While there are always cases where stories hyped by the media and entrepreneur folklore do come to life (I suppose entrepreneurs do occasionally share elevators with VCs), this generally isn’t how business gets done. While entrepreneurs can meet investors at networking events, at pitch events and, yes, in elevators, they don’t need to feel that they have to corner the investor and deliver a canned 1-minute light-speed monologue about their business before the investor can get away.
More commonly, when an investor meets and entrepreneur, the former wants to know what the latter is working on and will typically ask. Investors by nature are seeking great entrepreneurs and are therefore likely to be interested in hearing the pitch if they think they are speaking to a credible person. Because the investor is interested in hearing a little bit about the business if it matches their interests (sector and otherwise), entrepreneurs will typically get to describe their business through the course of a regular conversation, not a monologue. You don’t have to trap them and you don’t have to rush.
Editors Note: Do you agree that there is no longer a need for the traditional elevator pitch or has it just taken on a new form instead?
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