Take your Startup to the next level
A powerful pitch is more than just a good story, we can help you stand out
Immediate traction
That’s what we want when we launch our Startup into the world or get it ready to scale.
When you’re pitching to investors, you want them to be interested, to get what you are doing, to see the opportunity and ultimately take you to the next stage in the conversation
When you’re acquiring new customers, you’re attracting the right people, they’re converting and your metrics continuously increase
When you’re building your partner or advocate network, they immediately see the value in working with you and it helps you to broaden your reach quickly
When you talk about your Startup, regardless of your audience (even if it’s your mum, and especially if it’s your mum) they totally understand what it is you do, for whom and what value that brings to the world.
People know why they should buy from you and not the alternative and they are ready to do it now.
The Startup Pitch Training Program, what's it all about?
Never feel put on the spot. Learn how to confidently communicate your Startup’s true value, your uniqueness, in a way that is memorable, effective and natural in any and every situation. With the bonus of having more clarity about how to strategically grow your business.
Common challenges
90% of Startups fail
Startups are the engine of economic growth but they are riskier to establish than traditional businesses and up to 90% of them fail.
Research suggests that they lack the knowledge and skills to establish and/or grow their business in areas such as product-market fit, marketing, and business models.
We have worked with a great number of innovative Startups. Ones that are pioneering developments in technology, engineering, or providing incredible purpose-driven solutions.
Making people understand the technical
They are forward thinkers, but may sometimes get lost in the detail of their product or service. The features. It is so easy to do. It takes someone on the outside to see the true value of what they provide and who they provide it to.
It may be that there is comfort in the terminology that is used or knowledge bias where we assume the audience understands what we are talking about because we think it’s so obvious.
We may not have got to the heart of our customer's problems or thought about any objections they might have. We need someone that can ‘humanise’ what it is we do and find the people that will love us for it.
The challenge is being able to articulate succinctly what we do in a way that everyone can understand and be compelled to take action.
You can’t have a great pitch without a great strategy
You may have heard the expression ‘to put lipstick on a pig’ and even the best storytellers can’t build a great pitch if the business strategy is mediocre.
Purpose & Impact
In order to provide the audience a clear understanding of the purpose of your business and get them to buy-in to what you’re selling, you need to be clear on your purpose and impact. The bonus from working on this is that you gain clarity of focus and direction as a business.
Market Position
In order to demonstrate why your audience should choose you over an alternative you need to understand your market position. The bonus to this piece of work is that you are clear on your key differentiators and what makes you unique.
Target Customers
In order to connect with the right audience or demonstrate the viability of the market opportunity, you need to understand your target market. The bonus with this is that you get a depth of understanding of who you should be targeting to save resources.
Brand & Messaging
In order to portray the perception of your business that you want your audience to have of your business and get to the heart of your value, you need to develop your brand and messaging. The bonus to this work is that your brand story and unique value proposition can be weaved throughout all of your customer touchpoints, not just in your pitch.
We help you develop or refine those key strategic pieces to make sure what you are presenting is the most impactful.
The bonus to this work is that it informs everything you do in your business so you get super focused on what’s going to get you results.
The 25eight Pitch Training Program
We help you to effectively, naturally and succinctly communicate why your Startup is great.
We go beyond the basics of putting together a Startup pitch and get to the heart of your business strategy and the value you provide; moving away from the product or service, its features to the problem it solves and for whom and why you’re the best to solve it. Regardless of their background, anyone will understand what you do. You will be able to tailor your pitch for every situation and timeframe. And the more people from your business that joins that program, the more confident everyone is in getting the message out there.
This unique program is hyper-personalised to you. You don’t learn what you already know, instead you ‘level-up’ what you do know.
After completing the program, not only will you have a pitch deck that can be used as the core of your messaging and a pitch video that has built your confidence to deliver that message and a true understanding of your unique value to the world, you’ll have strategic frameworks that can be used in your business strategy, again and again, to refine and perfect your approach to winning a prospect over.
