What motivated you to participate in GENILEM's «READY? SET, PITCH!» event, and how did you prepare your pitch for it?
I took part in GENILEM's «Ready, Set, Pitch!» competition to step outside my comfort zone. I had an idea and wanted to test it out. Above all, I wanted to see if I could pitch it in two and a half minutes.
Preparing that first pitch was really not easy. I'm used to speaking in front of an audience, but I was particularly stressed by the time limit. Presenting your concept and its uniqueness in two and a half minutes is clearly a challenge! I tested it on my family, friends, and even my children, to find out what they remembered, liked, or didn't understand.
In your opinion, what are the essential elements of a successful pitch?
I would say it needs to be authentic. You really need to choose words that mean something to you, not just «nice phrases».
I would also advise you to carefully consider adapting it to your audience, as the level of knowledge on the subject and areas of interest vary depending on who you are addressing.
What role do emotions play in a pitch, and how do you use them to capture your audience's attention?
I think emotions are essential. If you simply recite your pitch without putting any of yourself into it, I don't think you can successfully connect with your audience. And that's precisely the point of a pitch: to pique people's curiosity and make them want to come and talk to you afterwards.
Of course, there is the pitch itself (the form) and the project (the content), but there is also the person behind the project. It is the latter that determines whether we will believe in it and whether we want to take it further.
Can you share a moment when your pitch did not have the desired effect? How did you overcome this challenge?
Yes, indeed. It happens. For this particular pitch, I think I wanted to do too well and share as much information as possible. In the end, it confused people more than anything else. But it is precisely this type of ’failure» that allows us to move forward, learn and question ourselves.
In the end, I focused on what I felt was essential to communicate, and above all, I accepted the fact that you can't please everyone all the time. In a pitch, there is never any guarantee of success. But it's precisely the fact that it's a challenge every time that motivates me.
As the winner of GENILEM, what do you think set your pitch apart from the other participants?
That's a very difficult question... I thought the other participants' pitches were excellent, and right up until the last moment, I didn't think I was going to win. Each of them had their own personality, their own way of pitching, and above all, great projects.
My pitch was different from the others in terms of form, in that it was more focused on storytelling. It wasn't a strategic choice, but rather the format that came to me spontaneously. I thought that «telling a story» might allow me to engage the audience and the jury on a subject that many were unfamiliar with. My biggest challenge was explaining the issue of Quagga mussels. It remains a real challenge, because it takes up a lot of time in my pitches. I envy those who have a subject that everyone is familiar with. But it's also a strength: people are surprised and discover something new, so they pay more attention.
How do you manage stage fright or nervousness before pitching to a large audience?
Like most people, I always get nervous before going on stage.
Before pitching, I try to reconnect with nature by listening to the sounds of waves, rivers... It calms me down and allows me to take a step back. When I reconnect with nature, I always feel very small, and that puts things into perspective.
Once on stage, I think about all the work that went into getting this opportunity and I try to enjoy it as much as possible. I tell myself that it's a chance to share my work and that of all the research teams, such as EPFL and HEIG-VD, who are also collaborating on this topic. I feel invested in the mission of presenting the project on behalf of the entire team.
What are the most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs making when pitching, and how can they avoid them?
Some entrepreneurs tend to have a single pitch, which may be excellent, but they recite it over and over again, word for word, every time. I think a pitch should be alive. As a start-up, our projects evolve extremely quickly. There is no reason why our pitch should remain static and not adapt.
In addition, you have to adapt to your audience and put a part of yourself into it.
