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.
"Should I pitch differently to different audiences?" and more...
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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 vision for the startup? That's the prep work you truly need to do. Q: I have an unexpected investor meeting with zero time to prepare. How should I present? A: Trust your intuition. Think about it—only a tiny fraction of your decisions are conscious and rational. Almost all are handled by intuition. It’s an automation process you should utilize, not override, particularly when you have to act quickly. "There are undeniable examples where our intuitions deceive us, but that’s because most of the time they do such a very good job. I can show you an optical illusion so good you won’t believe it, but I’ve never heard anyone say, 'From now on, I’ll live my life with my eyes closed.’” Your intuition is already doing the heavy lifting—let it. Q: If not on my solution, what should I focus on in the pitch? A: Try this exercise: Imagine you're a VC investor. You've just finished a meeting with a founder working on Antigen-Drug Conjugates to combat autoimmune diseases (true story). You walk away thinking, "“That was a great meeting! There’s real potential here.” You share your thoughts with a colleague They ask: Why? What made you think that? Is it because you deeply understand the problem of immunosuppression and agree that Antigen-Drug Conjugates are the perfect solution to heal patients and generate substantial returns? Probably not. You don't have the expertise to make that judgment. So, What's your answer? Whatever it is - focus on that. Yours, |
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...
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...
A startup pitch is a unique situation. Investors walk into the room expecting, in just one hour, to recognize an opportunity that stretches years into the future and demands a massive commitment. They can only see the tip of the iceberg, expecting to be able to grasp what lies beneath. You might think your goal is to make it easy for them: mold your pitch to meet their expectation and fit neatly into their evaluation framework. But it's not 👇 👇 👇 Your goal is to defy expectations. Here's the...