Latest Episodes

Fundraise Differences by Stage In raising funding over the life of the startup you'll find there are differences in the fundraise at each stage. The goal at the Seed stage is to show you can sell the product. At this stage, the investors will look primarily at the team since…

Von Restorff Effect The Von Restorff effect is defined by Wikipedia as an item that sticks out and is more likely to be remembered than other items. The startup pitch that provides something unique will be remembered more than the others. To use the Von Restorff effect in your pitch…

What Type of Funding Should You Seek When raising funding consider the type of funding you should pursue. There are many types of funding such as equity funding including angels and venture capitalists. There are debt funding tools including loans and revenue-based funding. There are crowdfunding portals including rewards, equity,…

Zeigarnik Effect The Zeigarnik effect is defined by Wikipedia as uncompleted or interrupted tasks that are remembered better than completed ones. Investors will remember the pitch that leaves them hanging more easily than those with closure. The cliffhanger in a serialized show is remembered because the action is left unfinished.…

Verbatim Effect The Verbatim effect is defined by Wikipedia as the "gist" of what someone has said that is better remembered than the verbatim wording. Catchphrases and taglines will help investors remember your startup and what it does. Investors remember the essential meaning rather than the specific words you say…

Should You Raise Funding for Your Startup Before raising funding consider if you should raise funding for your startup. Ask why you need funding and see if you have a specific need for funding tied to growing the business.  If you have a business on a high growth trajectory, consider…

Testing Effect The testing effect is defined by Wikipedia as the fact that you more easily remember information you have read by rewriting it instead of rereading it. Investors remember what they recall from memory better than just hearing the pitch again. This comes from research showing that taking a…

Spacing Effect The spacing effect is defined by Wikipedia as information is better recalled if exposure to it is repeated over a long span of time rather than a short one. A series of updates is more effective in communicating your startup story as the investor will remember more than…

Humor Effect The humor effect is defined by Wikipedia as humorous items that are more easily remembered than non-humorous ones, which might be explained by the distinctiveness of humor, the increased cognitive processing time to understand the humor or the emotional arousal caused by the humor. Startup pitches with humor…

Context Effect Context effect is defined by Wikipedia as cognition and memory are dependent on context, such that out-of-context memories are more difficult to retrieve than in-context memories Investors need context in order to understand the startup offering such as the problem to be solved. In pitching founders include basic…