Personalised structure
Following 25eight’s methodology, you will have a proven structure to level up what you already know and do to identify your business’ true value in the market, and develop that into a compelling value proposition that motivates your audience to take action. Your approach will change your pitch from being capability-focused to solution-focused so that your audience becomes active listeners.
Industry experts & mentors
With well over 20,000 hours of coaching and mentoring between them as well as extensive industry experince, Phil Ore and Sam Hurley have helped thousands of businesses identify or refine their business strategy, competitive advantage and unique value propositions to deliver winning pitches. With 1:1 sessions during the program, you receive meaningful feedback and help to refine your approach to your situation.
Clear outcomes
Walk away with a defined or refined business strategy, pitch, and pitch deck and marketing messaging for your Startup. You will have a strategy portfolio for reference, a clear unique value proposition (UVP) and increased confidence to communicate your value effectively and naturally. You’ll easily tailor your pitch for any situation and format.
What’s included
Get an assessment of where you are now, including a review of your current pitch deck, if you have one. Get recommended micro-learning to level up your business strategy and fine tune your unique value proposition before receiving 1:1 mentoring to refine your pitch/pitch deck, messaging and strategic approach to using it.
The program involves:
An assessment of where you can level up
A review of an existing pitch deck
Personalised Micro-lessons (3-5 min videos)
1:1 coaching session with Sam Hurley to help you pinpoint your strategic advantage and develop a winning unique value proposition
Access to private learning platform with all resources, recorded content and learning material with lifetime access
The development of business strategy and strategic marketing documents for continuous reference
Pitch Deck template
Winning pitch examples
Access to 1:1 mentoring from Chief Mentor Phil Ore who has mentored thousands of Australian businesses and is well connected in the Startup ecosystem
The option to record your pitch, pitch in front of industry experts or have pitch materials reviewed to finalise and perfect your pitch
You self-paced through the content and book into your 1:1 coaching and mentor sessions in particular weeks through the platform. Over 8 weeks, you’ll develop your most effective and impactful pitch and learn the frameworks you can use so that, on the spot, you can adapt what you say so that everyone sees the value in what you do.
Key benefits of the program
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Pitch structure
Use frameworks developed by 25eight and influenced by startup methodology to develop the structure to effectively tell your story. This customer-centred structure changes your pitch from being capability-focused to solution-focused and makes your Startup memorable.
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Hyper-personalised
Don’t waste time learning things that you already know. Our unique alignment quiz determines what you know and do already and then presents micro-education aimed at leveling up what you do know. Saving you time and ensuring you’re always progressing.
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'Pitch' in any situation
Understand the nuances and differences you need to adopt to help your pitch resonate with various customers in your industry. Get tips on refining your pitch based on specific target audiences and circumstances. Leave with tools to help you pitch in any situation or duration.
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Strategic agility
Hundreds of businesses that have completed our pitch training program, many with extensive business experience, have indicated how valuable the program has been for them to refine their strategic approach in modern markets. Don’t just leave with a pitch, but the added value of business clarity.
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Messaging
Fundamentally, the messaging you develop during the program can be used in various scenarios. Applying for a grant, developing a marketing message, creating a business proposal, all of these and more will benefit from the work you do in the program. Your ‘pitch’ will make it easy for your prospects to choose you over the competition.
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Results
Use the program as a way to take charge of the next stage of your business. Take it to the next level. Developing your business pitch is just the start. Apply what you learn to your business will help you achieve incredible results. Spend less time and get more from your prospect and customer interactions.
Hear from past particpants
“I really can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve benefited from taking part in it… to the point where I credit a lot of our current success to you both and the program! You’ve allowed me to think incredibly clearly about what our product is, who our target consumer is, what problem we’re solving and so much more. I’m sure you’ll be excited to know that as of the 10th of this month, we’ve got nearly $1m in confirmed orders and in the past month have scaled up ten-fold!
— Daniel, Medihood
“This program is excellent for on-the-job learning of marketing concepts with real-time pitch video preparation. Furthermore, it helped structure our marketing strategies. A very useful program carried out in a virtual manner. Would highly recommend it, especially for an engineer venturing into the business development and marketing world. Excellent all-rounder training for a technical-background participant like myself.”
