Build Your Business Pitch

Overview

Students move from planning into execution: creating a pitch deck or one-page pitch plus a marketing prototype, a short elevator pitch, and initial pricing and budgeting. The lesson strengthens competitive advantage thinking through entrepreneurship, marketing, and public relations.

Learning intentions

• Students will develop and communicate a business pitch (pitch deck or one-page) that clearly explains their value proposition and target market.
• Students will create a basic marketing prototype and a simple advertisement/social post.
• Students will draft pricing and a basic budget using reasonable assumptions.
• Students will practise and refine an elevator pitch using feedback from a rubric/checklist.
• Students will evaluate their work against success criteria and set next steps.

Success criteria

• I can explain what my business offers, who it is for, and why it is better or different (competitive advantage).
• I can produce a 30–60 second elevator pitch and present it clearly to others.
• I can create a pricing plan and a basic budget (income and key costs) that makes sense for my product/service.
• I can create a marketing prototype and advertisement/social post that matches the target market.

Curriculum links

• Victorian Curriculum VC2HE10K05: strategies and tactics used by businesses to create and maintain competitive advantage, including entrepreneurship, marketing and public relations.
• Victorian Curriculum VC2HE10S05: develop and evaluate a response to a business issue using criteria/cost–benefit thinking (applied to initial pricing and budgeting decisions).

Lesson structure (100 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Launch & agenda. Teacher shows the “Today’s goal” board (pitch + prototype + pricing/budget + ad + mini-share). Students read the success criteria and choose their format: pitch deck or one-page pitch.

2. 5–12 min · Quick recap of key elements. Teacher models a strong 30–60 second elevator pitch structure (hook → problem/need → product → target market → why us → call to action). Students underline on their planning sheet where each part appears in their idea.

3. 12–28 min · Build pitch foundation. Teacher circulates and checks for clarity and consistency between planning sheet and pitch. Students work in groups of 3–4 to create slides or a one-page pitch using provided templates (paper or offline digital like Canva offline templates):

• Value proposition (what + for who)
• Competitive advantage (why customers choose you)
• Basic revenue model statement (how you earn)

4. 28–43 min · Pricing and basic budget. Teacher reminds students to use assumptions and keep it simple. Students draft pricing and a basic budget:

• List 3–5 costs (materials, production, packaging, delivery, marketing)
• Estimate units per week/month
• Create expected income (price × units)
• Calculate a simple profit or “will we cover costs?” statement

5. 43–55 min · Marketing prototype creation. Teacher coaches students to link messaging to target market. Students create either:

• A marketing prototype (mock product card, label, or service flyer), and
• A simple advertisement/social post (poster or 1 social image) including headline, image/illustration, call to action, and one marketing message.

6. 55–58 min · Transition to rehearsal. Teacher collects rough pitch components for mini-checking and explains rehearsal expectations. Students set up their materials for presenting and tidy tables.

7. 58–75 min · Elevator pitch rehearsal rounds. Teacher runs “coach mode” with time signals. Students practise 30–60 second elevator pitches in groups, then rotate partners within the class for two short practice presentations.

• Coach listens for: clarity, target market, competitive advantage, and call to action

8. 75–87 min · Mini-share-out with feedback (rubric/checklist). Teacher distributes the mini feedback checklist and explains how to give one “Glow” and one “Glow + Grow” comment. Each group presents 1 minute total and receives quick feedback from at least one other group. Mini feedback checklist (teacher + peers):

• Pitch mentions target market clearly (Y/N)
• Competitive advantage is explained (Y/N)
• Pricing/budget is plausible and includes key costs (Y/N)
• Marketing message fits the target market and includes call to action (Y/N)
• Clear delivery and time (on time/needs work)

9. 87–95 min · Improve & finalise. Teacher prompts: “Use one piece of feedback to make one change.” Students revise one element (pitch slide/one-page section, ad wording, pricing assumption, or call to action).

10. 95–100 min · Exit ticket. Teacher collects and reads responses later. Students complete the exit ticket on paper.

Resources

• Business planning sheets (students’ completed drafts)
• Pitch template set: pitch deck slides (printed) or one-page pitch layout (printed)
• Paper, scissors, glue, markers/colours
• Budget/pricing worksheet (costs table, units, price, profit check)
• Marketing prototype templates (product/service card and ad/social post template)
• Mini feedback checklist/rubric (1 per student or per group)
• Timer/stopwatch visible to groups
• Optional: offline print-ready Canva templates for decks/pages and social posts

Assessment

• Formative check 1 (during pitching build): teacher observes alignment between planning sheet and pitch claims (target market + competitive advantage).
• Formative check 2 (during pricing/budget): teacher verifies students listed key costs and used a clear pricing approach (no need for perfection).
• Summative-in-class evidence (for this lesson): pitch draft + marketing prototype + pricing/budget + exit ticket.
• Exit ticket (collected): short reflection and one next step.

Differentiation

• Support: provide sentence starters for pitch (“Our product is for…”, “We are different because…” “Customers can buy it by…”). Provide a budget example with blanks.
• Support: offer two “starter slogans” and ad headline options to reduce cognitive load.
• Extension: challenge groups to include one cost–benefit choice (e.g., “If we spend more on packaging, how might that affect sales?”) and justify their assumption using criteria.
• SEN/EAL: allow visuals in the pitch (icons, arrows, labelled diagrams) and permit oral rehearsal recordings using a phone/tablet (teacher discretion; no internet needed).

Exit ticket

• Write one sentence: What is your competitive advantage (why customers choose you)?
• Name one key cost you included in your budget and why it matters.
• Give one improvement you will make after feedback (pitch, ad, pricing, or budget).