60-second elevator pitch template for startup founders
Seven beats, timed to the second. Fill in the blanks below and your pitch builds itself, ready to copy. Then say it out loud until you can do it without looking.
is solving for .
Today, struggles with , costing them .
We've built that delivers through .
We've already , growing month over month.
This is a market growing a year.
Our team built and has deep expertise in .
We're raising to reach , which gets us to .
[Company] is solving [specific pain point] for [target market]. Today, [audience] struggles with [problem], costing them [quantified pain]. We've built [solution] that delivers [unfair advantage] through [key benefit]. We've already [achievement], growing [e.g. 15%] month over month. This is a [$X billion] market growing [Y%] a year. Our team built [previous success] and has deep expertise in [domain]. We're raising [$ amount] to reach [specific milestone], which gets us to [next value inflection point].
How to know your pitch is ready.
A 15-year-old understands it
No jargon, no acronyms. If someone outside your industry asks "so what does it do?", rewrite the hook.
A number in every beat
After the hook, each line should carry a number: the cost of the problem, the traction, the market, the raise.
The ask names a milestone
Not just an amount. Say what the money gets you to, and why that's the next point where the company is worth more.
Elevator pitch questions, answered.
What is a good 60-second elevator pitch structure for a startup?
Seven beats: a 5-second hook (who you help and with what), a 10-second problem with a number on the pain, a 15-second solution and edge, 10 seconds of traction, 5 seconds on the market, 5 seconds on the team, and a 10-second ask that names the milestone the money reaches.
How long should an elevator pitch be?
Thirty to sixty seconds spoken, which is roughly 80 to 150 words. If you can't say it in sixty seconds, you can't say it in sixty slides.
What should the first sentence of a pitch say?
Exactly what you do and for whom, in plain words: "[Company] is solving [specific pain point] for [target market]." Airbnb's early one-liner, "Book rooms with locals, rather than hotels", is the standard to aim for.
What if I don't have traction yet?
Use the strongest evidence you do have: letters of intent, a waitlist, pilot customers, interviews that showed the problem costs real money, or a prototype result. Never leave the beat empty, and never inflate it.
Is this the same as a pitch deck?
No. The 60-second pitch is the spoken spine of your story. A pitch deck expands the same beats into about ten slides: introduction, problem, solution, market, product, traction, team, competition, financials and the ask.
Want a second pair of eyes on your pitch?
I work with founders on the story, the numbers and the go-to-market. Book a 20-minute call.