— Hwan, Trakka Systems
The Program Details
The program includes:
Vision - Clearly articulate your vision and purpose, what your business is here to do
Target Customers - Identify the characteristics of who will find the most value in what you do
Market Position - Pinpoint your key differentiators; how you can stand out in a competitive and evolving market and what the opportunity is
Brand - Reinforce the perception of your business visually and verbally
UVP - Develop and refine your unique value proposition (UVP)
Traction - Show (rather than tell) how awesome you are because of the work you have already done or are doing
Scripting - Determine your strategy for delivering a spoken pitch
Timing - Tailor your pitch for different durations
Technical Language - Consider the audience and any knowledge bias you have in the language you use
Cultural Difference - Understand how to tailor your pitch for different audiences
Pitch Perfection - Use the Six Pillars framework to tell a compelling story and get your audience to take action
To get the most value from the program, we recommend you set yourself a goal of spending 2 hours of your time per week over 8 weeks. As the old saying goes, you get out what you put in.
We limit the number of businesses participating in the program so that we can give each business the time and attention they need. However, multiple people from any given business are encouraged - in fact, we recommend multiple participants take part to ensure the best outcomes and value for money for your business.
Helping you to be a winner
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1000 +
Businesses have completed the Pitch Training Program in the last 5 years
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83%
Completion rate of businesses through the Program. Our 100% club is going strong!
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9.47
Our average score out of ten our 25eighters score us when asked whether they’d recommend us
Startups we’ve loved to help
Some of the organisations we’ve provided pitch training for
Don’t wait to take your Startup to the next level
Don’t pay tens of thousands to an agency or spend weeks going round in circles by yourself when we can help you do it and do it well.
Get the guidance and structure you need to articulate the value of your business and develop your own strategic capabilities in the development of an impactful value proposition, messaging and pitch story
$1,995 inc GST
8 weeks
Self-paced online micro education
Build your pitch deck as you develop your strategy in the platform
Work 1:1 with your coach to pinpoint your competitive advantage and refine your UVP
Work 1:1 with your mentor to apply to industry insights and get connected
Pitch your Startup to the cohort or Industry experts for valuable feedback
Meet your coach and mentor
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Sam Hurley
With several digital transformations under her belt in her 20+ years of industry experience, Sam likes to sit at the intersection of business, creativity and technology. Her Master of Teaching is the icing on the cake as she drives high standards and best practice to ensure what is learned is adopted and impactful. She’s currently nerding over LLMs and generative AI and how it can be used to transform how we learn to make leadership decisions that accelerate your businesses growth and adapt quickly to market changes.
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Phil Ore
If 10,000 hours is the benchmark for excellence, Phil reigns supreme as a mentor. His extensive experience leading well-known brands is married with his ability to identify opportunities for smaller business to give them the ‘gold nuggets’ they need to get traction. His ‘serendipity hacking’ is the magic sauce in the business. His extensive black book of contacts in the Australian business ecosystem can be capitalised on to connect the ‘what you know’ with the ‘who you ‘know’. Let him help you build the perfect pitch.
Why did we create this program?
25eight was born from a need to serve startups and small to medium sized businesses with knowledge and capability building programs that didn’t take a lot of time. The Pitch Training Program, formerly delivered under the Marketing Entourage brand which merged with 25eight in 2021, was developed to provide a low-cost way of helping startups.
Having now adapted the program and created specific industry-focused programs with organisations such as Austrade, Australian Defence Export Office and City of Melbourne, the 25eight Pitch Training Program is the only one of its kind in Australia.
In eight years, this highly impactful program has helped thousands of businesses develop a structured and memorable pitch and gain the confidence to deliver it to different audiences in various situations.
The program has been designed for those with busy schedules (it’s accelerated learning) as we know it’s hard to complete any training whilst working in the business. We want a solution that helps create impact without too much impact on your time. With a Net Promoter Score of 76 (which is considered world-class), we know that you will get huge value from this program. If you are not satisfied after 30 days, we will give you your money back!
Still need convincing?
