Shark Tank Simulation: Pitching Your Business Model
39998Building on your structured proposal from Unit 4, this assignment challenges you to transition from planning to persuasion. You will create and deliver a compelling pitch that communicates your innovation’s feasibility, competitive advantage, and basic financial logic to potential investors or stakeholders.
This assignment reflects Lean Startup principles and introduces early-stage business modeling concepts, including revenue streams, cost structure, and funding needs. You are expected to incorporate feedback from your Unit 4 proposal and refine your pitch accordingly. This ensures your business model evolves through iteration, reflection, and stakeholder input—key elements of the entrepreneurial process.
Task
Using your refined innovation concept from Unit 4, develop a 5–7 minute recorded pitch and an 8-slide investor-ready PowerPoint deck. Your goal is to clearly communicate the problem–solution fit, market opportunity, and financial rationale behind your venture. Your pitch should include:
Slide 1: Title slide
Slide 2: Problem and Solution
Title: Problem and Solution Overview
Summarize the key user problem or pain point you identified in Unit 4
Explain your innovative solution and how it directly addresses the user need
Slide 3: Unique Value Proposition
Title: Why This Solution Matters
Clearly state your unique value proposition
Emphasize what differentiates your product or service
Highlight the ultimate benefit or transformation for the customer
Slide 4: Customer Segment and Market Opportunity
Title: Who We Serve and Why It Matters
Describe your target customer group(s)
Highlight behavioral or demographic insights
Briefly explain the market gap or opportunity
Slide 5: Competitive Positioning
Title: Competitor Analysis and Market Advantage
Identify two key competitors
Summarize their main strengths and weaknesses
Explain how your venture is positioned to outperform or differentiate
Slide 6: Revenue Streams and Cost Structure
Title: Financial Overview
Identify your expected revenue streams
Outline key cost drivers
Explain how your model is financially viable in its early stage
Keep this at an introductory level—more detailed projections will come in Unit 7
Slide 7: Funding Needs and Strategy
Title: Funding the Venture
Estimate how much funding is needed to launch or scale
Specify which funding approach you’ll pursue and why
Link funding needs to your revenue strategy
Slide 8: Call to Action
Title: Next Steps and Ask
Restate your venture’s core appeal
Provide a specific call to action (e.g., investment, partnership, feedback)
Mention the next short-term steps and how you plan to move forward
End with a clear, confident closing message
Content and Format Expectations:
Your slide deck must include 8 business-formatted slides.
Ensure professional formatting, including consistent layout, appropriate fonts, clear visuals, and cohesive branding. Use color schemes, icons, or logos to enhance clarity and credibility.
Speaker Notes as Transcript:
Speaker notes must serve as the verbatim transcript of your narration.
Write notes in a clear, concise, and professional tone appropriate for executive communication.
Match the audio exactly. Avoid placing large text blocks on slides, use visuals to support your message.
FEEDBACK FROM PROPOSAL:
-Reframe the Core Problem…
Instead of “carrying bottles is burdensome,” focus on:
-Inconsistent access: Clean, reliable hydration points are scattered and unreliable in transit systems/metropolitan areas.
-Quality concerns: Existing water fountains are often poorly maintained or perceived as unsanitary
-Capacity limitations: Personal bottles run empty during long commutes/workdays with no convenient refill options
Redesign the Solution…
~Primary Feature: On-demand bottle rental + premium water access…
-Rent clean, sanitized bottles at any locker location
-Return to any locker in the network (like bike-share systems)
-Access to filtered, temperature-controlled water (cold/room temp/hot)
~Secondary Feature: Network effects and convenience
-Multi-location access across transit hubs, office buildings, gyms
-App shows nearest locations, availability, water quality metrics
-Integration with transit cards/payment systems
~Strengthen the Value Proposition
From: “Only solution for secure storage + environmental feedback” To: “The first citywide hydration network that eliminates the choice between convenience and sustainability”
Key differentiators:
-Reliability: Always available, always clean, always working
-Quality: Premium filtered water vs. questionable public fountains
-Flexibility: Don’t need to remember/carry/maintain your own bottle
-Scale: Network effects make it more valuable as it grows
Align with Customer Reality:
-Target actual pain points: forgot bottle, bottle empty, don’t trust available water sources
-Remove the gamification – these users are already motivated
-Focus on removing friction, not adding behavioral reinforcement
Feedback on Intro-Some data/statistics on the amount of water consumed in the US? And also the size of waste generated due to bottled water or economic costs in the intro would have been great to set the stage also.
