Stitch Fix CEO Katrina Lake has perfected a company overview that covers all the elements of a great pitch.

“If your idea can’t fit on the back of an envelope, it’s rubbish,” Richard Branson once said. Crafting a pitch that is simple, concise, and exciting isn’t as easy as it sounds. It takes creativity to tell a story that doesn’t overwhelm with details but has enough content to woo investors, customers, and stakeholders.

After spending years building and pitching your company, Stitch Fix CEO Katrina Lake, whose company went public less than one year ago, has mastered a pitch that has all of the elements of a great elevator pitch. It’s a good model for your pitch.

In a recent discussion at Recode’s CodeCon in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, Lake was asked to describe her company for those who aren’t familiar with it. If you’ve used Stitch Fix, you know that it’s an online personal styling service that delivers clothes to your door. But how would you describe it to someone who’s never even visited the website? You wouldn’t begin with tagline: ” Your partner in personal style.” It’s a good slogan, but it doesn’t explain why the company exists or how it works–essential components of a strong elevator pitch.

Let’s analyze each sentence of Lake’s two-minute response:

1. “What we’re trying to do is take this element of personal shopping that used to be available to a very high-end customer–someone who knows you really well, makes selections on our behalf, and has you try things on–and we make that accessible.”

A good elevator pitch offers perspective and some background. It starts with the big picture before diving into the weeds or details. In one sentence, Lake’s told me that she’s making a service that used to be reserved for high-end retail customers accessible to the average online shopper. And she’s described, in a few words, what “high-end” shopping means.

Source: Read the full article in Inc.com written by Carmine Gallo

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