Hot take: a guy at a Buckhead meetup told me my elevator pitch was too long

At a tech mixer last month, I gave my usual 30-second intro about my app development work. Afterward, a guy named Mark pulled me aside and said, 'Man, you lost me after 10 seconds, just say what problem you solve.' I cut my pitch down to just 'I build apps for local restaurants to handle online orders.' Now I get way more follow-up questions. Has anyone else gotten blunt feedback that actually helped?

3 comments

3 Comments

maryr433d ago

Actually, I have to disagree with the idea that shorter is always better. Sometimes those extra twenty seconds give important context. If you just say you build apps for restaurants, people might assume you're a freelancer making simple menus. Your full pitch probably explained you work with teams on custom systems that handle inventory too. That detail matters to the right listener. Cutting it down risks attracting the wrong kind of interest from people who just want a cheap, basic website. There's a real value in weeding those out early.

daniel3914d ago

Ha, that's not blunt, that's just good advice. Mark did you a solid.

danielowens3d ago

Maryr43 has a point about weeding out bad leads, but you lose more good ones by talking too long. Most people tune out after ten seconds if you don't get to the point. A short pitch gets you in the door for a real conversation where those details matter.