---
title: Bizplan Academy | Pitching
description: Pitching | Bizplan.com | Modern business planning software for entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses
---

# BizPlan Academy

## In-depth lessons on business ideation, pitching, and planning

[![](http://info.zirtual.com/hubfs/Bizplan_Academy/Steve-Blank_VCsNotYourFriend.jpeg)](https://blog.bizplan.com/academy/vcs-are-not-your-friends-they-are-frenemies)

## [VCs Are Not Your Friends, They're Frenemies](https://blog.bizplan.com/academy/vcs-are-not-your-friends-they-are-frenemies)

![Steve Blank](http://info.zirtual.com/hubfs/Bizplan_Academy/Steve_Blank.jpeg) 

 By [Steve Blank](https://blog.bizplan.com/academy/author/steve-blank)

  April 13, 2017

### Let's Go to Lunch

At [Rocket Science](https://steveblank.com/category/rocket-science-games/) our video game company was struggling. [Hubris](https://steveblank.com/2009/07/13/rocket-science-4-the-press-is-our-product/), bad CEO decisions (mine) and a [fundamental lack of understanding](https://steveblank.com/2009/07/16/rocket-science-5-who-needs-domain-experts/) that we were in a “hits-based” entertainment business not in a Silicon Valley technology company were slowly killing us.

[Read More  ](https://blog.bizplan.com/academy/vcs-are-not-your-friends-they-are-frenemies)

[![](http://info.zirtual.com/hubfs/Bizplan_Academy/Joe_Garza_12_kpis.jpg)](https://blog.bizplan.com/academy/the-dirty-dozen-12-kpis-you-must-know-before-pitching-your-startup)

## [The Dirty Dozen: 12 KPIs You Must Know Before Pitching Your Startup](https://blog.bizplan.com/academy/the-dirty-dozen-12-kpis-you-must-know-before-pitching-your-startup)

![Phil Nadel](http://info.zirtual.com/hubfs/Bizplan_Academy/Phil_Nadel.jpeg) 

 By [Phil Nadel](https://blog.bizplan.com/academy/author/phil-nadel)

  April 11, 2017

It is critically important for the founders of a company to intimately understand the company’s Key Performance Indicators (“KPIs”). Founders cannot hope to grow a company in any meaningful way without an almost obsessive focus on its KPIs. Why? Because KPIs, if constructed correctly, give management and potential investors a cold, analytical snapshot of the state of the company, untainted by emotion or rhetoric. This focus must not be limited to the KPIs themselves, for they are merely measurements of outcomes. We look for founders to have an understanding of what levers can be pulled and what tweaks can be made to improve the business, which will then be reflected in its KPIs. So the focus should not be on the KPIs themselves, but the meaning behind them and knowing what impacts each one.

[Read More  ](https://blog.bizplan.com/academy/the-dirty-dozen-12-kpis-you-must-know-before-pitching-your-startup)

[![](http://info.zirtual.com/hubfs/Bizplan_Academy/Joe_Garza-Elevator_Pitch_Collaboration.jpg)](https://blog.bizplan.com/academy/creating-an-elevator-pitch-that-attracts-investors-customers-and-more)

## [Creating an Elevator Pitch that Attracts Investors, Customers, and More](https://blog.bizplan.com/academy/creating-an-elevator-pitch-that-attracts-investors-customers-and-more)

![Joe Garza](http://info.zirtual.com/hubfs/Joe_Garza_Headshot.jpg) 

 By [Joe Garza](https://blog.bizplan.com/academy/author/joe-garza)

  April 10, 2017

 

[Read More  ](https://blog.bizplan.com/academy/creating-an-elevator-pitch-that-attracts-investors-customers-and-more)

[All posts](https://blog.bizplan.com/academy/all)