Free elevator pitch builder

How to use the elevator pitch builder

1. Type your product name, then name one audience, such as freelance designers. A specific group tells the listener quickly whether the pitch is for them.
2. Write the problem as one full sentence, then the result as a verb phrase such as keep every handoff in one place. Use only things your product does today.
3. Optionally add one sentence about how it works and a next step, such as a web address or an action. Empty optional fields are skipped, and the text closes up without gaps.
4. Set your speaking pace in words per minute. The starting value is an assumption, so replace it with your own. Read a paragraph aloud against a timer if you want to measure it.
5. Select Generate. Edit each version in its box, compare the word counts and speaking times, then copy one version or all of them.

How to structure a pitch

A pitch that people can follow usually moves through four parts. Start with the problem, so the listener recognises their own situation. Then name the solution, which is your product and who it is for. Then state the result, meaning what changes for the person using it. Finish with a next step, so the listener knows what to do with what they just heard.

The three versions in this tool follow that order and reveal more of it as they get longer. The shortest keeps the solution and result. The middle one adds the problem and, if you supplied them, how it works and a next step. The longest repeats the audience and result so a listener who missed the first mention can still catch them.

When to use the short and the long version

Use the short version when you have very little time or attention, such as an introduction in a chat, a profile line or a one sentence reply to what you are working on. Use the middle version when someone has asked and is listening, such as at a meetup or on a call. Use the long version when you have been given a slot, such as a short demo, an intro in a newsletter or a spoken introduction on a video.

If you only need a single line for a page or listing, the product tagline generator is a better fit. The pitch can later serve as the longer description that goes with it.

A worked example with a fictional product

Tasknest is an invented product for freelance designers. Select Load example to fill the form with it. With the assumed pace of 130 words per minute, the three drafts have 14, 39 and 77 words, which is 6, 18 and 36 seconds of speaking. All three are within their named times, and the longest is well under a minute because the inputs are short. At 80 words per minute the longest takes 58 seconds, which still fits. The numbers change only because the pace changed, not because the text did.

That is the intended use of the pace setting. Keep the text, change the pace to match how fast you really talk, and see whether a version fits the time you have.

Practical tips before you use a pitch

Read every version aloud at least once. Text that looks fine on screen can be hard to say, and the word count cannot tell you that. Replace written phrases with the way you would actually say them, and shorten any sentence you run out of breath on.

Do not add numbers, awards, customers or results you cannot back up. The templates never add them, and a pitch built only from true statements is easier to defend when someone asks a follow up question. A pitch is a draft of what you will say, not a promise of attention, signups or sales.

Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere, so copy the versions you want before you close the page. When the wording is settled, work through the product launch checklist to prepare the rest of your launch.

Frequently asked questions