The elevator pitch that can make any idea actionable

A few months ago, I was sitting in the audience at a technology conference listening to a panel of executives from Facebook, Google, Salesforce.com and Accenture talking about why Canada isn’t creating more innovative new companies. It was hard not to feel a sense of outrage.

While admittedly these are some of the most highly cited examples of firms that routinely disrupt entire industries with their products and services, they were all American giants who made their fortunes in a much larger market. Some of them, like Salesforce and Google, also became successful in part because they acquired innovative young Canadian startups. And their advice — fail fast and cheap, start with small steps — all sounded like things I’ve heard a million times. Innovation does not come easily, and neither do the best practices that will help researchers and entrepreneurs create more value from their ideas.

That’s why the launch of CommerceLab is so important. Canada has lots of publications that look at technology news and trends, but some of the most important stories about the path innovation takes from academia to established businesses remain largely untold. CommerceLab will tell these stories through a mixture of articles, videos, online tools and interviews with the top experts in user experience (UX) design, gamification and interactive display. Our coverage will bring focus to these three areas like no other Canadian resource before it, educating the market and empowering any organization to take advantage of what these technologies promise.

For many pioneers in the technology space, success begins by mastering the “elevator pitch” made to potential investors and other key stakeholders. These are the moments when someone starting a company or suggesting the use of an emerging technology describes their idea and why it’s worth the money. They need to be short — no longer than the average elevator ride — because the thinking is, if you can’t summarize your mission and its importance succinctly you may lack strategic focus.

I’ve heard some great elevator pitches, and the best ones fall into one of two camps. There are those who become really good at creating a sound byte about their business idea, working within the brief time period they’re given and getting a nod of approval. Then there are the people who make an elevator pitch that begs for more detail. There is a hint of something powerful in the pitch, so powerful that the regular time limits simply have to be ignored. In other words, they frame the opportunity so well that anyone who listens cannot stop themselves from continuing the conversation once they step off the elevator.

This site is the place where those conversations will continue. Think of CommerceLab as a Canadian community for building opportunities in UX, gamification and interactive display. Share your stories with us. Share the stories you read here. Contribute to the conversation by writing for us or commenting on what we produce. The journey to commercialization is about to get a lot more interesting. We hope you enjoy the ride.