Ben Cheung

ELEVATOR PITCH CONCEPT

An Elevator Pitch is a brief speech that outlines an idea for a product, service or project. The name comes from the notion that the speech would be delivered in the short time period of an elevator ride. In the financial world, it is an entrepreneur's presentation to a venture capitalist to persuade them that a business idea is worth investing in. An elevator pitch will typically describe a pain point or problem that the idea is trying to solve, what attempts that have already been attempted to resolve the issue. The pitch will describe why this new idea has to offer that has not been tried before. The pitch will explain in clear terms why the idea or product can succeed where other ideas have not. It may provide information about how the concept will be brought to the market, ways it will grow a customer base, and what the market opportunities are. An elevator pitch will typically include:
(1) A quick introduction of yourself and your company
(2) A brief description of the problem your product or service solves
(3) Why your solution is unique or has a competitive advantage
(4) A glimpse into the earnings potential
(5) A persuasive call to action

OBJECTIVE

OBJECTIVE OF THE GAME - Players create and deliver elevator pitches to each other using pairs of tech deck cards. Players must deliver a 1 to 3-minute pitch for a new product, service or project in a causal party game setting. Other players get to ask two questions after the pitch is delivered. Play in idea or competitive mode.
GAME END - (Idea mode): Game ends after 10 delivered pitches. (Optional) Continue playing with the remaining cards. (Competitive mode): The winner is the person/team with the most funded companies.
THEME - The Theme of the game is a party game with a modern high-tech era.

GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW

GAME PLAY - Each turn players select pairs of Tech Deck Cards. They imagine and develop a concept, product or service relating those two selected cards. They deliver an Elevator Pitch and answer two questions.

GAME SETUP

STEP 1: SETUP PLAY AREA - Shuffle the Tech Deck. Deal out 26 cards from the deck two at a time into the play area as pairs of cards. Determine if you wish to play in competitive mode or idea stimulation mode ("idea mode").
STEP 2: FORM TEAMS - If playing with more than 5 players, form teams that consist of 2-3 players on each team.
STEP 3: DETERMINE A FIRST PLAYER/TEAM - Randomly determine a first player/first team.

GAME PLAY - PHASES IN A ROUND

The game is played in rounds with these phases that are repeated from Phase 1 to Phase 5 until the game end:
PHASE 1: SELECT A PAIR OF CARDS - Starting with the first player, all players/teams pick a pair of pairs of cards in the play area.
PHASE 2: THINK OF A COMPANY - Think of a new company using the selected pair of cards. Create a fictional name. Then, develop an elevator pitch that describes what the company does, differentiators, and how it might change the world. The company must relate the two cards together somehow. There is a 20-minute time limit. Let your imagination run wild. You may not use an existing company. Though, a player/team can make a pitch similar to an existing company.
PHASE 3: ELEVATOR PITCH - Next, deliver an elevator pitch to the other players. Starting with the first player (or team). Each elevator pitch should be 1 to 2 minutes long and no longer than 3 minutes.
PHASE 4: QUESTIONS - After the delivery, the other players can ask the presenter any two questions. Such as: What are the other competitors in the field? What prior inventions have there been in this area? What is your competitive advantage? What market differentiator do you have? The presenter can make up any reasonable sounding answer.
PHASE 5: VOTING - (Competitive mode only): After the question phase, all of the other players can give a thumbs up or thumbs down “funding” to voting on the current elevator pitch. (Idea mode): Skip the voting step.

END OF THE GAME

GAME END
- (Idea mode): Game ends after 10 delivered pitches. (Optional) Players can continue playing with the remaining cards. Reset by shuffling the Tech Deck and deal out 13 new pairs of cards.
- (Competitive mode): The winner is the person/team with the most funded companies.

EXAMPLE OF PLAY

EXAMPLE OF PLAY The following diagram illustrates an example of game play.

THE TECH DECK AS AN IDEA TOOL

To use the Tech Deck as an Idea Tool perform the following steps:
PICK 2 TO 3 CARDS FROM THE TECH DECK - To use the Tech Deck as an Idea Tool, shuffle the Tech Deck. Then, take 2 or 3 cards from the deck.
BRAINSTORM & THINK OF USES - To promote lateral thinking, one of the classic activities to exercise your creative muscles is to think of as many uses as you can for an object or thing. So, take one of the cards that you selected, and think of as many uses as you can for that card. Give yourself 5-10 minutes per card to do this. For example, if you selected the 13-Services (Peer to Peer services) card you might list ideas such as crowdfunding, knowledge sharing, and collaborative science projects.
DEVELOP AN OF AN IDEA - After you have done this for all the cards, think of an idea using the selected cards together. Any kind of company, product, service, or idea is encouraged. Do not limit your ideas, let your imagination run wild. Now you have a list of possible ideas large and small, staid and strange. Sometimes creativity requires an incubation period. Write down your assumptions and hurdles. Review your ideas. Then set it aside for a period of time. The mind will naturally ruminate on the problem and you may find yourself having a flash of insight.
ASK YOURSELF QUESTIONS - Next, ask yourself questions that might stimulate more ideas. What are common problems that people face related to the cards that you have selected? Why might one of the ideas you have listed address the problem? What are other companies, or products that have tried to solve the problem? What sorts of similar solutions have you heard of in this problem space? Do a quick internet search for the problem statement that you have chosen. What sorts of questions do you think those inventors asked themselves in creating similar products or services? What sorts of limitations do you think you might encounter in trying to develop a solution to this kind of problem?

DOWNLOAD THE RULES

ElevatorPitch Rules: Elevator Pitch Rules

INTRODUCTION VIDEO

Watch a video on the introduction of Elevator Pitch:

PLAY GUIDE VIDEO

Watch a play guide video for Elevator Pitch:

ENTRY ON BOARD GAME GEEK

You can read and explore the BoardGameGeek entry for Elevator Pitch.

PUBLICATION INFORMATION
· Published: April 29, 2022
· Format: Card Game
· Elements: 54 Cards
· Size: 3.75" x 2.8751" x .875"

ORDERING ELEVATOR PITCH
· To purchase the Tech Deck: Contact Me