The Art of The Pitch
How do you make people want to say yes? In this TED-style talk, we break down the real job of a pitch — not just what goes on the slides, but how to earn belief, trust, and buy-in. Whether you’re raising your first round, convincing an accelerator, or pitching a strategic partner, this session shows you how to craft a story people remember and deliver it with conviction.
What you’ll learn:
- Framing the Real Job of a Pitch: Decision psychology & Why most pitches fail before the deck opens
- Creating Belief in Your Audience: Defining your core story arcs & emotional throughlines
- Stage Presence & Showing Conviction: Teaching, not performing – Body language, tone & energy, and how to sound like you’ve done this 100 times
- Expectation Management – The Dreaded Investor Q&A: Handling tough questions as a strategy, pre-empting objections and how to respond when you don’t know
Bonus:Attendees receive discount codes for DB Learn’s new products, along with a gift from Doyle Blackfriars and our partners in Poblenou
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this event?
A practical training session on how to pitch your startup to investors, accelerators, and competitions. The session combines proven pitch frameworks with media training techniques to help you present with clarity and confidence.
Who is it for?
1. Early-stage founders preparing to fundraise or apply to accelerators.
2. Students or professionals who want to build pitch and presentation skills.
3. Anyone interested in learning how to clearly communicate their startup ideas for investment purposes.
What will I learn?
1. How to structure a compelling pitch.
2. How to adapt your pitch depending on business stage and funding type (equity, grants, competitions).
3. Delivery techniques: storytelling, managing live presentation nerves, handling on-the-spot questions.
4. Common mistakes and how to avoid them.
Will there be investors?
This is a training-focused event, not a demo day or pitch competition. The goal is to prepare you for investor meetings, competitions, and applications. You’ll also meet other founders and ecosystem peers in the room.
Why is there a fee?
The fee keeps the session accessible but ensures commitment. It also reflects the fact that you’re receiving professional training normally only offered in accelerators or paid startup programs.
Who is running the session?
The event is hosted by Doyle Blackfriars, a London and Barcelona-based advisory, research and education firm working with startups and the startup ecosystem across Europe.
The session is led by Maria Martyak, an experienced startup professional, holding director-level roles at international startups across the US, UK and Europe, in fintech, advanced tech (LLMs, Data fabrics & AI), healthcare, ecommerce, and edtech. She has been media trained in NYC and London, and has been a trainer for television and stage presenters across various media outlets including Fox Business, the Nasdaq, the NYSE and large universities in the US and Europe. She has also been a pitch competition and Dragon’s Den judge across Europe, judging founder pitches for both mentorship, equity and cash investments.
