At SVG Ventures | THRIVE, we review thousands of startups each year, and one thing is always clear: 

Every startup has a unique story to tell. 

But how do you ensure your story stands out in a crowded field of innovation? Creating a compelling narrative is more than just showcasing your technology and team–it’s about finding a way to connect with investors and partners.  

In this article, we’ll share tips on positioning your startup for success by sharing your story in a way that truly resonates.  

Assume the elevator is only going up ten floors 

You’ve likely heard of the elevator pitch—the idea that you have just one elevator ride to capture the attention of a key decision-maker and convince them your solution is worth their time.  

The elevator pitch is usually the first thing we read in all applications.  

We want to quickly grasp the essence of what your technology is aiming to achieve. It should only take one or two sentences. So assume that the elevator you’re in is only going up ten floors.  

Here is an example of an effective elevator pitch, and one that could use improvement: 

Effective Elevator Pitch: Our goal is to cut 1% of global GHG emissions by 2030 by tackling methane emissions from cows with a scalable solution.  

Needs Improvement: Every year, livestock emit vast amounts of methane, which is a significant contributor to global warming. Cows alone account for a huge portion of these emissions. Methane is a greenhouse gas that has 25 times more warming potential than carbon dioxide, meaning it is an urgent environmental issue. By focusing on methane reduction in cows, we’re working to lower global emissions. We aim to partner with farmers to help tackle this issue and create a more sustainable future.  

Your elevator pitch shouldn’t be an elevator ride up a skyscraper where you have several minutes to share what you’re working on–you’ll have time to tell that later. For now, focus on delivering a concise, impactful message that sparks interest.  

Don’t judge a book by its cover… except that we do 

Humans are inherently visual creatures and pitch decks offer a powerful way to visually showcase your startup. 

But creating a beautiful pitch deck doesn’t have to take hours of your time. Investing in a professional design can be worth a couple of hundred dollars. It will ensure that your information stands out and grabs attention. 

Think of your pitch deck as a movie trailer: it should include the essential elements to convey your story while striking a balance between oversharing and leaving too much to the imagination. This shouldn’t have to be a mystery to uncover. We want to clearly understand what you’re working on. Every key component should be present (Problem Space, Market Size, Competitive Position, Business Model, Traction, etc.) but avoid cluttering each slide with excessive details. This is the perfect opportunity to include images of your product, or even digital designs if your prototype isn’t finalized yet. But make sure all the visuals are high quality and show the main features of your product. 

Let’s look at a couple of examples:  

While we often say not to judge a book by its cover, people inevitably do. A well-crafted pitch deck gives your startup a professional edge, signaling to investors, and to future clients, that you’re serious about taking your idea to the next level.  

Don’t make people dig for the treasure 

If your pitch deck is the movie trailer, your website should be the full movie.  

But we don’t always have a pitch deck so the website should be able to stand on its own. The front page needs a clear and concise message, similar to your elevator pitch.  

This is the space where you can add all the information you want about your company and combine it with videos, images, and animations.  

We want to know more about what you’re doing, where you’re doing it, how you’re doing it, and who you’re doing it with. Looking through your website shouldn’t feel like a treasure hunt where we’re left digging through every corner to find what we need. Sections and subpages should be clearly labeled and easy to find. Give us the map to find the information we’re looking for.  

What makes you you  

While many people think that innovation is coming up with a solution that no one has ever thought of before, more often than not new ideas are old ideas–but improved.  

We’re not expecting you to discover a new element. Your technology could be something that has been around for a long time, yet you can give it a new spin.  

So when you get to the Competitors section, you should share that. Saying that you’re the first ever to… is always a bad way to start because, more often than not, there are already some competitors out in the market doing something similar.  

If a market is already crowded with solutions, what makes you you?  

If you founded a startup and have dedicated your time to building it from the ground up, it means you have found a solution to a problem you have identified. But what is it about your specific solution that gives you an edge over everyone else? Is your product 10x cheaper? 20x faster? Smaller and more portable? More accurate than every other competitor?  

The best way to answer these questions is to do an extensive market analysis and a landscape map of your competitors. These two elements go hand in hand, because the size of the market could determine which solutions are already out there and how it is currently working to solve the problem. Here are some questions that can help guide that process: How big is this market opportunity? How much of it can you realistically target? What is currently being done nowadays? Who are your closest competitors? Who are some other, indirect, competitors? And what is the one thing you can do better than all of them? 

Show us that, while there are other solutions in the market, there is something very specific that makes you unique.  

Make it easy on us 

We want to help you take this idea and technology to the next level.  

During THRIVE’S Global Impact Challenge, we review thousands of applications in a very short time frame. Our goal is to find the startups that are solving the world’s most pressing issues. The challenge focuses on key areas such as Regenerative Agriculture, Artificial Intelligence & Automation, Animal Health & Nutrition, Clean Energy and CleanTec, Water & Waste Management, and Post Harvest and FoodTech. Streamlining your content, and explaining complicated concepts in a simplified manner, will set you up for success. The ability for us to quickly understand what makes your company unique despite other competition in the space is critical to ensuring your application stands out and progresses to the next stage. 

And once we’re done reviewing your application, we not only want to feel excited about the story you shared, but we want to become a part of it too.  

We’re looking forward to getting the chance to see what innovative ideas you’re working on during our Global Impact Challenge 2025. Our applications will open on February 10.  

THRIVE Insights is a thought leadership series by SVG Ventures | Thrive dedicated to sharing insights and exploring innovation & sustainability trends, highlighting opportunities & innovators in the agrifood tech sector.