yet. Our next 100 orders will tell us” is a strong answer. A guessed number that falls apart under a follow-up is not.

3. Valuation in one line of maths

Your ask sets your valuation whether you meant it to or not: amount ÷ equity = valuation.

• $100,000 for 10% values the company at $1,000,000.
• ₹50 lakh for 10% values it at ₹5 crore.

Expect “walk me from your revenue to that valuation”. Have one honest sentence ready, such as recent growth, signed customers or a comparable business. If the number can't survive that question, lower the valuation before you walk in.

4. Answering hard questions

• Answer first, explain second. “Nine dollars to make, twenty-five retail” and then the detail. Not the other way round.
• Separate proof from assumption. Say which is which. Judges trust founders who know the difference.
• Don't argue with the premise; answer the worry. “What stops a big brand copying you?” is really “why will you still win?”
• Keep it short. Two or three sentences, then pause. If they want more, they'll ask.
• Own the weak spot. Every idea has one. Name it before they do, and say what you're doing about it.

5. When an offer comes

Offers rarely match your ask. You'll hear more equity for the same money, a royalty (a fixed amount per unit sold until the investor is paid back), a loan, or two judges teaming up. You can:

• Ask what the extra equity buys: introductions, retail access, expertise.
• Counter with a number between the two, and give one reason.
• Ask whether another judge would join to make the deal work.
• Walk away politely if the terms don't fit. That's a valid answer.

Offers on Shark Trials are simulations for practice, so this is the safest place to try negotiating.

6. Selling to a customer instead

Customers don't care about valuation. They care about their own day. Start with their problem, show what changes for them, say the price plainly, and tell them what happens if it doesn't work. Then ask directly whether they'd buy.

7. Speaking out loud

• Use short sentences. They're easier to say and easier to follow.
• Pause on purpose. On Shark Trials a two-second pause sends your answer, so finish your thought first.
• Wear headphones so the judges don't hear themselves.
• Read the debrief, fix the top three things, and run it again with “Repeat with context”. The second attempt is where most people improve.