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.
How to compress complex ideas
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You’ve been immersed in your venture for years, fine-tuning every detail until it’s a vivid HD image in your mind. What’s your move? What’s the optimal compression mechanism to convey the essence of your venture in a one-hour meeting? The rational instinct might say: "Pick the most relevant facts, present them objectively, and the value will be obvious." The problem? Value does not reside in facts. Value is an effect—it emerges from the interaction between objective facts and the deeper human context they live in. Separate facts from context, and you lose the value as well. The image projected becomes a shallow, two-dimensional symbol of your venture. So what can you do? Think of image compression algorithms: Start with values—your values. What are the values that YOU see in your venture? Identify them clearly, and then focus on sharing them as directly as you can. Only include facts that support these values—not the other way around. The clearer you understand your values, the closer the investor will see them as you do—no matter the bandwidth. 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.
I start every new funding round project by asking, 'Who is our target persona?' The first answer is always vague: 'A VC.'Push a little, and I’ll get: 'A US-based VC specializing in healthcare.'"No, no," I insist. "I need a specific name and position." Once I get it, I pull their profile photo and attach it to everything we create—a constant reminder to evaluate things 'through their eyes.' Founders are usually slightly apprehensive about that. I get it. The funding round is an extreme form of...
A few good questions came up this week in my practice and in response to a previous newsletter: Q: Should I pitch the same way to a top tier VC as to a 'friendly' investor? A: Trying to pitch differently to different audiences stretches you thin. 'Managing versions' in your head makes you self-conscious and less present in the moment. A good rule of thumb: aim to be the same person outside and inside any meeting room. The real question is: WHO IS that person? What do they want? What is their...
This is what you think you see This is what you actually see Our high-resolution vision is limited to a small central area of our visual field (~26 degrees), yet we don’t notice it. Why? Because our eyes are constantly moving, making whatever we focus on seem sharp. It tricks us into believing our entire field of vision is high-res, even though most of it is blurry. That bias occurs in our thinking as well Because we are able to think rationally in the areas we chose to focus lots of our...