Why ToBeWise™ for Startups

 Q: What is the rationale for a startup founder/CEO/team to study these quotations?

A: Studying quotations from successful venture capitalists and entrepreneurs can offer startup founders, CEOs, and teams several benefits:

• Wisdom and Insight: These quotations often encapsulate years, if not decades, of experience in just a few words. By studying them, founders can access distilled wisdom without having to go through the same trials and tribulations.

• Inspiration and Motivation: The entrepreneurial journey is fraught with challenges. Quotations from those who've been through it and succeeded can serve as a source of motivation, reminding founders of the bigger picture and the potential rewards of perseverance.

• Perspective: These quotes can provide a different perspective or approach to a problem that a startup might be facing. It might offer a new way to think about an issue or validate a strategy the team is considering.

• Avoiding Mistakes: Some of these quotations might highlight common pitfalls or mistakes in the startup world. By heeding these words, startups might be able to sidestep some of these common errors.

• Strategic Thinking: Many venture capitalists think in terms of market dynamics, competitive advantage, and long-term value creation. Their quotes can help founders align their strategies with these broader themes.

• Understanding Investor Mindset: If a startup is looking to raise funds, understanding how top VCs think can be invaluable. It can offer insights into what investors prioritize and value, which can be instrumental in pitching and negotiations.

• Networking and Building Relationships: Being familiar with the thoughts and philosophies of influential people in the startup ecosystem can be a conversation starter and can help in building relationships at networking events or conferences.

• Decision Making: The world of startups often involves making decisions under uncertainty. Some quotes emphasize the importance of decisive action, calculated risk-taking, and adaptability, which can guide founders in their decision-making processes.

• Cultural and Value Building: Quotations that resonate with a founder can be integrated into the company's culture and values. They can serve as guiding principles for the team and can be referred to during company meetings, strategy sessions, and onboarding new members.

• Continuous Learning: The tech and startup industry is one of rapid change and evolution. These quotes often reflect timeless principles but also emphasize the importance of continuous learning and adaptation. They can inspire founders to always remain curious and be on the lookout for new knowledge and insights.

In essence, these quotations are not just words but encapsulations of experiences, lessons, and philosophies. While not every quote will resonate with every founder, the right ones can serve as a compass, guiding startups through the myriad challenges they face.

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Pitch Deck: What Investors Want

Are you getting your point across? Probably not.

"What we have here is a failure to communicate"

That is one of the most popular lines in any movie ever made, because it represents one of the most challenging things for a human being: to communicate effectively, so that the other person gets what you mean, and wants to do what you are asking.

The problem with communication is 

the illusion it has been achieved.

GB Shaw

You know what you mean when you say certain words, but how do you know that the person you are talking to is understanding what you mean? Unfortunately, you can never know what another person is thinking, but you can improve the odds that they will get your point if you follow a few simple rules.

Let's assume that you are building a pitch deck which will be viewed by VCs so that you get the money you want. And that last part is wrong. The purpose of the pitch deck is to get the VC to say "Tell me more!"  That is it. Calls and meetings come later, and probably lots of meetings before the cash is released to you. So let's focus on the true purpose of the pitch deck: To get the VC to say "Tell me more!" Nothing more than that. 

Now that we know the purpose of the deck, all other decisions must be made in support of that central purpose. 

A pitch deck is a visual product that tells a story of a profitable investment opportunity.

So what should the visual product look like? Is there a universal  standard that describes what a pitch deck should look like? Of course there is, because VCs want their work to be easy.

Users spend most of their time on other sites. 

This means that users prefer your site to work 

the same way as all the other sites they already know.

Jakob's Law of Internet User Experience

This applies absolutely to pitch decks. 

VCs get tons of pitch decks.
They need to get through them in a hurry.
Anything out of the ordinary is going to slow them down.

VCs don't like to slow down, so they go on to the next deck.

So, over the years of dealing with pitch decks, a standard has been created and this standard will work in your favor.

The standard has been published by Ycombinator,
the accelerator that has worked with 2000+ startups
now worth over 100 billion dollars.
They should know, right?

Click Here for the Ycombinator seed pitch deck template.

It worked for AirBnB, and YouTube, and a bunch of others.
How can you argue with that?

Be creative with your product, your marketing, your recruiting...
but when it comes to raising money, go with what works.

Remember this Law:

Ninety percent of everything is garbage.

Sturgeon's Law

Investors expect to see garbage because that's what they usually get from startups. They see a lot of startups trying to be clever. Avoid cleverness when communicating with people who have the money you want. Show them you understand what they want to see.

For that, we need only to turn to one of the most famous quotes of all time: Occam's Razor.

Simpler explanations are, other things being equal,

generally better than more complex ones.

Among competing hypotheses,

the one that makes the fewest assumptions should be selected.

Pitch Deck Checklists: 

     Pitch Deck Building Blocks

     Read This Before Pitching To A Venture Capitalist

     How to Present So That People Will Hear