PITCH: Research Strategy Design Software
Upstream adaptive research design.
The PITCH difference
Patent Pending
Drawing from a decade of coaching early-stage researchers, the PITCH web platform introduces a new approach to early-stage innovation and research strategy design: structured, role-aware guidance that helps researchers, inventors, and stakeholders align on problems, value, and readiness—long before proposal writing begins. The innovation is a shared, intelligent innovation development platform that reduces rework, improves decision quality, and turns fragmented research development workflows into a coherent path from idea to impact.
Structured Research Design
Guides ideas through disciplined early design rather than jumping straight to writing.
Precision Problem Framing
Ensures the right problem is defined before solutions, funding, or commitments are pursued.
Continuous, Iterative Evaluation
Builds evaluation into development so gaps are addressed early, not discovered at review.
Adaptive AI-Guided Coaching
Uses AI to ask better questions that evolve as the idea matures and context changes.
Stakeholder-Driven Customization
Allows organizations and programs to define what “good” looks like—up front.
Intelligent Ecosystem Matchmaking
Connects ideas to relevant people, resources, and opportunities based on fit, not noise.
Request a Demo
Explore sample, fully interactive demos that illustrate how PITCH supports different innovation contexts. These examples are configurable starting points—stakeholders can adapt intake methods, rubrics, visibility, and coaching behavior to match their goals.
Note: The demos below are illustrative only. With the exception of the NSF CAREER coaching example, these scenarios are hypothetical and adapted from publicly available sources for demonstration purposes. They do not represent active funding opportunities.
You will need to login to PITCH to access these demos. Contact us with any questions or concerns.
NSF CAREER Coaching (for untenured faculty)
Guided, chat-based early-stage ideation adapted from the NSF CAREER program, using a Headframes cross-agency STEM rubric with evaluation shown to support iteration and improvement.
Angel Venture Solicitation (Demo for SMBs)
A hypothetical angel investor call designed to surface high-potential small-business innovations and demonstrate how PITCH supports value articulation and early investor screening.
Research Center Challenge (Demo)
An open, guided intake adapted from a publicly available research center announcement, designed to screen for alignment and readiness before staff engagement.
Limited Submission Intake & Scoring (Demo)
An upload-based limited submission workflow using a customized institutional rubric weighted to strategic priorities, with evaluation hidden from researchers and compiled for organizational administrators.
One software platform, three perspectives.
Winning Strategies for Researchers
Create a compelling and fundable narrative. Articulate value and impact.
Develop and refine a single core idea that carries forward across funders and programs
Define the problem clearly before writing a proposal or committing time
Receive structured, early feedback while the idea is still flexible
Validate feasibility and alignment early instead of at final review
Share one consistent project narrative with advisors, mentors, and decision-makers
Translation Strategies for Inventors
Begin with the End in Mind: Chart a Course for Translation and Proof Points.
Translate technical ideas into clear value propositions for different audiences
Define MVPs and use cases before pursuing funding or partnerships
Test assumptions about market, adoption, and impact early
Reuse and adapt core materials across commercialization pathways
Engage the right partners and programs based on fit, not guesswork
Solutions for Stakeholders
Guide innovators to proof points that matter for your pain points.
Customize boundary conditions that help promising ideas rise before presentation polish
Guide innovators toward the proof points that matter most to your priorities
Enable structured development and optional pre-review to strengthen ideas upstream
Identify readiness and alignment signals before formal review
Score ideas consistently across a shared evaluation framework
Reserve staff time for strategic judgment, not triage
Testimonials:
"The technical customization of the rubric and persona makes sense to me... It led to a technical pre-review that is so impressive."
"So far, it is great. I gave it my paper draft (pretty heavy) and the provisional patent application, and asked if it could suggest a demo experiment that could showcase the technology to investors. It did arrive at the exact plan I developed with my student. So far so good!"
"I just did a mock proposal with PITCH working through the development questions. That’s pretty cool. I wasn't planning for this, but I am now working to modify this proposal for submission."
"The feedback I received from the evaluation with the "Grump" persona was largely on target. The tool is looking for important factors."
" This seems like a great tool! The Grump evaluation largely agrees with what I would expect. I can see how the tool would be particularly helpful before circulating a draft to external experts. "
" That is very cool and nicely done! I wish I would have had it before I submitted, as I see a few ways the white paper would have been improved. "
Subscribe
Start with a low monthly membership, then scale usage as needed—stakeholder plans enable shared tokens across teams and programs.
Researcher
For early-stage innovators refining ideas and sharpening technical communication. Use tokens across all core modules: guided problem refinement, pitch development, rubric creation, and technical training of a customized evaluator. Ideal for students, postdocs, early faculty, and independent technical professionals.
Subscribe- Guided PITCH strategy refinement
- Adaptive Coaching
- Customized Iterative Evaluation
- Smart Matchmaking
- Monthly Token Allocation equivalent to ~5-pages of AI-generated content
- No access to advanced features for translation and project planning.
Inventor
Designed for innovators ready to develop, evaluate, and iterate toward a minimum viable product (MVP). Access advanced modules including project planning, evaluation tools, persona customization, and deeper technical refinement. Includes higher-volume usage for multi-stage coaching and complex workflows.
Subscribe- All Researcher Features, monthly token allocation (~25 pages) plus:
- Iterate and score outcome alignment with stakeholder performance parameters
- Assess readiness and risk to develop an implementation plan
- Project planning & milestones
- Risk-reward framing and risk assessment
- Access to DeepInsight Pro for in-depth problem customization
Stakeholder, starting at:
Built for investors, organizational leaders, and ecosystem partners. Full access plus the exclusive ability to post and manage organizational challenges and receive alerts when solutions pass customized pre-evaluation criteria. Ideal for R&D directors, innovation offices, tech scouts, incubators, and venture groups.
Subscribe- All Researcher and Inventor Features, plus:
- Post and refine institutional challenges (e.g. Limited Submission, Organizational Challenges)
- Set response thresholds with customization of evaluation criteria
- Shared organizational token pool (~100 pages) to allow user response to challenges
- Notifications and alerts upon responsive solutions
- Organizational dashboards with evaluative responses to challenges
Over $70 million in project funds raised for customers.
74% success rate in raising funds for large research initiatives.
Headframes are a Mindset
Headframes symbolize ingenuity and persistence of engineers and innovators. From R1s to a PUI to federal program management, Headframes Founder, Angela Lueking, Ph.D., has spent the past decade mentoring faculty and fostering partnerships. Today, Headframes draws from a network of disciplinary experts to provide informed mentoring, coaching, team building, and research strategy development.