As you develop your business, most start-ups need support from customers, suppliers, partners, employees, mentors, grant funders, and investors. To attract the right people, you’ll want a persuasive pitch that helps everyone understand why you’re the right company to work with. In this session, you’ll learn to craft a memorable story, decide what to keep and what to leave out, develop an effective presentation deck, and deliver your pitch with confidence.

Speaker: Ed Pettiss is a former senior executive, general manager, and board director with extensive global experience with both large multi-national organizations and high-growth, technology-driven start-ups. He provides new venture strategy, funding, and pitch guidance to the regional early-stage start-up ecosystem as mentor, executive-in-residence, and grant reviewer. Ed is currently Chair of the Seed Fund Advisory Board for The Launch Place and was a Board Director for RTP Capital Associates. He is a coach and mentor with the Council for Entrepreneurial Development and First Flight Venture Center’s Navigator Program. He is also a Core Reviewer for the NC IDEA Seed Grant Program. Ed supports entrepreneurship education as Executive-in-Residence with the NC State Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Program and as coach for a UNC undergrad program.