Frequently Asked Questions
+ When does the program start?
Our Pitch Training starts in small cohorts throughout the year with special access given to our partner's communities first. They will be given first chance to fill a cohort before places are offered publically. However, we have cohorts starting regularly throughout the year, so there are plenty of opportunities to gain a place. We'll work with you to get the best timing for you and what's happening in your business.
+ How does it work?
Once you have expressed your interesr, you will be contacted by one of the lovely 25eight team who will arrange to chat with you to determine the best cohort for you based on timing and who you can be matched with. We'll then send through an offer for a place on the cohort and you'll have a period of time to accept and pay the enrolment fee. You'll then get send calendar invites and an email with access to 25eight Academy.
25eight Academy is our learning platform. The online education will be available on your dashboard - this is where all the program content will be available and where you can book your coaching and mentor sessions
At the end of the program, you'll pitch your Startup to your cohort or to Industry, whichever you have arranged with your mentor. If you’ve completed all of the work in the platform, you will walk away with a pitch deck, which you can adapt for any situations, a refined UVP you can start using with your identified target markets straight away, valueable feedback you can action immediately and connections to help you build your network in the Startup ecosystem. You'll also have access to the strategy documents you developed along the way for 12 months after the start of your program.
+ What happens if I miss a scheduled coaching or mentor session?
We ask that you book into the coaching or mentor sessions and if you're unable to make it you give us a minimum of three hours notice, otherwise the session is then counted towards the sessions you're eligible for.
+ How much time should I schedule each week?
We recommend putting aside 2 hours each week for the 8 weeks to get the best out of the program. And, if you have other people from your business working on it, you can split the work so it shouldn't take as long. Some of you may wish to spend more time, whilst others may not need as much. The more you put in, the more you get out in the end we say!
+ Is the program delivered in-person or online?
The entire program is delivered online
+ How much does the program cost?
The program is $1,995 inc GST for 12 months access to the content, 1:1 coaching, 1:1 industry mentorship and the opportunity to pitch. You also have the option to purchase additional coaching and mentor sessions.
+ How long do I have access to the content?
Once you have a profile on 25eight Academy, you have 12 months access to the program you are enrolled in. This means you can access the resources as many times as you wish within that period after the program has concluded.
+ Is there a refund policy?
We've never had anyone take us up on this, but we do offer your money back within the first 30-days if you are not satisfied with the content. Please email us directly at hello@25eight.co.
+ Do I need any prior business knowledge?
As a hyper-personalised program, we determine what you know and do already. This means this program is accessible to anyone and everyone, regardless of your business stage or pitch experience as we aim to 'level-up' what you already know.
+ Why is there limited availability?
We take the impact of our education seriously, so that means we want to ensure that you get the support you need to get the desired outcome of the program. By running our programs in timed cohorts, it allows us to ensure that you have access to quality mentoring and training at times that suit you. If we have too many people on the program at one time, it limits availability. We also find that this ensures only those that are committed to achieving their goals are likely to participate and we're not just selling the course for the sake of making money, we want this to elevate your business.
+ Is this like other course and training?
This is unlike any training you may have done before, it will feel personalised and specific to you. It's like having a consultant to help you whilst at the same time, you build your own capabilities.
What People Are Saying
“As a 20-year old company, we tend to approach our messaging and marketing in the same way that we have done for years. This program gave us a fresh perspective on how to communicate the value of what we do and boy, what a difference that made. Great program thanks so much for the opportunity to participate!”
— Julian, Senetas
“I found the key outcome was the structure and discipline around the narrative of the pitch. As pitching does not come naturally to me and does require effort, I found this extremely helpful! Each week I assessed different elements of my business and product and how we present it. Great program, knowledgeable & experienced facilitators - thank you so much!”
— Bernadette, Cogito Group
“After being in the marketing wilderness for some years, I was gobsmacked by the premium training delivery model, support and in-depth structure provided. Sam took us through piece by piece and is responsible for the marketing plan integrity we had when we started. Money was tight and the pressure was on, but we came out with an immense asset.”
— Stephen, 6Clicks