8 Words you should consider removing from your crowdfunding pitch

When writing your crowdfunding pitch, you’ll want to impress your potential investors for all the right reasons. This takes careful consideration as you only have so many characters to convey a fair amount of information. It’s easy to fall into the trap of using jargon, buzzwords and clichés, thinking it will make you sound interesting when in reality, it has the opposite effect.

Being able to explain what your business does and your investment proposition clearly and concisely, without unnecessary embellishments, is much more likely to have the impact you seek. 

Here are 8 words we see in crowdfunding pitches that, often really shouldn’t be there.

1. Disruptive: Everyone and their dog is disruptive these days. Except they’re not. The word “disrupt” in business has a very specific meaning and it isn’t to do things differently from your predecessors. Disruption refers to new development or technology that dramatically changes the way a structure or industry functions. Of course in some cases, businesses are truly disruptive but the term is so overused, it has lost its meaning. Rather than calling yourself disruptive, focus on explaining how you are doing things differently and what impact you intend to make in your industry.

2. Innovative: Just like disruptive, innovative has been so overused, it means very little nowadays. Think of it this way, if everyone is innovative, no one is. So how does your business truly stand out from its competitors? Could it be you are creative, inventive or even alternative? Try to pinpoint exactly what makes you, you. 

3. Solution: Using the word solution to describe your product or service is often a sign that you’re struggling to explain what you do. It’s a filler word that lacks real meaning. So ask yourself, what is your “solution” exactly? Is it a service, an app, or a piece of software maybe? Try to be specific when you describe your business, it will make it easier for the crowd to understand what you do.

4. Leading: This is a much-hated word in PR and press circles because it means nothing unless you can prove it. And usually, you can’t. Your crowdfunding pitch should be truthful and accurate which is why you’ll be asked to back up all of your statements before you’re even allowed to publish it. So it’s time to remove the word leading, along with first, best, unique, and any other such bold statement, unless you can provide robust evidence to support it.

5. Utilise: As a rule of thumb, always go for a shorter word over its longer equivalent. So in the case of utilise, use is the better option. Shorter words are easier to read and understand, they get your point across efficiently. And as your pitch has a limited character count, by choosing shorter words you might just be able to say more. 

6. Leverage: This is another example where a shorter, simpler word would be the better choice.  To leverage means that you are putting in the same force to get much bigger results. You leverage one thing to accomplish something else. For the sentence to make sense, you need a second verb in there. If you are using leverage as a synonym to use, as most people are nowadays, then please just use “use”! 

7. Millennials: Millennials represent quite a broad cross-section of the population and if you’re referring to them as your intended market, it shows you haven’t really spent enough time refining your target audience. The same could be said about wild generalisations and broad stereotypes. We live in a digital age where ultra-targeted marketing is not only possible, it is expected. 

8. Word mashups: We see all sorts of -tech mashups in crowdfunding pitches: fintech, insurtech, proptech, femtech, medtech, … Similarly, the plays on the word entrepreneur are getting out of hand: mumpreneur, oldpreneur, millennialpreneur, … Unless the word is widely accepted in the sector you operate in (fintech for example), using, or worse, making up any of these kinds of mashups is likely to make your reader cringe. Trust us, you really don’t need fancy words to have an impressive pitch. 

The best way to write your crowdfunding pitch is to write it as if you were talking to your mates at the pub or to your nan at a family get together. Write like a human. Be precise, be specific and use plain English.