Can You Explain Your Startup Idea in One Sentence?

As an entrepreneur, you will pitch your business thousands of times to potential customers, partners, team members, investors, press, and more. If you can't describe your business in one-sentence, then you don't understand it well enough.

Luckily, we have developed a one-sentence pitch format to help anyone explain their business in one sentence. Check out our exclusive "Startup Madlibs" template to help craft a simple - yet effective - startup pitch (click the image below for a full-size downloadable PDF):

How to Use "Startup Madlibs" The "defined offering" needs to be simple and tangible (ex. "a website" is better than a "marketplace") The "defined audience" is the initial group you will target. Make sure you are specific (ex. "U.S. women aged 25-35" is better than "women") Now you need to "solve a problem." The problem needs to be simple and easily understood by anyone (ex. "reduce the time collecting bill payments" is better than "accelerate AR") The final component, the "secret sauce," adds your unique approach that demonstrates a mastery of the market. It is better to focus on one core element versus listing several, for simplicity.

Here are some more pointers: First, avoid using adjectives, particularly superlatives. Never say "first," "only," "huge" or "best," as these words signal inexperience. Second, properly define your target market. For example, "women" or "small businesses" are way too large and not nearly targeted enough. Third, eliminate any buzzwords, acronyms or industry jargon from your pitch. Finally, keep it short. It's easy to write a long sentence, but the right thing is to be concise.

In the video below, Adeo Ressi (co-founder and CEO of the Founder Institute) explains how to get the most out of our exclusive format: