Communication for entrepreneurs

Entrepreneur’s ability to sell ideas is crucial to the success of their startup. The medium as well as the content should be mastered, using different versions of the same stories according to who the entrepreneur(s) are presenting or talking to. In this section we will look at the elevator pitch, crucial elements for an impactful presentation, as well as Q&A.

 

Elevator Pitch

 

Elevator pitches apply to everything:

• someone going on a date and selling himself/herself in the first minute to get the other person’s interest

• someone networking and trying to get a position

• someone selling your idea to investors or clients

 

What entrepreneur should want is to stand-out, that is to say not necessarily be the best but connect on a personal level that will diminish their imperfections and make them special for those imperfections. A famous French phrase states that everyone has the faults of its qualities. Entrepreneurs ability to sell their ideas will then not only be correlated with the content, but also the impact that will be made on the audience. It will be the same when selling a startup as a viable proposition. However, given how brief an elevator pitch is, approximately 1 minute and 150 to 200 words, it will have to address a lot in very little time. The traditional skeleton of an elevator pitch should:

 

• Start with the problem –> What is going in the current environment wrong that needs to get fixed. Could be done through a short story showing a real-life example.

 

• Then the solution -> It is the hook of  elevator pitch. How the startup is going to fix this problem and what is the startup’s unique value proposition.

 

• How the startup and its solution will solve the problem -> How does the solution works, and what will make it successful to address this issue and create profitable demand.

 

• A request: At the end of a pitch, entrepreneurs must ask for something whether a business card, to schedule a full presentation, a referral, a purchase, an approval… 

 

Robert Pagliarini, author for Business know-how identified 6 key questions an elevator pitch should address. They are all relevant to the skeleton just decribed:

 

• What is the product or service the startup is trying to sell?  It should be brief, easily understandable and not go into great detail. -> Part 2 of the skeleton

 

• Who is/are the perfect customers?  How large of a market? -> Should be identified in part 1

 

• How does the startup make money? What levels of profits are considered? It will be function of the startup's value proposition, strategy, industry, target market. -> Part 3

 

• Who is behind the company? Who are the founders, key partners that will make the startup not only credible? -> Part 3

 

• Who is the competition? Having competition is an advantage as it proves the business is relevant. -> Part 3

 

• What are the startup's competitive advantages? What makes this business special and attractive? If the market is known, entrepreneurs' job will be to demonstrate better execution and greater value proposition. -> Part 3

 

Crucial elements for impactful presentations

 

Beyond the content, which in music refers to the notes, what will make the presenter stand-out will be his/her ability to transform those notes into an appealing music. As just seen with the elevator pitch, the content can be narrowed down effectively to hit all the targets that will make a presentation relevant. However, passion shown through engagement, dedication, and energy, can often be decisive factors through greater appeal. Areas such as storytelling, appropriate vocabulary (whether presenting to customers or investors), tone of voice, or appropriate pauses should be mastered and rehearsed in order to establish a stronger connection with the audience.

 

However, style as well as content should be adapted to the audience. Knowing the audience is then crucial to anticipate what information and levers will allow the presenter to make an impactful presentation. One of the most crucial presentations in the context of a startup is to raise funds.  Guy Kawazaki, former Apple Marketing Executive and now famous speaker, created a set of rules for effective presentations to investors, even though arguing that he uses those rules for any presentation, whether to investors, potential partners, prospective clients etc.

 

The 10/20/30 rule does not intent to create uniformity among presentations made to investors, but rather to give a sense of what content has to be considered when preparing for such presentations:

 

• 10 slides

It is the optimal number of slides since the audience may start to get confused and bored by too much information provided in one presentation. Blaise Pascal a famous French author created a famous quote in Les Lettres Provinciales: “Forgive me for sending you this long letter. I did not have time to write you a short one”. Making a long and exhaustive presentation is very easy. Creating a short one that will hit all targets is more challenging but also much more effective. The 10 topics a presentation should present are:

1. Problem

2. Your solution

3. Business model

4. Underlying magic/technology

5. Marketing and sales

6. Competition

7. Team

8. Projections and milestones

9. Current status and timeline

10. Summary and call to action

 

• 20 minutes

Even if given a one hour slot, entrepreneurs should keep in mind that crucial information cannot be delivered during a full hour, or it will get diluted. Starting with twenty minutes will allow the presenter to get the true substance, or “substantifique moelle” as Rabelais would say. This will allow him/her, along with the 10 slides, to narrow down the core of what should be remembered from the presentation. Once done, the presenter will then be able to elaborate with compelling stories that will make the presentation more engaging. Moreover, this 20 minutes strategy will prevent any adverse event such as the projector not working, and allow more time for Q&A. Knowing the audience does not necessarily mean that the presenter will always get across all the elements his interlocutors are looking for. Q&As are then crucial to leave room to deepen these points.

