Walid O. El Cheikh

Author, Coach & Startup Mentor
Executive Trainer & Facilitator
Program Manager & Lecturer
VC Venture Partner
Event Host

Contacts
iam@pitchingforlife.com
+358 44 98 34 855

  • 1. Author of Pitching For Life - 2019
    (PFL 2.0 coming in 2023)
    2. Pitching & Presentation Skills Coach
    4. Public Speaker
    5. Public Speaking Trainer
    6. Startup Mentor & Coach
    7. Program Manager / Director
    8. Lecturer in Schools / Universities
    9. Event Host
    11. Pitching Judge
    12. Workshop Facilitator

  • Coaching Philosophy
    > Mindset is First
    > Content is key
    > Delivery is Crucial

    Coaching Approach
    > Learn by doing
    > Step by step guidance
    > 1% Progress - Continuously
    > Mindset > Content > Delivery
    > 5 minutes per day - Consistency
    > Building Confidence from 0 to 99

  • I have seen participants from 7 to 75 years old. They come from many different countries and cities. They have diverse backgrounds, work experience, discipline (business, technology, science, design, and arts), nationalities, and cultures, for example:

    - Students in Schools / Universities
    - Startup Founders
    - Workers / Employees
    - Executives / Leaders / Directors
    - Board Members
    - Investors
    - Public Speakers
    - Scientists
    - Game Developers
    - Software Engineers
    - Artists / designers / Producers
    - Community Managers
    - Musicians / Actors / Performers
    - Psychologists
    - Medical Professionals
    - PR Professionals
    - Media Professionals
    - Governmental Officials
    - PhD Researchers / Professors
    - Sales People / Sales Managers
    - Job Seekers / Unemployed
    - Refugees

  • Link to Testimonials

  • I have been working in 32 countries:

    Europe
    1. Austria
    2. Belgium
    3. Croatia
    4. Estonia
    5. Finland
    6. Germany
    7. Greece
    8. Italy
    9. Latvia
    10. Lithuania
    11. Norway
    12. Portugal
    13. Slovakia
    14. Spain
    15. Sweden
    16. Switzerland
    17. Turkey
    18. Ukraine
    19. United Kingdom

    Asia
    20. China
    21. Indonesia
    22. Kuwait
    23. Lebanon
    24. Malaysia
    25. Qatar
    26. Vietnam
    27. Saudi Arabia
    28. Singapore
    29. Thailand
    30. United Arab Emirates1

    Africa
    31. Egypt
    32. Namibia

  • I have been working in 63 cities:

    Abu Dhabi. Athens.

    Bangkok. Barcelona. Beijing. Beirut. Berlin. Byblos. Bratislava. Brussels

    Doha. Dubai.

    Espoo.

    Frankfurt.

    Geneva.

    Hangzhou. Hanoi. Helsinki.

    Istanbul.

    Jyväskylä

    Kairo. Kajaani. Kharkov. Kiev. Kirkenes. Kotka. Kouvola. Krabi. Kuala Lumpur. Kuopio. Kuwait City.

    Lahti. Lappeenranta. Lisbon. London.

    Madrid. Malmö. Manchester. Milan. Munich.

    Oulu.

    Porvoo.

    Riga. Riyadh. Rome. Rovaniemi.

    Saigon. Singapore City. Split. Stockholm.

    Tallinn. Tartu. Tampere. Turku. Tripoli. Turin.

    Ubud.

    Vaasa. Vantaa. Vienna. Vilnius.

    Windhoek.

    Zagreb.

  • Bio Photos
    Small Medium Large Vector

    Coaching Photos
    Here

  • Here it is: Link

  • - Lebanese
    - Ukrainian
    - Living in Finland

    I was born in Ukraine and I grew up in Lebanon. To date, I have been living in 6 countries:

    1) Ukraine,
    2) Sweden,
    3) Lebanon,
    4) Italy
    5) UK
    6) Finland

    Currently, I live in Helsinki since 2005 and I travel regularly for work and vacation.

