Your Elevator Pitch
At a local business event, someone asked Naledi Mokoena a simple question:
“What does HarvestBox do?”
Naledi began explaining local farming, changing food habits, delivery challenges, and her plans for healthier communities. Everything she said mattered, but after several minutes, the listener still looked unsure.
“So… is it a grocery delivery service?” he asked.
Naledi realised that knowing her business deeply did not automatically mean she could explain it clearly.
Finding the Heart of the Idea
A few days later, Naledi worked on a shorter answer. She focused on four things: who HarvestBox served, the problem it solved, what it offered, and why it was valuable.
Her first attempt sounded impressive but was filled with complicated language. The next was too broad: “We deliver healthy food to people.”
Eventually, she found a version that felt natural:
“HarvestBox helps busy professionals prepare healthy dinners at home without planning or grocery shopping. We deliver locally sourced, pre-portioned ingredients for meals that are ready in 20 minutes.”
The pitch took only a few seconds, but it gave people enough information to understand the business and become curious.
It did not explain everything—and it did not need to.
When Clarity Creates Opportunity
Naledi used the new pitch at her next networking event. This time, the person listening immediately understood.
“My company runs an employee wellness programme,” she replied. “Could this work as a staff benefit?”
That question led to a meeting and, eventually, one of HarvestBox’s first workplace partnerships.
The opportunity did not appear because Naledi tried to sound impressive. It appeared because she made the value of HarvestBox easy to understand.
A strong elevator pitch should help someone quickly grasp:
- Who you help and what meaningful problem you solve
- What you offer and why your approach is worth noticing
The exact words may change depending on the conversation. A potential customer might care about the outcome, while a partner may want to understand how the businesses could work together. The heart of the message, however, should remain consistent.
A Pitch That Travels with You
Your elevator pitch is not only for formal presentations or investor meetings. It travels with you into introductions, customer conversations, and unexpected opportunities.
Practise it until it sounds like you—not like something you have memorised. Say it aloud, notice where it feels complicated and remove anything that does not help the listener understand.
For Naledi, the breakthrough was not finding cleverer words. It was becoming clear and confident about the value HarvestBox created.
When people understand what you do, they can ask better questions, introduce you to the right people and recognise opportunities to work with you.
That is where an idea starts becoming an opportunity.
Until next time, Instant Startup community!