Feedback on Customer Segment-Your customer segment makes claims without any data or statistics to back these claims up.
This group is underserved because, and based on which research?
Target Audience Definition Issues:
Initially, you provide: “urban commuters”, later you state “Urban Sustainability Advocate: educated professionals”. These are different groups with different behaviors and needs.
The Assignment criteria are: Clearly define the user group using:
-Demographics (e.g., age, income, education, family structure)
-Psychographics (e.g., lifestyle, values, attitudes, behaviors)
-Geographics (e.g., neighborhood, region, climate, local norms)
-Behavioral traits (e.g., usage patterns, decision-making habits)
Explain what makes this group’s needs relevant and how they are underserved in this context.
-What else can you tell me about the bottled water market in the US?
https://www.google.com/search?q=bottled+water+market+in+the+US&oq=bottled+water+market+in+the+US&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIICAEQABgWGB4yCAgCEAAYFhgeMgoIAxAAGAoYFhgeMg0IBBAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMg0IBRAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMg0IBhAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMgoIBxAAGIAEGKIE0gEIOTg2MmowajSoAgOwAgHxBamZPoS2XtkB&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
-Bottled water market in the US and demographic data:
https://www.google.com/search?q=bottled+water+market+in+the+us+and+demographic+data&sca_esv=e126eb4d051b0442&ei=znzBaJTWF66w5NoPqIj1KQ&oq=bottled+water+market+in+the+US+and+demogrp&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiKmJvdHRsZWQgd2F0ZXIgbWFya2V0IGluIHRoZSBVUyBhbmQgZGVtb2dycCoCCAEyBxAhGKABGAoyBxAhGKABGAoyBxAhGKABGAoyBxAhGKABGApI3WJQqwxYj1RwCXgBkAECmAHUAqABuhCqAQgxNC4zLjEuMbgBA8gBAPgBAZgCG6AC7A7CAgoQABiwAxjWBBhHwgIGEAAYFhgewgIIEAAYFhgKGB7CAgsQABiABBiGAxiKBcICCBAAGIAEGKIEwgIFECEYoAHCAgUQIRirAsICCBAAGKIEGIkFmAMAiAYBkAYIkgcGMjAuNi4xoAfhWrIHBjExLjYuMbgHwg7CBwcwLjE2LjExyAdY&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
-Or: bottled water market in the US and psychographic data
https://www.google.com/search?q=bottled+water+market+in+the+us+and+psycographic+data&sca_esv=e126eb4d051b0442&ei=83zBaJjcCeLn5NoPncHc2AY&ved=0ahUKEwjYodWmps6PAxXiM1kFHZ0gF2sQ4dUDCBI&uact=5&oq=bottled+water+market+in+the+us+and+psycographic+data&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiNGJvdHRsZWQgd2F0ZXIgbWFya2V0IGluIHRoZSB1cyBhbmQgcHN5Y29ncmFwaGljIGRhdGEyBxAhGKABGAoyBxAhGKABGAoyBxAhGKABGAoyBxAhGKABGAoyBxAhGKABGAoyBxAhGAoYqwJIre0BUMioAVjW6wFwCHgBkAEAmAF7oAHqCKoBBDExLjO4AQPIAQD4AQGYAhagAtQJwgIKEAAYsAMY1gQYR8ICChAhGKABGMMEGArCAggQIRigARjDBMICCBAAGKIEGIkFwgIIEAAYgAQYogTCAgUQABjvBZgDAIgGAZAGCJIHBDE5LjOgB7BYsgcEMTEuM7gHtAnCBwcwLjEyLjEwyAdC&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
Feedback on the problem-
Some data/statistics on the amount of water consumed in the US? And also the size of waste generated due to bottled water or economic costs.
What does “inconvenience” actually look like in practice? How does the “psychological disconnect” manifest?
Problem Statement vs. Customer Segment Mismatch:
-Problem states users face “logistical burden of carrying a bottle throughout the day”
-Customer segment describes people who “routinely carry reusable bottles”
-If they routinely carry bottles, why is carrying them suddenly a “significant deterrent”?
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