I share short, partly visual emails, crafted through my lens as a creative director 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, |
Creativity in Deep-Tech
I share short, partly visual emails, crafted through my lens as a creative director in deep-tech. Join me for insights on effective communication, marketing, design, psychology, and the philosophy of value.
There are certain words that, as soon as you utter them, investor attention spikes. These words are not what you’d expect. They’re not buzzwords like “artificial intelligence” or “cybersecurity.” Nor are they money words - ARR, traction, or revenue to date. The magic words are: “Imagine you are…” Founders think they need a big story so they build their pitches almost entirely from abstractions and generalizations: The Problem, The market, the unmet need, the solution - trying to extract value...
In the previous newsletter, I shared a talk I gave at Nest Catalyst about investor pitching. That first talk focused on the mindset behind pitching complex ideas. This second talk is more practical. It focuses on how to approach shaping your pitch - through principles and examples. The last five minutes are especially practical: an easy framework to help you craft your narrative. This was quite challenging. After years of doing this work, a lot of it has become intuitive. Breaking it down to...
If you've ever struggled to move people toward a complex new idea, or if you just want to finally understand what it is that I do (like my parents), Or you just feel like watching something interesting … I finally had the opportunity to record a talk I’ve been piecing together for years. I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of scientist-entrepreneurs at Nest Catalyst - a Bay Area program supporting life science founders building companies in the biotech ecosystem. The talk is visual,...