Whether you’re a freelancer, a small design studio, or a well-established agency, pitch invitations are a regular occurrence. Companies want fresh perspectives on strategy and design, so they turn to pitching as their go-to method. At first, it’s exciting—you’ve been invited to work on an amazing project. You read the dense brief, analyze the needs, and start envisioning solutions. Then comes the catch: you’ll only get paid if your idea wins, or worse, the proposed budget bar