My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
It's better to have a pitch style that some investors love and others hate, rather than one that everyone finds merely acceptable.
The Reasoning
Fundraising is about finding the right investor match, not appealing to everyone. Strong opinions and personality help you attract investors who get excited about your vision while filtering out those who wouldn't be good partners anyway.
What Needs to Be True
- Your polarizing elements reflect authentic company culture
- The controversial aspects relate to business strategy not personality flaws
- Enough investors exist in your target market who would love your approach
- You can afford to turn off some potential investors
- Your business fundamentals are strong enough to support bold positioning
Counterargument
Safe, professional presentations work better because they don't create unnecessary friction. Why risk turning off potential investors over style preferences?
What Would Change This View
Data showing that neutral, inoffensive pitch styles actually lead to higher fundraising success rates and better investor relationships.
Implications for Builders
Don't sanitize your personality or company culture in pitches
Include bold statements that reflect your business philosophy
Use controversial but defensible positioning statements
Accept that some investors won't connect with your style
Focus on attracting investors who truly believe in your approach
Example Application
“Sleep app founders write 'instead of trying to get people to play 8 hours of Candy Crush per day, we decided to help everyone get better sleep' - a shot at gaming companies that some gaming-focused investors might not appreciate, but attracts health-focused investors who share their values.”
Related Knowledge
Save Good News for the End
Take 15% of your good news and hold it back until the final slides to create a positive lasting impression and additional momentum.
StudyEars
Noise pollution reduces children's working memory by 23% and complex memory by 11%, significantly impacting learning and
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The Investor Pitch Narrative Arc
A 16-slide sequence that builds investor confidence by answering their core questions in logical order: Are you credible?
Lead With Credibility Rule
When you have meaningful accomplishments, put them as slide 2 to establish that you're worth listening to before diving into your business details.
Create a problem slide that makes investors immediately understand the scale and urgency of what you're solving
Investor reads your problem slide and thinks 'wow, this affects way more people than I realized and I can see why they c