The Pitch

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Test the commercial viability, key selling points, and real-world clarity of a proposed product or service concept.

Use it when: Use during concept development when teams need to shift from blue-sky brainstorming to practical feasibility and core value propositions.

Skip it when: Skip during very early generative brainstorming where setting commercial constraints and critical scrutiny would shut down emerging ideas.

Group arrangement: One panel of 2 to 3 reviewers (investors) and 1 to 3 pitch teams of 2 to 3 people each.

Timing: Source gives 30 to 90 minutes. This 35-minute plan covers 1 topic, up to 3 pitching teams, presentations, and debrief.

Materials and tools

• 1 flipchart pad or whiteboard per pitching team
• Markers for each team
• Blank scratch paper and pens for investor panel notes
• 1 visible countdown timer

Before participants arrive

1. Confirm the single product, service, or concept topic before starting.
2. Designate separate breakout spaces or corners for each entrepreneur team so they cannot overhear each other.
3. Set up a front table with chairs for the investor panel facing a presentation area.

Say this to open

Today we test how practical our concept really is. We will divide into entrepreneur teams and one investor panel. Each team gets ten minutes to turn our target concept into a punchy three-minute pitch focusing on why someone would pay for it and how it works. Then you will pitch live to our investors, who have two questions per team.

How to run it

1. Role assignment and topic briefing 4 minutes

   State the agreed product or service concept clearly. Assign 2 or 3 participants to act as the investor panel (venture capitalists). Divide remaining participants into teams of 2 or 3. Outline the pitch rules: maximum 3 minutes to present, focused on the problem solved, customer appeal, and financial viability.

2. Pitch preparation and rehearsal 10 minutes

   Entrepreneur teams move to separate breakout areas to draft notes, sketch visuals, and rehearse. The investor panel uses this time to draft evaluation criteria and likely questions. At minute 8, give a two-minute warning.

3. Presentations and investor inquiry 15 minutes

   Teams reassemble. Each pitching team takes up to 3 minutes to present. One or two people speak during the pitch, but the whole team may answer questions. After each presentation, the investor panel asks up to 2 direct questions (up to 2 minutes total per team). Repeat for each team.

4. Review and debrief 6 minutes

   The investor panel briefly states what stood out as most viable across the pitches without declaring a personal loser. Facilitate a short whole-room debrief comparing the different value propositions highlighted by each group.

Debrief questions

• Which aspects of the concept were consistently highlighted across all pitches?
• What investor questions revealed gaps or unproven assumptions in our concept?
• How did the three-minute limit change how you defined the core value?

Finished output: A set of distinct value proposition sketches and a recorded list of investor questions identifying viability risks.

Remote

Place the investor panel in the main room and assign each pitch team to an individual breakout room for the 10-minute prep. Pitch teams can use a shared online whiteboard slide for visuals. During presentations, everyone returns to the main room, presenters screen-share if desired, and investors use camera and microphone to ask their 2 questions.

Hybrid

Seat the in-person investor panel at a front desk facing the room camera. Remote participants form their own pitch team in a breakout room and present via video share to the room screen, while in-person teams present at the front of the physical room. Ensure all participants can clearly hear the investor questions via room audio.

Access and participation choices

• Participants who prefer not to speak aloud during the pitch can design visual slides or act as written note-takers during the Q&A
• Anyone may choose to join the investor panel to listen and ask targeted questions rather than presenting

If the session gets stuck

Teams run over the 3-minute pitch limit.

Use a visible timer with a soft chime at 2:30 and a hard stop at 3:00 to keep the schedule fair.

Investor questions turn hostile or overly critical.

Remind the panel that questions should probe practical viability, customer demand, and delivery constraints rather than attack the team.

Terms used here

• VC (Venture Capitalist): An investor who provides funding to early-stage businesses in exchange for equity or returns.