Jason's Elevator Pitch Guide

Three versions: 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds — using Priestley's Name/Same/Fame/Aim/Game

Prepared by Charlotte (COO) — February 24, 2026

The Framework

Daniel Priestley's pitch structure works because it meets people where they are mentally. Each element opens a specific door in the listener's mind:

NAMEWho you are. Grounds the conversation.

SAMEWhat familiar category you fit in. Opens a mental folder so the listener knows roughly what you're talking about.

FAMEWhat makes you different. The proof, the story, the "oh that's interesting" moment.

AIMWhat you're focused on right now. Creates a sense of momentum and a reason to care today.

GAMEThe bigger vision. Where this is going. Makes you memorable and investable.

The 15-second version uses Name + Same + Fame. The 30-second version adds Aim. The 60-second version includes all five with the daughter story expanded. Jason should pick the version that fits the moment — you don't always need all 60 seconds.

The Three Pitches

~15 seconds

The Quick Intro — "What do you do?"

"I'm Jason — I built Stylify. Think of it like a social media manager, but purpose-built for hair stylists. They upload a photo of their work, and Stylify writes the caption in their voice. Two minutes instead of thirty."

When to use

Networking events, casual intros, when someone asks "so what do you do?" at a party, quick LinkedIn DMs. This version is designed to trigger the response "Oh wait, how does that work?" — which is your invitation to go to 30 or 60 seconds.

~30 seconds

The Standard Pitch — Conversations, Intros, Follow-ups

"I'm Jason, founder of Stylify. We're basically a social media manager for hair stylists — but instead of paying someone $500 a month, the stylist uploads a photo of their work and Stylify writes a caption that actually sounds like them. Not a template, not generic — it learns their voice. The whole thing takes about two minutes. My daughter's a stylist and she's the reason I built it — she's amazing at hair but hated writing captions. Turns out every stylist has the same problem. Right now we're opening up to our first hundred founding members who get locked in at half price for life."

When to use

Most conversations where there's genuine interest. Podcast intros, DM follow-ups when someone says "tell me more," conference conversations, investor small talk. This is the workhorse version — learn this one first.

~60 seconds

The Full Story — When You Have the Floor

"I'm Jason, founder of Stylify. We built a social media manager for hair stylists — the kind of tool that actually handles the whole thing, not just scheduling. It started with my daughter. She graduated cosmetology school less than a year ago — incredibly talented, works harder than anyone I know. But she came to me one day and said, 'Dad, is there anything you can do to help me with my social media?' She was doing beautiful work and nobody was seeing it because writing captions felt impossible. She'd spend thirty minutes staring at her phone trying to describe a balayage and end up just posting the photo with an emoji. I dug in and realized this is every stylist's problem. They're artists — they went to cosmetology school, not marketing school. So we built Stylify. A stylist uploads a photo of her work, and Stylify writes a caption that actually sounds like her — not a robot, not a template. It learns her voice, her vibe, her personality. Two minutes per post instead of thirty. And for our Pro users, it auto-publishes on schedule so they literally don't have to think about it. We're opening to our first hundred founding members — stylists who get our Pro plan locked in at forty-nine dollars a month for life. Once those hundred spots are gone, they're gone. And the bigger picture — Stylify is vertical one. Hair stylists first, but the platform we've built works for any service professional whose talent deserves to be seen. Nail techs, estheticians, personal trainers. We're calling the parent company Elev8 because that's the mission — elevate the people who are great at what they do but invisible online."

When to use

When you have someone's full attention and they're genuinely interested. Investor meetings, podcast interviews, pitch competitions, one-on-one conversations with potential partners or advisors. The daughter story is the emotional hook that makes you memorable — it's the part people retell when they talk about you to someone else.

Practice Notes

The goal isn't memorization — it's internalization

These pitches should feel like how you naturally talk about Stylify, not like you're reciting a script. The structure is the skeleton; your personality is the muscle. If you forget a line, just keep talking — the framework will keep you on track.

Key beats to nail every time

"Social media manager for hair stylists" — this is the Same. It opens the right mental folder instantly. Don't skip it or replace it with something more complex.
"Sounds like them / sounds like her" — this is the differentiator. The moment you say this, people realize you're not talking about another ChatGPT wrapper.
"Two minutes instead of thirty" — this is the proof point that makes the promise concrete. It's specific enough to be believable.
The daughter moment — "Dad, is there anything you can do to help me with my social media?" This is the Fame. It's authentic, it's relatable, and it gives people a face to connect with.

Things to avoid

Never say "AI" — say "Stylify writes" or "Stylify learns her voice." If someone asks "is it AI?" you can say "yeah, under the hood — but the whole point is that it doesn't sound like AI. It sounds like the stylist."
Don't lead with tech — nobody cares about voice archetypes or photo analysis in a pitch. They care about the daughter, the problem, and the "two minutes" number.
Don't undersell the founding member offer — "half price for life" is powerful. Don't soften it to "a discount" or "a special rate." The specificity makes it real.

Adapting for different audiences

Audience	Emphasize	De-emphasize
Stylists / salon owners	The time savings, the voice quality, "sounds like you"	Elev8 vision, investor-speak
Investors / advisors	The Elev8 multi-vertical vision, market size, founding member traction	The emotional daughter story (keep it brief)
Tech people / founders	The voice learning system, the vertical SaaS play	Pricing details, founding member mechanics
Potential partners	The daughter story (builds trust), the founding member momentum	Technical details
Someone at a party	The 15-second version. Period. If they're curious, they'll ask more.	Everything else

Derivative Uses

Once Jason has these pitches internalized, they feed directly into other assets:

Asset	Source	Notes
Instagram bio (@GetStylify)	15-second pitch, compressed	"Social media, handled — for hair stylists. Posts that sound like you, not a robot. 2 min per post."
Pixel's DM openers	15-second pitch, personalized	"We built something that writes your captions in your voice — takes 2 minutes. Your work is gorgeous, it deserves to be seen."
Landing page hero	Same + Fame elements	Already aligned: "You do hair. We do your social media."
Email sequence opener	Daughter story (Fame)	Already used in Email 1 — validate against 60-second version for consistency
Podcast one-liner	15-second version	Host reads it as intro: "Jason built Stylify — a social media manager purpose-built for hair stylists"

Assumption & Uncertainty

Assumption

I've written these pitches in what I believe is close to Jason's natural speaking voice based on how he communicates in our sessions — direct, confident, personal. But I'm not Jason. These need to be read out loud, edited for how they feel in his mouth, and practiced until the words are his, not mine. The structure is right; the exact phrasing is a starting point.

Uncertainty

The 30-second version walks a line between "enough detail to be interesting" and "too much for a casual conversation." It may need to be trimmed by 1-2 sentences after Jason practices it out loud — some people naturally speak faster or slower, which changes how much fits in 30 seconds. Time it with a stopwatch and adjust.