I explore this question in my short, partly visual emails, crafted through my lens as a pitch designer in deep-tech. Join me for insights on effective communication, marketing, design, psychology, and the philosophy of value.
Hard facts or big dreams?
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Crafting the right balance for your pitch can be challenging. One extreme is pure facts People on this extreme pitch like they're in court, trying to make their argument watertight, fearing any gap will damage their credibility. The downside? This approach demands a lot from the listener, who must catch up with all the details. More importantly, it overlooks the core issue: value. Value isn’t directly inferred from facts. I could give you thousands of facts about a chair, and you still might not see its value to you. The other extreme is selling a dream Focusing entirely on value, often at the cost of accuracy. This approach comes off as 'salesy' and lacks credibility because you can't know everyone's dream. Furthermore, value is not communicated directly; it is inferred. If a random caller said they had the product of your dreams, you'd hang up. So, is there a middle ground? Think of your pitch as sharing your vision— I mean that technically. Communicate the future AS YOU SEE IT, with both clear and uncertain aspects. This vision, however incomplete, is what drives YOU to keep investing your finite time and energy. It’s the purest source of truth for whatever value is worth communicating. Compared to that, anything else is guesswork. Yours, Sagi |
What makes people see value in a thing?
I explore this question in my short, partly visual emails, crafted through my lens as a pitch designer in deep-tech. Join me for insights on effective communication, marketing, design, psychology, and the philosophy of value.
If you’re scientifically minded, shouldn’t you question the entire premise of pitching? The idea that you are supposed to TALK people into investing in you. It’s not obvious to me that humans work that way. Don’t get me wrong, language is useful. It made us what we are as a species. But it’s also just noises you make with your mouth. It costs nothing and our subconscious knows it. Look at nature: A female wont "invest" in a mate unless he can present an impressive peacock tail or large set of...
If pitching feels like hard work, you’re probably trying to make investors agree with your solution. That’s not the optimal way to frame your pitch. Though we often ignore that fact - investors don’t evaluate your solution in isolation; they see many startups. That means that subconsciously, they’re constantly making comparisons. Here’s the thing Being selected is not the same as being agreed with. So, you need to rethink your framing: Imagine that, for the investor, each startup meeting is...
Two ways to convey 'the problem' in a frontal presentation Option 1 Option 2 Option 2 FEELS better. (Hit 'reply' and tell me if you disagree) The question is why? What makes it a better communication? The graphics are fancier, but that's only the expression of deeper differences in approach.For example: 1. General vs Situation-Specific. Option 1 creates a reading experience, unadjusted for a frontal presentation.Option 2 gives the speaker room to talk by keeping text minimal, making it easier...