 

• 30 point font

Jamming as many words as possible in a slide goes along with what has just been said, but not only. It is most of all a trap that will make the presenter lean on the presentation, leading hm/her to read rather than use key points and images as a way to keep the audience engaged. Worst, this will also shows that the presenter did not prepare enough. More text is not more convincing. This may be true at school but in real-life. However, if the presenter fears that the audience will not remember what you has been said during the presentation, he can give them a write-up at the end of the presentation covering in more details crucial points. Common rules in PowerPoint presentations also mention that every slide should have on average a maximum of 4 to 5 bullet points and 33 words.

 

Addressing Q&A

 

An aspect of presentation that often gets underestimated is Q&A. However, in the context of a startup, if not handled well, this exercise could become a nightmare, and if not, ruin presenter's efforts convincing his/her audience. Even when perfectly preparing for a presentation, presenters will always face questions that will feel irrelevant given what was covered during the presentation. It can be very frustrating as the presenter may realize that part of his/her audience does not get it. Worst, presenters may come accross people that will simply not believe in the startup's value proposition, which will translate into the type of questions they will ask. Presenter's role, if well prepared, will be to defuse the threat and leverage the opportunity to gain credibility to the rest of the audience.

 

Careers 360, an online education hub, identified 7 ways to master Q&A:

 

• Presenter should his/her audience, and anticipate in advance what they need and want to take away from the discussion.            

 

• Presenter should anticipate questions, covering all aspects of the startup and its environment. Q&A is an opportunity for the  audience to push further on the elements that it believes are important. For example, presenters should always keep more refined financial statements as exhibits when presenting to investors in order to address with better refinement potential questions. 

 

• Presenter should practice active listening, or in other words, let the questioner get through his/her entire question and try to understand the entire question before answering. Rephrasing the question can be a great way to ensure the presenter understands what the person is trying to understand. Also, if the question is not well framed, presenter should not hesitate to questions to make sure he understands what was meant.

 

• Presenter should analyze and articulate, and not rush to answer. Often, multiple questions will be hidden in one query. Presenter should then take more time to articulate a clear and a precise answer, or answers, which will hit all the points that need clarification. Also, presenter should not hesitate to use very simple vocabulary and real life examples that will engage the entire audience instead of only addressing one’s query.

 

• Presenter should check for acceptance to make sure that what is logical for him is also logical for his audience. This will also allow him to get confirmation that the question has actually been addressed. An easy way to do this is to ask: “Does this answer your question”?

 

• Presenter should not be afraid to say “I don’t know”, and not bluff his/her way out of the situation, as the stake would be the credibility built since the beginning of the presentation Acknowledging that you do not have the answer is ok. However, the presenter should let the person know that he/she will get back to him/her with an answer in a timely manner.

 

• Presenter should be a team-player, but should not substitute for others, when presenting with partners or cofounders. Even if the presenter believes he should have answered the question, he should not step into his/her co-presenters question, and not let his/her body language show frustration or disappointment. Accepting teammates’ errors should be normal as the presenter may have done some as well. A common rule is to never add to an answer that has already been addressed. What needs to be displayed, even with imperfect answers, is strong team spirit. 

 

Working on the startup and the specific elements that will make it successful is paramount because, as mentioned in the Ideation section, ideas without execution are worth nothing. However, communicating value is also paramount to sell a startup and its products. People make irrational decisions but seek rational justification. If the entrepreneur is able to engage, connect and convince, it will allow his/her startup to move forward more quickly, if not, move forward at all. To conclude on a softer note, here is a Glossary of Business Plan Terms commonly used in presentations by entrepreneurs created by Harvard Business Review.