David Beckett, Pitch Coach, Presentation Coach Amsterdam

Welcome to Pitch Professionals

We’re serving Corporate Innovation Teams and Startups with practical tools to help them pitch and win investment and business.

Pitch Professionals provides access to the best pitch trainers, slide designers and performance coaches available. Founded in 2013, the company was formerly known as Best3Minutes.

David Beckett – Founder of Pitch Professionals

Pitch Trainer and Coach

David began pitch coaching in 2013 at world-renowned accelerator Startupbootcamp. After pitching himself as a mentor to the founders, he set about learning what a Startup pitch was all about while coaching teams towards Demo Day.

As he worked with the Startup teams and analysed numerous successful pitches, David found there were certain recurring elements in the process of developing the pitch storyline, and created The Pitch Canvas©.

Later he created a complete methodology for building a pitch, called Open-3-Close©. This methodology forms the backbone of David’s interactive and hands-on workshops.

“I’m passionate about helping people shine, and I’m fascinated with the impact the ability to pitch and present has on people’s careers and lives. Being a Pitch Coach brings together my passions, and I’m so happy to have found a role that enables me to have impact on entrepreneurs.”

Corporate Career, Country Director

Previous to becoming a pitch coach, David worked for Canon, in the UK, Netherlands and Austria. Over a 16 year period, he followed a path from beginning as a Marketing Assistant, and progressed to the position of Country Director, leading 80 people in 5 countries. He left in 2009 when his role moved form Amsterdam to London.

“I love living in another country, and a return to the UK felt like a step backwards. I’d been looking for a new turn in my personal and professional life, and felt this was the moment. I was 42, single and halfway through my working life. It was time to change, so I took the opportunity.”

Author and Course Creator

David is the author of a number of books, including Amsterdam… The Essence, Three Minute Presentation, and Zet Jezelf op de Kaart (in Dutch, co-authored with Sheila Schenkel.) He’s currently working on a new book about pitching, based on what he has learned over the last 4 years.

He has also created a number of video courses, which capture the tools and exercises he uses in his workshops.

“The business grew bigger than my time, and therefore I’m focused on creating tools that will help people learn to pitch when I’m not there. A combination of books and video courses is powerful, and can be a good starting point for anyone who is not familiar with pitching.”

Pitch Coaching in over 20 Countries, in 4 continents

David has coached and spoken at conferences in over 20 countries – including Korea, Taiwan, USA, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Greece, Slovenia and Czech Republic.

In his Canon career, David did business in 41 countries. In his private and working life, David has visited over 60 countries.

“I’ve been away from the UK for more than 20 years now – I made my own Brexit a long time ago! I love to work with people from different cultures, and enjoy the challenge of adapting my coaching style to the character of the people I am working with.”

Family Man

David is married and is the father of two children.

“I work hard – anyone who has started their own company knows it takes time to build your client base – and I believe you are only as good as your last work. I take my responsibility to deliver top quality every single time.

Equally, family is very important for me. We carve out time for our young kids and work in the evenings after they’ve gone to bed if we have to, so that we can have a sustainable, impactful business, and positive family environment. It’s a joy to spend time with my little boy and girl!”

Meet Our Team

David BeckettChief Pitch Trainer

Highly experienced trainer, with deep knowledge of how both corporates and Startups work. He’s coached at over a dozen Startup Accelerators, and on numerous Corporate Innovation Programs.

Sheila SchenkelOperations Manager, Coach

Sheila is a highly organised and experienced professional, with 16 years experience of publishing production and editing at Sanoma. She is also David’s co-author of the book ‘Zet Jezelf Op De Kaart’.

Our Recommended Partners

Robin DohmenBest In Class Slide Designer

Robin has designed amazing slide decks for over one hundred Startups and numerous corporates. He is also the former Head of Design for Startupbootcamp Amsterdam, and co-founder of OWOW. We recommend him because he brings your story visually to life like no other.

Tara PhillipsConference & TEDx Speech Coach

Tara has coached over 50 TEDx speakers, and helped numerous executives and professionals to share their story with confidence and personality. We recommend her because she’s truly driven to make you shine when it counts, and is a great person to work with.

Joni BaisPerformance Coach

Joni is excellent at helping you bring your personality out to shine on stage. She is a highly experienced TEDx speaker coach, and co-founder of Great Communicators. We recommend her because of her supportive, creative style and character.