🎤 MON 29 JUN · YOUR 90 SECONDS · FINAL SHOWCASE

Your 90 seconds on stage.
The pitch that shows them what you built.

Tonight is the cohort's moment. 25 of you. 90 seconds each. NS audience, film crew, possibly a future investor in the room. This guide gets you to a tight, memorable pitch in 30 minutes of prep — using the same 4-beat structure every world-class founder uses.

⏱Your 90 seconds · broken down

Don't memorize a script. Memorize the 4 BEATS. Each beat has a job. Hit each beat, you have a great pitch. Miss one, the audience walks away confused.

15sBeat 1 · Hook
25sBeat 2 · Who
35sBeat 3 · Built
15sBeat 4 · Ask
Beat 1 · 15 seconds · the hook
BEAT 1 ⏱ 0:00 → 0:15 What it does · in ONE sentence

Lead with the product. Not the team. Not the journey. Not "Hi I'm Sara." Just the thing. The audience needs to know what they're looking at in 5 seconds or they tune out.

"[Product name] helps [who] [do what specific outcome]."
"Mealframe helps new moms plan a week of dinners in under 5 minutes — using only what's already in their fridge."
"Hi everyone — I'm Sara, I've been in this cohort for 30 days and I'm really excited to share what I've been working on. Um, so basically..."
Beat 2 · 25 seconds · who it's for + the pain
BEAT 2 ⏱ 0:15 → 0:40 Who it's for · and what pain it ends

Make the audience SEE the person you built this for. Specific persona > vague market. Then name the pain in 1 sentence — the moment of pain, not the abstract problem.

"It's for [specific persona] who [specific behavior]. Today they [the painful workaround]. With [product name], that drops from [X minutes/hours] to [Y]."
"It's for moms with kids under 5 who decide what to cook at 5pm while a toddler cries. Today they doomscroll Instagram for 20 minutes, give up, and order Uber Eats. With Mealframe, that decision takes 90 seconds and saves about $60 a week."
"It's for anyone who cooks. Like, busy professionals, parents, students, you name it. Basically the food industry is huge."

🎯 Test: If a stranger in the audience can't picture ONE specific person you built this for, rewrite this beat.

Beat 3 · 35 seconds · what you actually shipped · PROOF
BEAT 3 ⏱ 0:40 → 1:15 What you built · with numbers

The proof beat. This is where you separate "I had an idea" from "I shipped a thing." Show one screenshot · name what's live · cite numbers if you have them. If no users yet, cite what you built (lines of code, features, integrations, prototype demos).

"In 30 days I built [what's live: app/website/integration/etc]. It has [specific feature 1], [specific feature 2], and [specific feature 3]. Right now there are [X] [users / signups / paying customers / waitlist], and [one named result · revenue · usage stat · testimonial]."
"In 30 days I built the full app — Stripe checkout, weekly meal plans, the AI that scans your fridge from a photo, and a shareable shopping list. Right now there are 47 paying users at $9/month — that's $423 MRR. One user, Sarah in Austin, told me she got her dinner decision back to under 2 minutes. That's the win."
"So yeah, I built the product. It works. I haven't really launched it but, you know, it's ready. I'm excited about the potential."

🎯 If you have NO users yet: Cite shipped features instead. "I shipped a working iOS prototype with 7 screens, AI-powered fridge scanning, and a Stripe checkout flow. The first 10 testers complete onboarding in under 90 seconds." That's still proof.

Beat 4 · 15 seconds · the ask · ONE thing
BEAT 4 ⏱ 1:15 → 1:30 The ask · what you need from THIS room

The most important beat. Most pitches END at the demo and forget to ASK. This room has talent, capital, network, and time. Name ONE specific ask — make it easy to act on.

"Tonight I need [ONE specific ask · intros / users / a hire / feedback / capital]. If you know [the kind of person / company], find me after at the bar. I'm [your name] — [your handle or URL]."
"Tonight I need intros to 10 more moms with kids under 5 — I'm in user-research mode for a B2C pivot. If you know one, find me at the bar. I'm Sara — sara.co/mealframe."
"So yeah, that's Mealframe. Feedback welcome. Thanks everyone!"

🎯 Strong asks (pick one):

  • "5 intros to X" · easiest to fulfill in the room
  • "100 free trial signups" · if you have a link to share
  • "My first 10 beta testers" · low friction
  • "A co-founder who knows Y" · if you're hiring
  • "Brutal feedback from anyone in [industry]" · low ask, high signal
  • "A 15-min call with anyone who's built X before" · the warm intro to expertise

⚡Stage rules · do / don't

✅ DO

  • Stand still · plant your feet · don't pace
  • Hold eye contact with 3 different people in the room (not just Megan)
  • ONE slide · the product screenshot · OR your logo · don't overdesign
  • Name numbers · "$423 MRR" beats "some users"
  • Say your URL at the end · audience needs the next step
  • Smile at the end · even if you forget the last line. The face matters.
  • Practice OUT LOUD 3 times today · NOT in your head · time yourself

❌ DON'T

  • Apologize · "Sorry I'm nervous" · "It's a bit messy still" · NEVER
  • Read from slides · audience reads faster than you talk · they tune out
  • Open with your bio · they'll get to you · lead with the product
  • "Um" / "like" / "basically" · pause instead · silence is fine
  • Show 5 features · pick ONE · the rest happens at the bar
  • End with "Thanks!" · end with the ask + URL · "Thanks" wastes 2 seconds
  • Hand-wave the metric · "growing" is not a number · cite the actual number or skip it

🎯The 30-minute prep drill · do this TODAY

Don't wing it. 30 minutes today = the difference between memorable and forgotten.

🎬Tonight · tech + logistics

📣After the showcase · capture the momentum

Most builders fumble the 48 hours after a pitch. Here's the punch list to ride the wave instead of waste it.

"Don't try to be impressive. Try to be memorable."

90 seconds · 4 beats · your name · your URL · the ask. You've got this.