How to deal with nerves during your startup pitch

Pitching in front of a crowd can be daunting. We’ve seen all manner of nerves at The Pitch – founders tumbling over words, sweating, pacing anxiously and even dashing off the stage. It’s hard to effectively communicate what you do and why it matters when you’re nervous. The good news is that pitching nerves are […]

How to know when your startup has achieved product-market fit

Product-market fit is the eureka moment for any business. It happens when a startup has successfully identified its target customers and provided them with the perfect product to solve a specific problem. The term was popularised by American entrepreneur Marc Andreessen, who describes product-market fit as “being in a good market with a product that […]

Mak Tok’s journey from market stall to Dragon-backed business

The nerves, the pitching, the deep-breath-and-relax networking – there’s plenty to love about The Pitch events. But nothing beats watching Pitch startups go from strength to strength over the next few years. Since making it to The Pitch Final in 2017, Mak Tok founder Will Chew has been busy. Mak Tok’s artisan Malaysian chilli pastes […]

How Terrible Merch survived the live music shutdown and won The Pitch 2020

As this strange and difficult year draws to a close, it feels good to finally have something to celebrate – in this case, The Pitch 2020 winner Terrible Merch. Live music was one of the industries hit hardest by coronavirus. Tours were abruptly cancelled at the start of the year and many artists had less […]

How startups can make the most of Instagram

Instagram is one of the fastest growing social media platforms in the world. The blend between personal and brand posts is virtually seamless – over 200 million people visit a business profile on a daily basis. There’s a common misconception that Instagram only works for companies with attractive products. And while hospitality, fashion and beauty […]

How to write an effective elevator pitch

Pitching your startup in less than two minutes is always a challenge. There are hundreds of things you could cover in an elevator pitch, so it’s important to understand what your audience needs to know and what could be left for a follow-up email or investment pitch deck. Whether you’re pitching for investment, clients or […]

Meet The Pitch finalists for 2019!

The wait is over… it’s time to meet The Pitch 2019 finalists!  After receiving almost 400 applications to this year’s competition, we took 200 startups to boot camps in Bristol, London and Manchester. The standard was phenomenal, with ideas ranging from on-demand lawyers to genetically personalised nutrition shakes to non-invasive treatments for Parkinson’s.  Each startup […]

A long shot: How Grind grew on instinct and reaction

David Abrahamovitch is the founder of Grind, a thriving cafĂ© business at the heart of London’s coffee scene. Since opening up their first cafĂ© in Shoreditch in 2011, Grind has expanded across the city and added cocktails and food to their menus.  With a wealth of experience on creating a great culture and building a […]

The Pitch winner proving simplicity can scale

Oddbox won over the judges at The Pitch 2018 with their market-approved wonky veg subscription service. We’re delighted to announce that co-founder (and pitching champion!) Emilie Vanpoperinghe will be joining the founders of Crowdcube and Jimmy’s Iced Coffee on The Pitch 2019 judging panel. Oddbox has been on a phenomenal growth trajectory since successfully raising […]

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