Acting for Entrepreneurs Whose Pitch Only Works in Claude
Amir Feizpour
Obsessed with agents & entrepreneurship
Diana Di Mauro
Business Coach, Opera Singer, Actor
A tough objection can sink a pitch. Learn to stay composed and meet the buyer.
Claude told you your pitch is great. Then you rehearsed it and it went fine in the mirror. Then a buyer asked something you hadn't planned for, and you started talking faster.
Or an objection landed and you lost the thread, and found it again on the drive home.
Or a stakeholder nodded through the whole meeting and said no a week later.
Building has gotten much easier. A working prototype can take a weekend. Getting another person to say yes has not gotten easier, because the conversation goes places a script doesn't cover, and the person across the table has feelings about your idea that never show up in a deck.
This workshop works on that gap with three skills from theatre.
Improvisation: staying present and answering what was actually said.
Reading emotion: noticing where a customer or stakeholder is in their decision and meeting them there.
Composure: the grounding routines performers use before they walk on stage.
What you’ll learn
From a pitch that falls apart at the first hard question to staying composed and responding to the person in front of you
Pitch cold in the morning, then again in the afternoon, to see how your responses change
Spar with AI personas, such as a skeptical grandma or a technical CTO, to practice answering real pushback
Share a personal story tied to an object you choose, to practice connecting beyond small talk
Write feedback on each other's cold pitches and compare notes on how each one landed
Reset with a 5-minute closed-eye body scan right after your cold pitch
Re-pitch in the afternoon and compare it with your morning baseline to see the change
Workshop agenda
Welcome and how the day works [15 min, Amir]
Framing for the day, how the before-and-after format works, and what to prepare. Participants arrive with their pitch already prepared.
Cold pitch round [50 min, Diana]
Each person gives a 2 to 3 minute pitch with no coaching. Each speaker nominates the next, and everyone writes feedback for every presenter, to be shared later.
Body scan and grounding reset [5 min, Diana]
A guided closed-eye body scan right after the pitches to release performance stress and bring attention back to the body.
Improvisation and reading the room [60 min, Diana]
Improv techniques for staying present when a conversation leaves the script, and how to read where a customer or stakeholder is in their decision. Exercises with feedback.
Lunch and learn: the object story [40 min, Diana
Step away from the screen, pick a meaningful object nearby, and tell the group a personal story about it. Practice real connection beyond small talk.
Pair practice: pitching to a live reaction [50 min, Diana]
In pairs, one person pitches while the other reacts the way a real buyer would. Switch roles, then trade feedback on how the conversation moved.
Persona sparring with AI [50 min, Amir]
Practice against distinct personas, such as a skeptical grandma, a technical CTO or a polite customer. AI is prep for real customer conversations, not a replacement for them.
Solo reflection and prep workflow [40 min, Amir]
Read the peer feedback from the morning, write down what you notice, and adapt a sparring workflow to your own idea and customer to take home.
Closing pitch round [60 min, Amir]
Repeat the morning pitch and compare. Presenters go in random order by nomination, and everyone writes feedback for each presenter.
Debrief [15 min, Amir]
What changed from the morning pitch and why, and what to practice next.
Learn directly from Amir & Diana
Amir Feizpour
Founder, CEO, Chief Scientist @ Aggregate Intellect Inc.
Diana Di Mauro
Runs Theatre for Innovators, coaching founders on presence and story
Who this workshop is for
Mid-career professionals choosing to leave their job to start something, and unsure which idea is worth betting their next few years on.
Mid-career professionals laid off or restructured out, exploring entrepreneurship with an idea that fits their experience.
Mid-career professionals who are employed but restless, exploring a business on the side and unsure which idea deserves their limited time.
What's included
Live sessions
Learn directly from Amir Feizpour & Diana Di Mauro in a real-time, interactive format.
Lifetime access
Go back to course content and recordings whenever you need to.
Community of peers
Stay accountable and share insights with like-minded professionals.
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Frequently asked questions
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10:30am–5pm EST