5 things I learned when pitching on stage for the first time

Cold and wet – how apt a description of my palms before, during, and after the pitch.

But no, no, not this pitcher.

With my fundMyLife team, I recently attended Summer Chapter: The Pitch in KL, a pitching event organized by the Young ASEAN Minds (YAM).

It is an annual flagship event rotated across Southeast Asian countries, which provides youths with insights on entrepreneurship in ASEAN countries, and gives young startup founders a chance to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges, including Datuk Kamarudin of AirAsia, Jeffrey Paine of Golden Gate Ventures, and Karndee Leopairote of C-Asean.

Suffice to say, it was quite exciting not just for my team, but for myself, since it was the first time I’ve pitched in front of hundreds. Now that the adrenaline has finally cleared in my veins, I thought it apt to share a few key pointers for founders pitching their startups onstage for the first time.

Lesson 1:  Pitching on a stage ≠ pitching in a room

I get nervous really easily, be it before meeting clients, VCs, or even strangers asking me for the time. Over time, I thought I’d got over it as I pitched to more and more people.

However, when you move yourself from a room to a stage with spotlights trained on you, take away your trusty laptop and replace it with a projector screen hovering above and behind you, and add a few hundred people with their eyes on you…things are a little different. Let’s just say my palms were sweaty, knees were weak, and arms were heavy.

Here are a few things to take note of.

Firstly, with one hand holding the mic, and the other holding the clicker, my range of motion became restricted. This placed a dampener on my usual animated self, which admittedly felt odd.

Secondly, I have never felt so naked and exposed with so much space around me and attention directed towards me.

Lastly, if you’re not used to hearing yourself on mic, it will feel odd – I couldn’t recognize my own voice for a moment (and having a dry throat didn’t help either).

Lesson 2: Time really flies

There were a total of nine startups pitching, and we were slotted to be the second last.

I was marvelling at how steady and informative the founders were during their five-minute pitches. However, when it came to my turn, I was shocked how fast time flew by and how quickly my slides ended.

In retrospect, I think it was a matter of perception that warped my sense of time.

Lesson 3: Practice, practice, and practice. And then practice some more.

Lesson 4: Know your product inside out

Lesson 5: The pitch is just the beginning