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.
Who’s got the best problem?
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A question arrived by LinkedIn, that you might find useful (edited for brevity): Hi Sagi, I’m still an undergrad, but I am already facing a challenge with fundraising for our solar race car initiative. Could you share your most important insight from designing tech investment pitches? Here's the response: You might assume that question is "How can I be sure that this venture will succeed?” (Hence: how do I ensure ROI?) But this is merely a projection of your own mindset. In the investor’s world your venture is one of dozens they see every month, so their primary question is different: "Why is THIS problem worth solving MORE than all the others I could invest in?" At first, this feels counterintuitive. This question has little to do with your domain knowledge or technical expertise. Can you even answer it? Absolutely! But it takes a shift. It might take some practice. But hey, you’ve been a human far longer than you’ve been an engineer. I hope this provokes your thinking in a useful direction. You can also find some free resources on my site that can help: https://www.rechter.co/resources 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.
Here's a thought experiment. You are a VC. About to start yet another meeting with a startup that reached out. It’s your third today - your seventh this week. After a couple of minutes of small talk, one of the founders connects their laptop and hits “Present.” You lean back in your chair, ready to listen. Now pause. What do you hope happens next? What could the founder say or do that will make you go: "Yes! This is the one. Not the team from the previous meeting. Not one of the other 22 I've...
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...