The other day I attended a big investor event.The room was packed with 250 investors, scanning for opportunities.A founder walks on stage and says:
"We are not raising capital at the moment but we would love more customers. Please scan our QR code."
The room fell silent.
In that moment, they...
A few years ago, I coached a group of promising startups preparing for a big pitch event. They had polished their decks, practiced their stories, and walked into the venue radiating confidence. The room was packed with 150 curious investors. The energy was electric.
But as I scanned the room...
When I worked at Ericsson, my main job was to present the company’s solutions to VIPs such as CxOs, industry leaders, governments, investors, and even royalty.Yes, I did over 5000 presentations in 5 years. That number sounds wild, but when you're doing event after event, it adds up pretty fa...
No one will ever give you money after just a short pitch.You don’t raise money in the pitch. Never!
So, let’s get that out of the way already from the start.
A lot of founders think if they just “nail the pitch,” they’ve done the hard part. But here’s what I tell every startup I coach: the...
Todays newsletter is a bit longer than my usual ones, because I'm very passionate about it. Bare with me. It will save you a LOT of time later.
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The other day, I sat down with a founder for a pitch coaching session. He showed up...
It all started when I coached a prestigious international accelerator and the CEO wrote a post about the session and ended with the hashtag #perfectpitch.
For me, that was mind-blowing – that he wrote that about me.He saw firsthand that I helped startups create and deliver a perfect pitch.
S...
Last week I wrote about why AI can’t replace you in a pitch - and that is because AI can’t replicate your authenticity (yet...).For this week, my audience asked me to do the natural follow-up...: How to start sounding like the real you.
Even experienced founders fall into the trap:
“We’re ex...
A few weeks ago, a founder I’d coached a few years back attended one of my pitch training sessions again. Her pitch sounded flawless. She had sharp copy, smooth transitions, and powerful delivery. But something felt off.
Within seconds, it was obvious: there was no authenticity. The pitch so...
One of the greatest joys in my work is watching a founder's eyes light up when they finally articulate what they're building with crystal clarity. To see them go from scattered, super technical, illogical pitches to sharp, clear, and magnetic pitches.
And the tool that gets them there? Surpr...
I used to dread networking.Not because I didn’t believe in it - because I was too focused on getting it “right.”
Every room felt like a challenge. Was I interesting enough? Helpful enough? Smart enough?
Here’s what I learned: Trying to be impressive kills authentic connection. And when you k...
After 17 years and 1100+ startup pitches, here’s one truth I keep coming back to: using industry-specific jargon in your pitch is a gamble—and it’s rarely worth it.
Founders often use it to sound smart, credible, or “on the inside.” But the moment you say something like “we use a zero-knowled...
The most expensive business lesson I've learned is that ignoring your intuition or gut feeling will always cost you—once in immediate business impact, and again in lost time, energy, and direction. Every time I've abandoned my instincts in favor of "expert advice," I've watched my vision disso...
