elevator-pitch

Elevator Pitch

Overview

An elevator pitch is 1-2 sentences that clearly explain who you serve, what problem you solve, and why you're different. Geoffrey Moore's famous template (from Crossing the Chasm) provides a proven structure. This skill helps you craft and test elevator pitches for products, features, or entire companies.

When to Use

• Defining or refining product positioning
• Writing a website hero section or landing page
• Preparing for investor, customer, or partner pitches
• Aligning the team on a shared value proposition
• Onboarding new team members to the product's core value
• Don't use for: internal feature descriptions (too narrow), technical documentation

Instructions

1. Use the Geoffrey Moore Template

For [target customer]
Who [need or opportunity],
The [product name] is a [product category]
That [key benefit / reason to buy].
Unlike [primary competitive alternative],
Our product [unique differentiator].

2. Fill Each Slot Carefully

Target customer: Be specific. "Mid-market engineering managers" not "anyone who manages teams."

Need or opportunity: What job are they trying to do? Focus on the problem, not the market.

Product category: The category sets expectations. Choose carefully.

• "Project management tool" → compared to Asana, Jira
• "Async status tool" → compared to standup bots, Slack
• New categories create headroom but require education

Key benefit: One clear, customer-focused benefit. Not features.

Primary competitive alternative: Be honest. The alternative might be "doing nothing" or "spreadsheets."

Unique differentiator: Your defensible advantage. Not "we have better UX" (everyone says that).

3. Test Your Pitch

Check against these criteria:

• Clarity: Would someone outside your company understand it?
• Specificity: Is it precise enough that you couldn't swap in a competitor's name?
• Memorability: Can someone repeat it back after hearing it once?
• Differentiation: Does it describe what makes you special, not just what you do?