How To Pitch At The Next Titan Audition (Lagos, Abuja & PortHarcourt))

The Next Titan is a Nigerian entrepreneurship reality TV show. I believe the idea was borrowed from Donald Trump’s The Apprentice were some crop of entrepreneurs are kept closely in a house and given entrepreneurial tasks.  There’s weekly eviction of house mates until the winner emerges.

The Next Titan has 3 selection processes – the general audition which gathers all registrants to a one or two days supposedly pitch event.

They will be expected to pitch their ideas and convince the judges that they’re worth giving a chance.

The ones who made it will be selected to attend the Boot Camp which is the second phase of the last selection process to the main reality TV show.

After the Boot Camp, 16 people will be selected to enter “the house” which is where the real program begins.

The last person standing in the house wins a cash prize plus a brand new car. In the season 6 that I attended, the prize was 7 million Naira. It’s not clear whether the money is given in cash or in assets. There has been a rumor that the money is given in assets and not instant cash in the bank.

Now let’s talk about how to pitch at The Next Titan.

 

Read about my experience at The Next Titan

 

I have a bad news for you though – you won’t actually pitch at the house.

A business pitch for fund typically allows an entrepreneur to sell his ideas or business in about 60 seconds. Then the entrepreneur would get some questions from the investors (judges) that want to determine if the entrepreneur really has something worth investing on or not. It’s important to note that in a pitch, you will be allowed to pitch first. The investors will ask questions only if they find your idea or business interesting.

Winning investments with a pitch is a function of many variables but predominantly, the entrepreneur needs to have a business that solves a big problem; a business that has large market, and the entrepreneur can prove that her business is in demand.

Then of course, the entrepreneur needs to be able to clearly and briefly communicate this business and his ability to run the business to the prospective investor.

 

When I prepared for The Next Titan I have 3 pitches – 5 minutes pitch, 3 minutes pitch and 1 minuet pitch.

The guy I consulted constantly told me that it wasn’t really “a pitch” but I couldn’t understand what he’s talking about because on their Instagram handle, they mentioned that the first audition is a business pitch.

 

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Learn how to pitch in ONE MINUTE

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If you were me who would you believe – a former contestant or the organizers?

Now I know better.

In the Next Titan, you will not be given an opportunity to pitch. You will be given a spot to stand and face the judges; the producer calls the spot “the confident box”

Then you will stand there and shut up and wait for the judges to ask you questions.

Basic questions are usually – what is your name, academic, what is your business, what differentiates your business from other existing ones, what you want to do with the money and any other thing that the judge wishes to know about you or your business.

 

It could be so quick — you will likely be done in 45 seconds. It could be longer if pique the judge’s interest or you’re demonstrating your product to them.

 

It seems the judges are looking for some kind of impression because there are so many people at the audition.  They don’t have all the time to listen to everything you have to say. So they are looking for some quick clue that you’re worth given a shot.

 

Once they are impressed, they will keep you for the second round. If they are not impressed, you’re going home… doesn’t matter how good your idea or business is.

People with unique products and who can also quickly demonstrate them are very likely going to be picked. Those in saturated markets – logistics, cosmetics, fashion, etc. easily get a whole lot of “no!”

 

Sometimes, the judges consider a market saturated based on the reality of the real business world (you’re entering a market with big competitors who are already taking over the market); some other times, it could be that a lot of other contestants already took slots under those industries that you want to go into.

I guess the judges want to have different businesses and industries in their reality TV show.

Summary:

1. Know your business 100%. Read this and this for help.
2. Learn to speak briefly and smartly. No fluffs. No fillers.
3. Defeat stage fright or stage anxiety. Learn here.