Storytelling for Startups
Helping startups raise capital & recruit talent.
Being able to tell your story effectively for the many different audiences you will encounter as a startup founder is key. But succeeding with these two audiences first will decide whether you even start the race.
How to get funding for your startup & recruit and retain talent
If your only knowledge of the startup world and raising money for startups came from monitoring hashtags and accelerators on Twitter, you could fool yourself that raising money is easy.
- It isn't.
You could also be fooled into thinking that attracting, retaining and motivating all those ambitious "bright young things", the engineers, designers and product managers you desperately need, is easy.
- It isn't.
Startup Leadership IS Storytelling
Being able to tell your story effectively for the many different audiences you will encounter as a startup founder is key. But succeeding with these two audiences first will decide whether you even start the race.
If you can't persuade people to believe in you and invest either their time (their career) or their money in you and your idea - you're just another person in a bar or a cafe with a laptop and a shiny CEO business card.
Raising Money
- turning people into investors
Getting people to invest in you, your dream and your idea is tough. The more money you want to raise, the harder it is. There are lots of Angel investors around in the early stages who will put up tens of thousands - but even they are picky. You know that already - you've probably used up all of the easy ones plus all your family and friends "investors" already. Maybe that is why you're reading this!
The investor pyramid starts getting much steeper between 4 million and 10 million and by the time you are at series C the number of investors has shrunk and their scrutiny has got exponentially tougher. Are you good enough?
I've worked with some cool and focused investment banks in the past, and the twin drivers of Fear and Greed underpinned much of our work - particularly when selling to Trade Buyers in industries with a small number of players because the barriers to entry are so high. But that is for established companies in finite markets.
Over the last 7 or 8 years, I have learnt something very different about startup investors. While they REALLY like making money, what they want much, much more is NOT losing money. You could say their FOMO is less than their FOLM. They also have so much choice; it's hard for them not to think - there will be something better tomorrow. Tinder for Investor's anyone? Why invest today? There may be a better opportunity for them tomorrow.
So imagine you've found a potential investor. You've done your due diligence on them (they appear to have money, they'll talk to you, and their reputation is ok) and you've worked on your team, and you've worked on, or are working on, your pitch deck. You might have even done proper investor research and found one interested in your sector. You may have even rehearsed your pitch in front of an early investor or a friend or someone else. Whoop whoop! That's great. As a start.
But are you "good enough"?
Good enough to be offered a Term Sheet?
The thing is with investors; they get pitched by hundreds or thousands and speak to and meet hundreds of potential investments every year. But they only invest in a handful. They are very polite and friendly to everyone - because circumstances may change and you may secure a significant lead investor or a breakthrough FDA approval or a geographical license or secure a closed market … . You might become more attractive, and if so, they want you to like and remember them and get them involved. Why you? Why now?
So they feign interest and string you along because your business MAY become better or you may become better or join or start something else. Or you may become more desperate and offer them a better deal. They even ask you up-front about your burn rate!
But until you have a General Partner who wants to get serious, to introduce you to the other GPs…. you're nowhere. And even then, until they offer you a Term Sheet, a real one with nice numbers you can live with on it, you're still nowhere.
A pitch deck is a part of your To-Do list. But how can you even start that process if you don't have your story straight? Knowing and telling your story is priority #1.
I help startups get their stories straight, then talk through what to put into, or leave out of, their pitch deck, help them deliver their stories and prepare for the probing questions that are correctly part of the process and the due diligence.
Motivating Your Team
- turning people into Believers
An increasingly established Silicon Valley startup came to me, not to help them fundraise like some Bay Area startups do, but to develop the storytelling skills of their team globally.
The founders couldn't give all the talks they were being invited to give in the U.S., let alone globally or even within the U.S. Plus they had a growing company to run, business development and growth to manage and they need to dedicate time to clients and investors. But these talks are important. These talks are fantastic for recruitment as job seekers often weigh up the big names vs smaller and potentially more exciting companies to join.
Getting your team to give these talks is also great for the retention and motivation of key staff. They learn something new and spend some time out of the office and are reminded of why they joined you. While identifying and articulating and telling why they chose this company, they almost always become even more engaged in the company and have a heightened sense of ownership. They are often much more authentic and real ambassadors for you.
YOU are our best storyteller - universally, all our people have loved working with you.
Startup client
Silicon Valley
Some of the storytelling services I offer Startups
If you need help:
…. talk to me and let’s see where I can help.
Maybe, if I like the concept and your story so far, you can persuade me to work for you partially for equity*. Try me!
Also…you should ALL buy and read Ben Horowitz's amazing book: "What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture."
The Andreassen Horowitz podcast is also a vast and super useful resource.
My Experience working with Founders of Startups & Leaders of Established Businesses
I've been a storytelling coach for 26 years - working with politicians, campaigns, business leaders, startups and non-profits. I help leaders stop underselling themselves and their organisations by helping them identify, articulate and tell their story better.
I have also been fortunate enough to coach over 300 speakers at TEDMED where I have been a TEDMED Speaker Coach since 2014. Many of those incredibly interesting speakers of have now been featured on TED.com too with millions of views.
I have helped startups secure funding - and not just any old funding, but serious cash injections from premier league partners which made a huge impact on them - way beyond the initial cash investment.
A quick chat with Jag Singh, Europe's most active angel investor, and current Managing Director of Techstars Berlin on all things startup.
I worked with one of the first 100 employees at that German Startup called SAP when they only had one building - before they were on the DAX. I coached at SAP for four years, helped coach some of their B.D. team, worked with some of their J.V.s, did some work for their Head of Marketing and ran intercultural communications courses.
I have had immense fun talking with startup founders about their 'why' and how storytelling is so crucial at StartX.com - (Stanford's in-house startup accelerator), at TechStars (Berlin), prepped a startup for a TechCrunch final and even prepped someone for SharkTank!
As the CEO of a startup, you are constantly pushing the boundaries and taking calculated risks to grow your company. There is so much to do! The journey of a startup CEO is not for the faint of heart, it's a rollercoaster of emotions, with high highs and low lows - and lots of hard work in-between. Lots. Most of it is nothing like the Startup stories that Instagram shows us.
One of the biggest challenges faced by a Startup CEO is the uncertainty that comes with building something from scratch. The sheer number of unknowns and moving parts and the need to navigate them, can be overwhelming. Another brain-freezing challenge is the limited resources that come with being a startup. So much to do but the hand-brake is on. Startup CEOs have to make every penny or cent and every hire and expense count - how to do more with less.
Being a startup CEO isn't easy - but what an exciting and fulfilling journey! I'm not just a storytelling and speaker coach - I have run businesses and been the adviser and support leaders of established businesses and startups for years. Maybe I can guide you too?
Want to work on your story?
Time is short for us both, and results are all we care about. Book a free 15-minute slot with me via Calendly (you should use it too - it saves loads of time!) and tell me about your Startup. We can then talk by phone or Zoom.
Much of my storytelling coaching is delivered virtually via Zoom, WhatsApp, Google Hangouts, etc. Virtual storytelling coaching is quick, convenient, saves travel time and costs - and it means we can work for a few hours a week without disturbing the day job. Plus it's environmentally sound.
(Yay. Cue Self-righteous whooping etc.)
Startup storytelling coach, Peter Botting
A great graphic - 'How Startup Funding Works'
...* I also accept cash and credit cards! If you really want your startup to stand out, let's chat.