  • In my sessions, I talk about pitching, presentation skills and/or early-stage entrepreneurship. Here is a breakdown of the most common topics that I coached, mentored, or lectured about.

    Pitching in General
    - The Fundamentals of Pitching
    - Design Your Pitch
    - Pitch Scenarios
    - Argumentation in a Pitch
    - Storyline of a Pitch
    - Mindset & Pitching
    - Content & Pitching
    - Delivery & Pitching
    - Pitching in Person
    - Pitching Online (Zoom)

    Public Speaking
    - Keynote presentations (20+ min)
    - Speeches (10-20 min)
    - Short Talks (5-10 min)
    - School Presentation (3-30min)
    - Startup Pitches (2-5 min)
    - Storytelling in a Pitch
    - Pitching for Media
    - Pitching in Interviews

    Networking
    - Presenting in Events (1-3 min)
    - Elevator Pitches (30-60s)
    - TikTok Style (4-15s)
    - Networking 101
    - Slush Hack
    - Hack the Hack

    Present Yourself
    - Introduce Yourself as a Human
    - Present Your Professional Skills
    - Pitching in a Job Interviews
    - Pitching For Love
    - Pitching For a Promotion
    - Pitching For Friends

    Present Concepts
    - Brainstorming Ideas in Teams
    - School Presentations
    - Showcasing and Selling Art
    - Pitching Design Ideas
    - Pitching a Mobile Game Idea
    - Self Pitching (For you to you)

    Sell Products or Services
    - Demoing (Present Your Solution)
    - Pitching for Product Development
    - Product Sales Pitch
    - Service Sales Pitch
    - Pitching for marketing and selling
    - Pitching in Phone Calls

    Promote Online
    - Pitching on Websites
    - Pitching via Emails
    - Pitching in Videos
    - User Acquisition for Apps
    - User Acquisition for Mobile Games

    Present Your Company
    - For Customers
    - For Partners
    - For Investors
    - For Co-Founders
    - For Suppliers
    - For Advisors
    - For Mentors
    - For Any other Stakeholder

    Pitching For Funding
    - From Friends or Family
    - From Banks
    - From Investors
    - From Donations
    - From CrowdFunding
    - From Grants

    Pitching in Social Situations
    - Approaching Someone
    - Small Talk Before Pitching
    - Public Speaking
    - Networking
    - Storytelling in a Pitch
    - Pitching For Support

    Entrepreneurship
    - Entrepreneurial Mindset
    - Characteristics of an Entrepreneur
    - Minimum Viable Products (MVPs)
    - Design Thinking in Entrepreneurship
    - Agile Entrepreneurship
    - Lean Entrepreneurship
    - Business Model Workshops
    - Lean Canvas Workshops
    - Traction Development for Startups
    - Stakeholder Mapping

  • Here is a comprehensive sample, not a complete list of programs, where I coached and/or mentors.

    = I Designed / Created
    = I lead as a Program Director

    - Programme X - 150 Startups Online ✱✦
    - Startup Journey - Boost Turku ✱
    - Game Executive - AaltoENT ✱✦
    - Business Incubator - Startup Refugees ✦
    - Habitare Pitch Your Design ✱✦
    - Strategic Foresight - AaltoEE ✱✦
    - Stora Enso Accelerator Program ✱
    - Gamification Executive Program ✱✦
    - Innovation in Education 2016-2018 ✱✦
    - Sales Bootcamp - AaltoENT ✱✦
    - Startup Track Program
    - Future Female Leadership Program
    - Monetization in Games - IGDA ✱✦
    - Mindot Female Emporement Program
    - Aalto University Mentoring

  • Here is a comprehensive sample, not a complete list of Master Classes, that I designed and implemented.

