KATANA Open Call 1 has officially launched Dec 1!

Interested in pitching for KATANA accelerator? Great, however:

How do you leave a lasting impression?
How do you make sure that your idea sticks, and that you inspire your audience in a 2-minute video pitch?

Suffice to say, it is important to make your application stand out. So, here are a few key tips and hints for making a winning pitch video.

HOW TO MASTER YOUR 2-MINUTE PITCH VIDEO

BE THOUGHTFUL

Make sure to take your KATANA accelerator application seriously (if you want your evaluators to take you seriously). A sloppy video pitch won’t get you in the top 100! Put in the time to craft a video pitch that is clear-concise and compelling!

KEEP IT SIMPLE

A concise, straightforward explanation of your idea is paramount. In your KATANA pitch video, you have two minutes only to get your message across and make a lasting impression. Avoid jargon and complex language – you want your message to be clear, simple, and memorable. Make every second count.

Explain, in simple terms, the problems your idea will solve in agribusiness. If it’s not simple, try to make it simple.

KNOW YOUR STUFF

Your evaluators want to see and hear that you know your stuff. What previous experiences have you had that brought you to this point in your business. Do you have deep industry expertise? Do you really understand the dynamics of the value chain? Make it clear.

What other things have you done? What is your vision for the sector/industry? Show that you can iterate and make things happen.

FOCUS ON THE BENEFITS, NOT FEATURES

The human mind can only process about three pieces of information in short-term memory, so make it easy for your audience to say ‘yes’.

Waste no time by plunging into too many technical details. Instead, focus on specifically outlining the three key benefits of your idea/product/service, rather than “nice to have” features that simply create a distraction.

SUBMIT IT!

Finally – don’t forget to submit your video pitch well in advance of the 28th February deadline! Don’t get hung up on perfection to the point you don’t submit something.

KEY POINTS TO FILMING YOUR KATANA PITCH VIDEO

2-minute video

The video should be 2 minutes long.

Upload to YouTube

Only upload your video to YouTube. Only videos with a valid YouTube link will be accepted.

Allow embedding

Make it public or unlisted. Don’t submit a private YouTube video.

Limit distractions

Don’t add random background music to your KATANA pitch video. It will only serve as a distraction.

Shoot in English!

English is the official language of the Katana Open Call 1. Only videos filmed in English are acceptable.

Check audio

Make sure your video is audible. So, before submitting the video, play it yourself to check whether you can actually hear what you’re saying.

Submit it
To submit you video pitch, go to the KATANA website, visit the APPLY NOW page and follow instructions.

BE THOUGHTFUL AND MAKE IT AWESOME!
HAPPY APPLYING!

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