My business model is not designed to scale in the backed-by-Venture-Capital-money kind of way. It’s a choice. My growth will happen through my goal of working with 60 new clients through high touch services in 2020. And many of these clients will be founders and co-founders designed to scale with investors in mind.
Growing my business has always been about expanding my niche client base in a slow and steady way, thus I never thought I'd ever need to pitch in front of investors. Until I produced two seasons of my podcast on a shoestring budget.
Over the summer a VC fund for independent podcasts appeared out of thin air and I figured, "Sure, I'll give this a try." I needed backers to continue to make my show and my podcast is something has the potential to grow beyond my one-woman shop. It should reach larger audiences and have revenue streams outside of the traditional audio advertising model.
I made it through the VC fund application process and had a series of interviews and meetings, pitching my plans for the future of the podcast. Ultimately, the VC fund passed because of my current audience numbers and my overly ambitious P&L productions. Once I shrugged off the disappointment and feelings of failure, I saw the positive the experience: I 100% made it through those several rounds of conversation because I pitched my show, my path, and my plans through telling stories. The podcast is also really good. But that's what got me in the door. The rest of the pitch rounds were successful because of storytelling.
In the past three years I have worked with many start-up founders and co-founders during their Seed Rounds. I've worked them on their founder and company Origin Stories and coached them through their full investor pitch decks. My role as a storytelling teacher and coach is to stress the importance of story. It’s a high stakes communication tool that leads to deep engagement and a lasting impression.
If you listen to podcast like How I Built This, Start-Up and The Pitch, you know that the narrative arc is what gets you to subscribe the show and return for more. Sure, the businesses are cool but the podcasts are showcasing the humans (and the human experiences) that make it all happen.
Yes, you absolutely need stellar assumptions, Profit and Loss projections, and graphs galore. Make it clear and actionable when it comes to how your business will make the investors money. You need the narrative first and foremost. Show the investors the personal journey of building your company. That's what gets you the next meeting.
The more you integrate story into your investor pitch (and pitch deck), the more opportunities you'll have to continue the conversation.
And when things don't work out. It's not about changing or scrapping the narrative. It's about finding the investors who connect to who you are, what you do, the ones that align with your vision for growth and impact.
Here are three tips for perfecting your VC pitch during your Seed Round:
1. Start with a story
The opening of your pitch should feel like a live storytelling event. Walk out, take a breath, make eye contact with your audience and bring them right into the action of your story. This can be your current Origin Story of how you got to where you are now as founder (or co-founder) of your company. You can also share a story of a time where you experienced an identical problem to the problem you are solving for your customers. The story possibilities are a plenty. It's all about taking the leap to start with one.
2. Trust your mission, vision, and values
When you are confident in — and genuinely committed to — what you are building, how you're building it, and why, you will pitch with authenticity, honesty and integrity. Take some time to really articulate your Who, What, When, Where and Why — before you get to part of the pitch that covers the the How.
3. Practice
Before your next investor meeting, pitch event, or demo day make sure to map out the full narrative of your pitch and practice each story on its own. Once you work through each story for story's stake you can weave it back in to your pitch and tailor it to your the specific time constraints.
If you are an entrepreneur with no intention of pitching to investors (like I am with running TMAS), you still need to communicate with story. Share your Origin Story and strategize the personal narratives that will help you build deeper relationships with your audience. Having storytelling as a tool in your business toolkit will get you closer to the revenue growth that you desire (hello 60 new clients!) The right story, told the right way, will illuminate the value of you and your business to all who listen.
Are you looking to work on your story, align it with your mission, vision and values and do it in a space where you can experiment and practice? Work with us 1-on-1.