    - Pitching for Funding
    - Pitching for Leaders
    - Pitching for CEOs
    - Pitching & Storytelling
    - Present Yourself as a Human
    - Present Yourself as a Professional
    - Pitching New Ideas
    - Pitching for a Pet (Kids Edition)
    - Pitching for a Pet (For Adults)
    - Storytelling in Games
    - Pitching for Ambassadors
    - Pitching for Public Officials
    - Pitching for Marketing Managers
    - Pitching for Sales Professionals
    - Pitching With Confidence
    - Empowering with Pitching
    - Pitching for Science Projects
    - CERN Pitching Masterclass
    - Self Pitching Masterclass

  • Here is a comprehensive sample, not a complete list of courses that I was invited to teach or lecture at.

    Aalto University

    - Startup Experience,
    - Aalto Global Brand Management
    - SCI Project Course
    - Game Business
    - IDBM Project
    - Creating Multidimensional Experiences
    - Aalto Ventures Program

    Haaga-Helia
    - Entrepreneurship in Hospitality
    - International Business Project
    - Ideation & Opportunities
    - Design Thinking in Hospitality
    - Prototyping Workshop

    Vidzeme
    - Presentation Skills at Innovation Course
    - Pitching at Project Management Course

    Executive Education
    - Innovation in Education - AaltoEE
    - Game Executive
    - Strategic Foresight
    - Pitching & Storytelling - WU
    - Sales Bootcamp
    - Stora Enso Accelerator

    Others
    - Fundraising & Pitching - SOAS
    - Pitch to Global Experts - GGW
    - Creative Skills 21 - CS21
    - Project Management - Arcada
    - Pitching with Confidence - LUT
    - Venture Pitching - Lahti Science Park

  • Hereis a comprehensive sample, not a complete list of incubators / accelerators, where I coached and/or mentored.

    - Startup Bootcamp Accelerator
    - Slush Impact Accelerator
    - Terkko Health Hub (MedTech)
    - XEdu Helsinki / Torino (EdTech)
    - Butterfly Effect Incubator
    - LUTES Program
    - TechBBQ - Denmark
    - Saigon Innovation - Ho Chi Minh City
    - Flat6Labs Accelerator - Beirut
    - Qatar Sports Tech Accelerator
    - Baltic Sandbox - Vilnius / Riga
    - Ignite by Aaltoes
    - Microsoft Flux - Helsinki

  • Here is a comprehensive sample, not a complete list of Hackathons, in which I was invited as a coach, mentor, or pitching competition judge.

    Junction - Hack the Future
    XAMK - Hack Your Pitch
    EUvs.Virus Hackathon / Matchaton
    Climathon Vilnius 2020
    Ice Innovation Festival - Kirkenes

  • Here is a comprehensive sample, not a complete list of events, conferences, festivals, or happenings, where I was invited as a coach, speaker, and/or mentor.

    - Idearace Business Idea Competition
    - PG Connects - Helsinki and London
    - PG Connects Digital
    - Monetization in Games - Helsinki
    - EEX - Keynote Speaker
    - Seedstars - Peer Group on Acquisition
    - Maria01 - Keynote Speaker
    - ICE Kirkenes - Keynote Speaker
    - CS21 - Keynote Speaker
    - Slush Impact Accelerator - Mentor
    - Junction Hackathon - Mentor
    - EUvsVirus - Host & Keynote Speaker
    - Ornamo Design Award - Event Host
    - Design Meet Business - Facilitator
    - Ship Startup Festival - Keynote Speaker
    - Oulu Game Lab - Pitching Judge
    - Hack Your Pitch, XAMK

  • 1) List of References

    2) Summary About Walid

  • - No Need To Spill it All - Ornamo
    - Master Your Pitch - Alter State
    - Pitch the Game - Game Dev Talks
    - Games and Ideas - Pixel Federation
    - Passion For Pitching - TTS Podcast
    - PG Connects Interview 2018 London

    (Work in Progress, I am collecting these at the moment, if you have an interview with me, please share it!)