School is starting, which means a dozen college and MBA teams are about to email me asking how to win their stock pitch competition. So I made the answer. The core of it: a pitch is a game, and most people lose it before they open their mouth by picking an idea that does not fit the contest rules or the judges in the room.

From there it is three things. Design the pitch for the timeframe the contest actually asks for and for the people judging it, because what wins with a concentrated-book judge is not what wins with a pod shop. Lead with the one thing only you know, not a sell side price target or a multiple that has compressed. And make your bull case the base case instead of hedging yourself into a 15% price target that reads as average. Then the three traps I see every single year: burning five slides on a DCF nobody will ask about, drowning the room in risk factors, and death by background. I also walk through the La Quinta pitch that won me Ira Sohn in 2018, and why the CSL and DoorDash teams at the Pershing Square Challenge won on legwork rather than modeling.

Fair warning: I had AI build the slides, so do not hold the exact wording on any of them against me.

If you are pitching to get hired rather than to win a contest, the companion episode is here: https://www.yetanothervalueblog.com/p/how-to-get-a-job-in-investing-podcast

This episode is sponsored by Trata: https://trata.com. Trata is two buysiders swapping thoughts on a stock they are both involved in. If you are prepping a pitch, go on and say you are thinking about pitching company XYZ, and they will find you someone to talk to about it. It is a very good way to hear the other side of your idea before a judge hands it to you.

Chapters:

(00:00) Why I made this one alone, with a deck

(01:57) Disclaimer and a word from Trata

(03:02) Why this matters even if you never enter a contest

(05:20) Who am I to talk about stock pitches

(07:18) Why a pitch is a free lottery ticket

(08:51) Rule one: know the game you are playing

(10:12) Know your judges: concentrated books, event funds, pod shops

(12:19) Rule two: tell a story, and lead with something only you know

(14:14) The La Quinta pitch that won Ira Sohn

(16:07) Be bold: make your bull case the base case

(18:04) Do the legwork: hard hats, expert calls, customer checks

(21:43) What to avoid: excessive modeling

(23:17) What to avoid: drowning in risks

(25:08) What to avoid: death by background

(26:22) Formatting is table stakes

(27:48) Go win the thing

Links:

Yet Another Value Blog - https://www.yetanothervalueblog.com

See our legal disclaimer here: https://www.yetanothervalueblog.com/p/legal-and-disclaimer

How to win a stock pitch competition | lessons from an Ira Sohn winner

Yet Another Value Podcast

How to win a stock pitch competition | lessons from an Ira Sohn winner