What Makes a Good (Capstone) Pitch
To entrepreneurs, job candidates, or even single guy trying the dating game, there are many ways to make a pitch. There’s probably even many more opinions and articles on what makes a good pitch. Regardless, the situation matters, of course, as to what your ideal pitch should be. There are a number of factors including audience, purpose, time, alone vs. with team, etc.
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of judging the Georgia Tech Capstone Design Expo. It is a multi-disciplinary fair of mostly seniors having worked on a variety of projects for two semesters. I talked to 6 teams, and while it was primarily a way to give back to my alma mater, it was also a time for me to think critically and quickly about a given subject that I may or may not be familiar with at all. More than a mental exercise, it also had me pondering about what it’s a good pitch.
Again, it depends is the true answer, but here are my conclusions for a Capstone design pitch:
1. Explained the background (bonus for talking about user/sponsor)
2. Specifically stated the problem
3. Told a story. How did you get to solution?
4. Included metrics
5. Could talk about testing the idea(s). (Bonus for creativity, consideration of as many points as possible)
6. Related back to user needs at end and how you did (or did not) address them
A senior design project doesn't have to be the sexiest to win. A team can get my vote by showing they thought critically about a lot of different paths to take and different angles to view/criticize their solution. (Show that you’ve thought about every reason why your solution might not work, not just why you claim it's better). At the end, just address all your user needs (simple is good!).
