What moves people isn't charisma, but conviction. Backable people earnestly believe in what they're saying, and they simply let that belief shine through whatever style feels most natural. If you don't truly believe in what you're saying, there is no slide fancy enough, no hand gesture compelling enough, to save you. If you want to convince others, you must convince yourself first.

Advice from Reid Hoffman: "There will be one to three issues that are potentially problematic for your financing. Address them head on [...] You have the most attention from investors in the first few minutes. Most investors arrive with questions, and if you proactively show you understand their principal concerns, you earn their attention for the rest of the pitch."

Tip: Come up with 3 key objections to your pitch and write out the responses in full sentences

"Emotional runway" = "the energy we have left to keep pushing a new idea forward"

In your pitch, try telling a story about one person — make it emotional — and then give a sense of the numbers (i.e. market size)

(Jen Rubio did this, so did Michael Dubin)

Russ Heddleston, CEO of DocSend, analyzed pitch deck data and found that most successful decks led with a story, not the numbers

If the fear of betting on the wrong idea is twice as powerful as the pleasure of betting on the right idea, then we can't neutralize the fear of losing with the pleasure of winning. We can only neutralize the fear of losing with...the fear of losing. Enter FOMO, the fear of missing out. For backers, the only thing equally powerful to missing is...missing out.

"Turn outsiders into insiders" → turn them into advocates because "we tend to fight the hardest for ideas for which we feel some sense of ownership"

Think through the details but share the high-level theme of what it could be and involve them in helping you think through some of the details

Pitch them "the story of us", i.e. why they are the right person to help you bridge the gap between where the company is and what it could be

Practice your pitch with friends

• Be willing to risk short-term embarrassment
• Don't ask, "What do you think?"
• Ask them to repeat the idea back to you → helps you understand if you're clear & helps you find new ways to message

Try to show, not just tell — people are more confident pitching in "huddle mode" vs. presentation mode

We speak more confidently when we're pitching someone else — what if you weren't representing yourself but your customer?

Find the passionate few

Express what you feel inspired by, not what you think they want to hear

Don't worry about rejection; there are always more investors out there