Glossary
What is an elevator pitch?
Elevator pitch: An elevator pitch is a short, spoken summary of an idea, product, project or person, persuasive enough to start a conversation and brief enough for an elevator ride, typically 30 seconds to two minutes.
An elevator pitch is a short spoken summary of an idea, product, project or person, persuasive enough to start a conversation and brief enough to say during an elevator ride. Plan for 30 seconds to two minutes. Its job is not to close a deal but to earn the next conversation.
On slides, the same idea sits on the first slide of a pitch deck: the promise and who it is for, in one line.
The five parts
The example below is a fictional company with invented figures.
| Part | Question it answers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Who is it for, what do you do? | Ledgerline automates reconciliation for finance teams of 5 to 50 people. |
| Problem | What hurts today? | In this example, finance teams still spend 40% of month-end matching transactions by hand. |
| Solution | What changes with you? | Ledgerline matches 92% of transactions without rules and explains the rest, so the close takes two days, not ten. |
| Proof | Why believe it? | ARR grew 4.2x in twelve months to €1.09m, with 46 paying customers. |
| Ask | What happens next? | We are raising €2.5m to reach €4m ARR. |
Said in one go, the example has about 65 words, which is roughly half a minute at a calm speaking pace.
How to write one
- Pick one listener and one outcome. A founder pitching an investor, a consultant introducing a firm and a team lead asking for budget use different words.
- Lead with who it is for and what changes for them. Skip the company history.
- Use one proof point. One number or one named customer beats a list of five.
- End with a specific ask. “Could I send you a two-page summary?” gives the other person something easy to say yes to.
- Say it out loud and time it, then cut until it fits. Text that reads well on the page often runs long when spoken.
Typical mistakes
- Describing features instead of what changes for the listener. The listener cares about the outcome, not the architecture.
- Jargon. If the listener has to ask what a word means, the pitch has lost its place in the conversation.
- No ask. The conversation ends politely and nothing follows.
- One pitch for every audience. Keep a short and a longer version and swap the proof point to suit the listener.
- Reciting. A memorized text spoken at speed sounds like a recording. Know the five parts and say them in your own words.
Related terms
The elevator pitch is the key message said out loud. The same argument laid out over ten slides is the storyline of a pitch deck, as in the pitch deck template. To turn your own lines into a 30, 60 and 90 second version, use the builder below. To check how long any other text takes to say, use the calculator after it.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How long should an elevator pitch be?
Between 30 seconds and two minutes. Aim for 30 to 60 seconds at a first meeting and keep a two-minute version for when someone asks to hear more. If it does not fit, it probably contains more than one idea.
What should an elevator pitch include?
Who it is for, the problem they have today, what changes with your solution, one proof point and a specific next step. Everything else is detail for the conversation that follows.
What is the difference between an elevator pitch and a pitch deck?
An elevator pitch is spoken, short and meant to start a conversation. A pitch deck is a set of slides you present in a meeting to win a decision such as an investment. The first slide of a pitch deck often states the elevator pitch in one line.
Does an elevator pitch have to be about a company?
No. It can describe a project, a product, an idea or you. The structure stays the same: who it is for, the problem, what you offer, proof and the next step.
Keep reading
Investor and fundraising
- TemplateBusiness plan
A business plan presentation template with 10 slides: summary, problem, customers, model, revenue, profit and loss, use of funds, milestones and the ask.
- Free toolPitch deck checklist
Free pitch deck checklist for pre-seed, seed and Series A: tick off what each slide must answer, see your progress and turn the gaps into a brief for your deck.
- GlossaryLTV
LTV is the total gross profit a customer is expected to bring over the whole relationship. Learn the formula, a worked example and the usual mistakes.
- SolutionAI presentations for startups
How startups use AI for a pitch deck, investor updates, a business plan and board updates, with Excel financial plans built on formulas.
- TemplateInvestor update
An investor update template with 9 slides: summary, metrics, ARR bridge, plan against actual, lessons, cash and runway, next-quarter plan and asks.
- GlossaryRunway
Runway is the number of months a company can keep operating before its cash runs out. See the formula, a worked example and how to show runway to investors.
Where to go next
- GuideElevator pitch examples
Eight fictional elevator pitch examples for founders, consultants, freelancers, job seekers and internal projects, each as a 30 and a 60-second version.
- ConvertNotes to slides
Paste, attach or speak rough notes, answer a few questions and approve a page plan.
- ProductAI PowerPoint generator
Give the AI your brief, approve the page plan and export a .pptx you can keep editing.
Less theory, more finished slides
Describe the deck you need. The AI plans, writes and designs it, and hands you an editable PowerPoint.
Build your first deck freeFree plan, no card needed