1. Describe the need for your product or service. Describe the problem that it will solve and who has that problem.
Example: “Isolating proteins for biochemical research or manufacturing is a delicate, rate-limiting step that can take hours, even days, and small human errors often accumulate to produce an inferior quality isolate.”
2. Describe your solution and its unique value clearly in language everyone understands.
Example: “I created a device that automates the most time-consuming and sensitive step of isolating proteins, saving hours of lab time and improving the quality of the isolate.”
3. Describe the target market, and who would benefit.
Example: “Our target market is any lab that isolates proteins, whether for research or mass production. They will benefit from using my device to automate their isolation process.”
4. Talk about yourself, your team, and your research. Include your training and achievements, projects you have worked on, leadership experience, products produced, who you have worked for, and your vision for your research.
Example: “To develop this product, I draw from my experience leading a team at Ionetics, Inc., that isolated a newly identified cytokine involved in aging. We received the 2019 NCA Cytokine Discovery award for that work”
5. Describe the business, including purpose, mission, history, technology readiness level, and business model. Regarding financial concerns, describe your reimbursement strategy, funding raised to date and its yield, and future funding needs and plans.
Example: “My partner and I are determined to develop a detoxification device to solve the problem of toxic reactions to nut mycotoxins. It would be purchased by nut distributors and used on the nuts immediately before packaging. It will add to the cost, but our research shows a market among health-conscious consumers willing to pay a little more for enhanced food safety. We have formed an LLC and are working with a prototyping company to develop the first model. We have raised half of the $1 million we need to bring the fully developed product to market.”
6. Explain your achievements to date, including patents/applications, prototypes, product stage of development, and progress toward regulatory approval.
Example: “We have a provisional patent through the end of this year when we will submit our patent application. We have worked with our patent lawyer’s office to complete research that confirms that our claim is unique, so we are confident that our application will be approved. We are in the second year of a Phase II SBIR award, have completed the prototype, and are starting the clinical trial. Based on our prototype testing, we are confident we will meet lab safety testing and certification standards during Phase II.”
7. Describe risks, risk mitigation, and alternatives.
Example: “The main risk is that consumers with true nut allergies may eat nuts that have been processed with our product to remove mold, and assume our detoxification removes nut allergens. It does not. To avoid this misunderstanding, we will make no claims about having an impact on nut allergies. We will require food distributors using our detoxifier to label the nuts “treated for mold toxins” and include a warning that they are not safe for individuals with nut allergies.”
8. Check for competition and be prepared to discuss it.
Example: “Our main competition is the product used in the current, less effective surgical protocol. The data supporting the likelihood of better surgical outcomes by using our product in a new protocol is clear, but we are running into resistance from medical staff about making changes because of the convenience of doing business as usual. We need administrators inside the system to act as champions for our approach, which is why we seek funding to offer them free training.”
Sources
Foundation for Shared Impact. How to Pitch You Business – All the Basics You Should Learn. Blog. Accessed 3/9/2023.
Koch K. How to Create an Effective Biotech Pitch Deck. ULP. May 29, 2020.
Shimasaki C. What to Put in a Biotech Investor Pitch Deck?. Linked In. June 25, 2016.
