In 2019, Tomás Bercovich pitched Global66 at an event hosted by Diario Financiero. He opened with accurate data. Businesses were making international wire transfers through traditional banks, buried in paperwork, facing fees of up to US$70 per transfer. The room listened with polite attention.
Five years later, at a Demo Day, he opened with his grandparents. Both arrived in Chile as immigrants with almost nothing. One opened dry cleaners; the other, a clothing store. Neither ever dreamed of selling across borders. They were born and died in the exact same place.
Same company, same problem. Completely different pitch.
An investor pitch that moves capital follows three sequences in this exact order: emotion, reason, emotion. First, make them feel the problem. Then, prove you can solve it. Finally, return to emotion so the person across the table feels compelled to act.
Why the Right Data Falls Short
Global66's initial pitch had all the facts straight: costs, wire processes, foreign exchange spreads, and intermediary banks. What it lacked was a reason for anyone in the room to make the problem personal.
Founders naturally open where they feel safest: metrics and market size. The reasoning seems airtight—if the product is strong, the numbers should speak for themselves. But investors sit through dozens of presentations every week, and most sound identical.
In laboratory studies, Zak measured that character-driven narratives with genuine tension trigger oxytocin synthesis in listeners, making them significantly more likely to take action. In his experiments, participants donated money to causes tied to the story. A flat narrative with the same characters and zero conflict produced no such effect. The full findings are in his 2015 paper in Cerebrum.
The Three-Sequence Pitch Framework
Pixar structures its movies into distinct acts. A ten-minute pitch takes the exact same journey in less time. Each sequence serves a clear purpose and hands the baton to the next.
Sequence I: The World, the Problem, and the Hero
Open with something that lets listeners see themselves in a painful, relatable situation. Bercovich painted the world of his grandparents and contrasted it with today's reality, where any local startup pays for Google Ads and hires freelancers across borders. Only then did he drop the data: the United States has over 300 million people and more than five thousand banks. Latin America has 660 million people and fewer than 300.
The progression within this sequence is fixed: first the world, then the problem, and finally the solution that steps in to confront it. Global66 appeared on stage only after the room was already rooting for someone to fix the mess.
Sequence II: Rational Validation
This is where everything you wanted to say from minute one finally belongs. Bercovich shared that they had over one million registered users, an NPS of 80, app store ratings between 4.5 and 4.8 stars, and direct integration with CCA, Chile's interbank clearinghouse. He closed with financial sustainability: they were nearing break-even.
This sequence channels the emotional energy built in the first and converts it into hard credibility. Your audience already cares about the problem. Now they need to believe you are the one who will solve it and capture the market.
Sequence III: The Future That Demands Action
The close circles back to emotion. Global66 highlighted its partnership with Bayern Munich as the club's official fintech sponsor in South America. Then Bercovich shared the "Tu Talento es Global" campaign: teenagers aged 15 to 17 across Latin America could upload TikTok videos showcasing their soccer skills, club scouts would select 11, and fly them to Germany for a week of professional trials.
A neobank flying underprivileged Latin American kids to try out for top-tier European soccer. That image sticks in an investor's mind long after they have forgotten your NPS score.
Matching How Decisions Are Made
We feel first, rationalize second, and need to feel once more before taking action. In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman outlined two modes of thought: System 1 (fast and intuitive) and System 2 (slow and analytical). A pitch that connects with System 1 gets your foot in the door. One that also satisfies System 2 survives due diligence.
That is why logic belongs in the middle. The first sequence makes the data matter. The second gives the emotion staying power.
Pitch de Película dedicates a chapter to each sequence, breaking them down with real Latin American case studies.
Where the Nine Blocks Fit
The framework's nine core blocks map directly into these three sequences. Villain, hero, and superpower go in Sequence I. Traction, market, business model, and the ask go in Sequence II. Team and the vision go in Sequence III.
Every block answers an underlying question investors will inevitably ask. For a breakdown of which question belongs on each slide, read the nine-block pitch deck structure.
How Much Time to Spend on Each Sequence
This structure works across any presentation length. In a three-minute pitch, one minute per sequence provides a balanced starting point. In a fifteen-minute partner meeting, expand each section proportionally. The narrative progression never changes.
Founders with strong numbers tend to bloat Sequence II because it feels safe. But if Sequence I fails to hook the audience, they will be mentally checked out by the time you reach the data. And by Sequence III, they will lack the energy to take action.
If your format is measured in seconds—in an elevator or during a quick networking chat—the scale shifts. Learn how to adapt it in elevator pitch examples from Latin American startups.
Exercise: Your Pitch in Three Columns
María Fernanda Herrera is the protagonist of the Pitch de Película story. Her startup, Origen, pools neighborhood corner stores so they can purchase inventory at wholesale prices. When asked to lay out her pitch across three columns, her first column read: "US$650 billion market, 200,000 corner stores." The second spanned half a page of algorithms, cohort analysis, retention rates, and LTV/CAC. The third was completely blank.
She had a two-hour documentary and a 30-second movie. Worse, the figures in her first column belonged entirely in the second.
Run the same audit on your current pitch. Take a sheet of paper and split it into three columns:
- In the first column, write down everything that makes the problem felt: real people, places, moments, and frustrations.
- In the second, list everything that proves your solution works: metrics, customers, market validation, and business model.
- In the third, outline everything that casts a vision for the future and calls for concrete action.
- Move any raw stats or metrics you wrote in column one over to column two.
If your first column ends up empty, start there. Introduce a specific person by name and a tangible frustration anyone can relate to.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should an investor pitch be?
It depends on the setting. An elevator pitch takes seconds, a pitch competition runs three to five minutes, a one-on-one partner meeting lasts around 15 minutes, and a due diligence deep dive can take up to 45. The three-sequence structure adapts to every format; only the time allotted to each section changes.
What comes first in a pitch: the problem or the solution?
The problem. When you introduce the solution first, the room evaluates features without understanding the pain point. When it arrives right after an emotionally resonant problem, the audience is already hoping a solution exists.
Can I use this structure if I do not have traction yet?
Yes. Sequence II is filled with stage-appropriate proof: customer interviews, validated problem hypotheses, willingness to pay, or returning beta users.
Does this work for accelerator applications or public grant programs?
Yes. A Start-Up Chile evaluator, an accelerator screening committee, and a commercial bank underwriter all make the exact same decision as an angel or VC investor: allocating resources to founders they trust.
Before Your Next Meeting
If your pitch skips the first sequence or the third, your audience will hear accurate information and leave the room feeling exactly as they did when they walked in.
Take that three-column sheet and see which section is thinnest. That is your homework for the week.
Pitch de Película includes Origen's complete, slide-by-slide script, showing the full rewriting process behind it.