Overview
Academic training teaches you to lead with background and hedge conclusions. A commercialization pitch reverses that order: it opens with a customer's problem, shows why your approach is better, and ends with a specific ask, such as funding for a validation study, a pilot partner or a licensing discussion. Many researchers find the shift uncomfortable, and decks end up as conference talks with a market slide attached.
We help you structure a deck that commercial audiences can assess quickly. That usually covers the problem and who has it, the solution and what makes it different, evidence of technical feasibility and its technology readiness level, the market and route to it, intellectual property position, team, competition, milestones and the ask. We work alongside your university's technology transfer office, not in place of it, particularly on IP and disclosure questions.
The work fits several stages: an application to an innovation program or proof-of-concept fund, a university or national pitch competition, a first meeting with an industry partner, or an investor deck for a spin-out. We adapt length and emphasis to each, from a five-slide teaser to a full deck with an appendix.
Who it’s for and the problems it solves
This is for you if you are…
- Researchers and doctoral students entering innovation programs, accelerators or pitch competitions
- Academic founders preparing a spin-out investor deck with their technology transfer office
- Principal investigators seeking an industry partner, pilot site or licensee
- Research groups applying for proof-of-concept or translational funding that includes a pitch stage
- Social-impact researchers pitching to foundations, NGOs or public-sector partners
Common problems we help with
- Your deck spends eight slides on background before reaching the solution
- You cannot estimate market size without inventing numbers
- You are unsure what to say about patents that have not yet been filed
- Investors ask about business model and competitors, and your answers are vague
- You need a three-minute version and a full version for different events
What’s included — and what isn’t
Included
- Pitch narrative: problem, solution, evidence, market, business model, competition, team, milestones and ask
- Translating research findings into customer benefits without overstating results
- Technology readiness level (TRL) framing and what evidence the next stage needs
- Market sizing approach: bottom-up estimates from sources you can cite, with assumptions stated
- Competitive landscape slide comparing alternatives on the dimensions customers care about
- Guidance on discussing intellectual property safely, in coordination with your technology transfer office
- Deck design with clear visuals, a demo or prototype slide and appendix slides for due diligence questions
- Versions for different formats: short competition pitch, meeting deck and a readable send-ahead version
- Pitch rehearsal and investor-style question practice
Not included
- Legal, patent or investment advice — consult your technology transfer office, a patent attorney or a qualified advisor
- Inventing traction, customers, letters of support or market figures
- Guaranteeing funding, investment, a license or a competition result
- Negotiating with investors or partners on your behalf
What you receive
- Pitch narrative outline
- A slide-by-slide storyline with the key message of each slide and the evidence it needs.
- Designed pitch deck
- An editable deck in PowerPoint, Google Slides or Canva, with a PDF send-ahead version.
- Short-format version
- A three- to five-minute pitch deck for competitions, demo days or elevator-style introductions.
- Assumptions sheet
- A one-page record of market-sizing inputs, sources and assumptions so you can defend or update the numbers.
- Q&A preparation
- A list of likely investor or partner questions and feedback on your answers during rehearsal.
How it works
Discovery
We discuss the technology, the evidence so far, IP status, target audience and the specific ask.
Storyline
We draft the narrative outline and identify gaps in evidence, market data or business model.
Evidence and numbers
You gather or confirm the data; we help structure market sizing and competitive analysis with stated sources.
Design
We build the deck and short version, and flag any claim that needs your or your TTO's confirmation.
Rehearsal
You pitch; we give feedback on clarity, timing and answers to tough questions.
Frameworks we draw on
- Problem–solution–evidence structure
- Leading with the customer's problem and the cost of not solving it, then showing why your approach works and what data support it.
- Technology readiness levels (TRL)
- A nine-level scale used by agencies such as NASA and in EU funding programs, useful for stating honestly how far the technology has progressed.
- Market sizing (TAM, SAM, SOM)
- Total, serviceable and obtainable market, estimated bottom-up from defensible inputs rather than large top-down figures.
