Before you pitch

How to pitch us.

A good pitch is short and specific. It shows a real problem, the people who have it and why you’re the one to fix it. Here’s how to write one, and how we treat your idea.

Write my pitchScore your idea first

A pitch in five partsSay it plainly.

  1. 01

    The problem

    One sentence a merchant or shopper would recognise. If it needs a paragraph, it isn’t clear yet.

  2. 02

    Who has it

    The people or businesses who feel it, and how many you’ve spoken to.

  3. 03

    What they do today

    The workaround, the spreadsheet, the extra trip. It shows the problem is real, and what you’re up against.

  4. 04

    What you’ve done

    Conversations, a prototype, a first sale. Anything that shows you’ll do the work without us.

  5. 05

    Why now, why you

    What’s changed that makes this possible now, and what you know that others don’t.

An example

Hard to judge
An AI-powered platform that transforms retail for emerging markets.
Easy to judge
Spaza owners we spoke to close for half a day, twice a week, to restock at the wholesaler. We want to let them order by voice note and have stock delivered.

Made up, to show the difference.

After you send it

  1. 01

    We read every pitch.

  2. 02

    If it fits our focus, we set up a call to go through it together.

  3. 03

    If we go ahead, we agree the first gate and the smallest test that would pass it.

Your idea stays yoursHow we treat your pitch.

  • Share what you’re comfortable with. We don’t ask for anything confidential in a first pitch.
  • It stays with us. We won’t share your pitch outside the Artive group without your permission.
  • Used only to reply. Pitches are kept under our privacy policy and used only to reply to you and, if you agree, to work on it with you.
  • We’ll say if we’re close. We look at many ideas and may already be exploring something similar. If we are, we’ll tell you.
  • Nothing is agreed until it’s written. Any work together, and who owns what, is agreed in writing first.
  • Once we invest, we own a share. When we put in talent, time or money, we take equity for it, agreed up front. Founders can keep the majority, and our stake stays if you later go on without us.

Privacy policy

Got a commerce problem worth a company? We want to hear it.

A few lines is enough: the problem, who has it and why now.

Pitch us