Winning Buy-in

Scenario: You are a budding entrepreneur with a great idea, and you want to pitch it on the TV show “Shark Tank.” Your product or service should be something the Sharks want to sink their teeth into.

• Create a 1-2 minute pitch of your idea, using the approaches described in the Weekly Materials. For this section, you may either write out your pitch or record it on video. Make sure your pitch includes:
  • An introduction to yourself and/or your company
  • A hook
  • A brief, non-confidential description of your product or service
  • Any differentiating advantages your product or service offers
  • Financial information, such as how much your product or service sells for (for purposes of this scenario, you can make this information up)
  • An explanation of how you will use the Sharks’ money (e.g., building your product, hiring more employees)
  • A call to action
• Considering the course materials for this week, discuss the persuasive approach(es) you used and why you chose them. For example, how did you incorporate ethos, logos, and pathos into your pitch?

NOTE: For those who have not watched “Shark Tank,” check it out below.

Post your initial response by Wednesday, midnight of your time zone, and reply to at least 2 of your classmates’ initial posts by Sunday, midnight of your time zone.

1st response

 Maria Reyes RE: Week 7 DiscussionCOLLAPSE

Winning Buy-In

Introduction

Good morning,

First of all, thank you for giving me this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Allan James Smith. I am basically from California but currently staying at Maryland. I graduated from ABC University, Washington, with a Bachelors degree in Commerce, and currently, I am pursuing my master’s degree at CITADEL university. I have come here today to present my business idea for a chance to secure an investment from one, some, or all of you. My goal is to get this business idea and make it successful over the years but with significant financial support and expert advice from you.

Hook 

When I was in university, I gained significant interest in business, particularly entrepreneurship. I heard stories of people who had started as minor business people, who later became the leading players in major industries. For this reason, I decided to act on my entrepreneurship interests by coming up and presenting this business idea.

Product/Service Description

The SafetyMonitor is a phone application that allows people to notify their friends and family whenever they are in an emergency, such as a car failure, robbery, or a kidnapping, among other threatening circumstances. The application can be put to commercial use to combat the increasing kidnapping and insecurity cases across certain places. The application’s physical characteristics include a menu that allows the person to access their profile, shaking capability that sends alerts to phone contacts, and its voice-activation feature. The application is blue in color and has multiple privacy features.

Differentiating Features

Many applications help people alert their family, close friends, and authorities in case people are in detrimental situations. However, the SafetyMonitor app is unique because It is sensitive to movements and shaking. Phone movements will activate the application, which sends an SOS alert to selected contacts by the user. Additionally, the voice activation feature makes the application unique because not many safety alert applications have the feature. Therefore, the application comes with several unique features over other similar safety applications.

Financial Information

The SafetyMonitor application cost depends on several factors, including development costs, presentation, and other significant factors. The application took six months to develop before I tested it, which cost around $130,000.

How I will Use the Shark’s Money

My core objective is to use the money as an investment that will expand my business idea and ensure it comes with profits as soon as under a year. For this reason, I plan to use the money for major purposes such as marketing. Since it’s a new application, marketing will be a good start to let customers know about the application. Additionally, the money will be used to add more improvements to the application regularly to avoid getting left behind.  

The Persuasive Approach

I applied the three elements, ethos, logos, and pathos in my pitch based on a persuasive approach. First, I displayed the use of ethos by establishing my authority to present the business idea to the members on the desks. Secondly, I represented the logos element by ensuring that I made a rational argument for my business idea. Lastly, pathos is evident in my effort to convince the members of Shark Tank emotionally to invest in my business idea.

2nd response

 RE: Week 7 DiscussionCOLLAPSE

Prof. Leighton-Lucas and Leaders,

Intro: 

My name is Chuck Chadwick, and my company is Helix Innovations, maker of On! Nicotine Pouches.  I have leveraged my 15 years of experience in big tobacco to develop an oral tobacco-derived nicotine product that addresses adult tobacco consumers’ central pain points.

The Hook:

• Among adult tobacco consumers 21+, their largest unmet requirement is reduced social friction.
• Social friction occurs when adult tobacco consumers feel uncomfortable using their products around others.
• Our research indicates approximately 6 million consumers are interested in oral tobacco-derived nicotine products.

Product description:

The On! Nicotine Pouch provides a satisfying nicotine experience complimented by the following attributes:

• Tobacco leaf-free, white nicotine pouch – Variety of appealing flavors
• Variety of nicotine strengths- Manageable & Convenient Experience
• Nicotine satisfaction without smoke, spit, ash, or odor
• Place the pouch under your upper lip.  Enjoy for up to 20 minutes.

Differentiating advantages:

• Experience nicotine satisfaction anytime, anywhere, including occasions where you cannot smoke or dip
• Differentiating packaging with disposal compartment

Financials:

Cost – $1.99

SRP $4.99

Margin – 40%

How will I use your investment:

In retail outlets, sales space is at a premium.  I plan to use your investment to secure highly visible space at retail for the core On! product portfolio through flexible merchandising options.  Countertop merchandisers will be the best way to ensure that all retail outlets have a solution to merchandise On!. I will also dedicate a portion of your investment to fund an incentive program for retailers to have the ability to offer a temporary trial offer to help generate consumer trial and not lose margin in doing so.  Retailers will essentially be paid to reduce their retail selling price for an introductory period.

Call to action:

As I mentioned earlier, approximately 6 million consumers are interested in oral tobacco-derived nicotine products.  As more and more legislation comes down restricting traditional tobacco products, conversion to innovative alternative products such as On! Nicotine Pouches will generate a stable revenue stream for the future.  Partner with me, and let’s make history!
In my intro, I tried to both hook the audience and establish ethos.  Leading with my big tobacco experience was my credibility builder, and “addressing tobacco consumers’ central pain point” was the hook.  Ethos is the most difficult to achieve, so I followed up with several relevant consumer insights (1).  My use of consumer insights also serves to persuade the audience that my position is sensible – logos.  Pathos or an emotional connection was not needed with this pitch.  

References

1. JWI. Week 7. Lecture Notes. The Art of Persuasion