- Business Model Canvas and value proposition
- Tools for clarifying customers, value, channels, revenue and costs before designing the slides.
- Customer discovery
- Evidence from conversations with potential users, often required by innovation programs such as I-Corps-style training.
- Disclosure awareness
- Keeping unpatented technical detail out of public pitches until your TTO confirms it is safe to share.
From research results to customer value
A 30 percent improvement in sensitivity matters to reviewers. A buyer wants to know what it changes for them: fewer false alarms, a cheaper test, a faster decision. We help you translate each technical result into a consequence for a specific customer and back it with your data. Where the evidence is early, we say so and make the next validation step part of the ask.
Protecting your intellectual property while pitching
Public disclosure before a patent application can affect patentability in many jurisdictions. Before a public pitch, check with your technology transfer office what you can reveal. We design decks that explain what the technology achieves and why it is different without exposing unfiled technical detail, and we mark slides that need clearance. We do not give patent or legal advice.
Numbers you can defend
Large market figures from generic industry reports are easy to find and easy for investors to dismiss. A bottom-up estimate is more convincing: the number of potential customers you can reach, what they might pay and how many you could realistically win in a set period. We help you build that estimate from sources you can cite and record every assumption.
- Cite sources for market data on the slide or in the appendix
- Separate what you have measured from what you are projecting
- Show milestones tied to the money or support you are asking for
What the work can look like
Illustrative example — fictional data
Illustrative pitch outline for a proof-of-concept application
A fictional agricultural sciences team has developed a low-cost soil moisture sensor and is applying to a university proof-of-concept fund with a ten-minute pitch. All details are invented.
Opening
Problem: smallholder irrigation decisions rely on guesswork, and over-watering wastes water and fertilizer. One photo from a field trial.
Evidence and readiness
Lab validation against a reference sensor and a two-season field pilot on three farms; the team describes the technology as around TRL 5 and explains what a TRL 6 demonstration would require.
Market and ask
Bottom-up estimate from cooperative membership figures in one region, with assumptions listed in the appendix. Ask: funding for a 40-farm pilot and a manufacturing cost study.
Illustrative example with invented details and figures. It does not describe a real client, technology or fund.
What you’ll need to provide
- A plain description of the technology or innovation and key publications or data
- Current IP status and any guidance from your technology transfer office on what can be disclosed
- The event, program or meeting you are pitching to, and its format rules
- What you know about customers, partners, competitors and costs
- The ask: amount, partner type or next milestone
You don’t need everything ready to ask for a quote — tell us what you have and we’ll say what’s missing.
What affects price and turnaround
Price depends on
- Deck length and number of versions
- Amount of market and competitor structuring needed
- Design complexity, including product visuals or diagrams
- Number of rehearsal sessions
- Deadline for the program, competition or meeting
Turnaround depends on
- Program or competition deadlines
- Time needed for technology transfer office review of disclosure
- How quickly market and cost information can be gathered
Every project is quoted individually. How we price our work.
Questions people ask before starting
Do you give investment or patent advice?
No. We help you communicate your research and business case clearly. Questions about patents, company formation, equity or investment terms should go to your technology transfer office, a patent attorney or a qualified advisor.
I do not have customers yet. Can I still build a pitch deck?
Yes. Many early decks are based on customer interviews, letters of interest or pilot plans rather than sales. We help you present the evidence you do have honestly and make the next validation step part of your ask.
How long should a pitch deck be?
It depends on the format. Competitions often allow three to five minutes and a handful of slides. Investor meetings might use 10 to 15 core slides with an appendix. We build the version your event requires.
Can you help us fill in market size numbers?
We help you design a sound method and structure the estimate from sources you can cite. We do not invent figures; every number in the deck should be traceable.
Is our research kept confidential?
Yes. We treat all materials as confidential and can sign a non-disclosure agreement before you share technical detail.