How to pitch a startup (without sounding like cult member)

Tech

How to pitch a startup (without sounding like cult member)

Legendary tech founder and venture capitalist (VC) Brad Feld recently appeared on the CoinGeek Weekly Livestream.

Watching it got me wondering how VCs like Feld decide who gets funded in a space full of zealots and wannabe visionaries, each convinced theyve found the next big thing.

While I dont have a blockchain startup yet, I am an entrepreneur and have successfully raised capital before. I also know much about blockchain and regularly report on industry startups, raises, and deals.

Given all of that, allow me to present how I think any aspiring founder should pitch a blockchain startup without sounding like a cult member.

Dont pitch

Wait, what？ Isnt this article supposed to be about how to pitch？

Yes, but sometimes the best pitch doesn‘t sound like one. Don’t take this from me—take it from Feld. The Techstars and Foundry Group co-founder said exactly these words in a recent interview with Kurt Wuckert Jr.

Feld said the best way to connect with angel investors is to find something you‘re truly passionate about and make that come across. You can’t fake this—its a signal, and those attuned to receive it will.

When you operate from a place of passion, a certain type of investor will respond positively and will believe in your vision. They‘re the ones you want, so just go in there, be genuine, and explain why you do what you do and why it’s a problem worth solving.

Focus on solving problems

If you walk into the pitch talking about ZK Rollups or the virtues of Solana, you‘ve already lost half the room. Blockchain VCs probably already know the tech stack well, and those who don’t but are interested in dipping their toes will likely feel alienated.

Everyone in business understands problem-solving. After all, as Virgin Group Founder Richard Branson famously said, “To launch a business means successfully solving problems. To solve problems means listening.”

Keep the tech talk for later; even then, stay open-minded. Well get to the point about not worshipping the chain later.

Tell a story human beings can relate to

Do you know why Steve Jobs was able to turn Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) around when it almost hit the rocks？ He was a salesman, and he understood that keeping it simple and highlighting the problems the product solved would win.

Jobs cut the majority of Apple products, focused on a few, and marketed them brilliantly. Having a great piece of tech helps, but if the buyer doesn‘t understand what it does for them, they won’t care.

Think of a VC as a potential buyer. You are trying to help them solve a problem—getting a return on capital. To do that, they need to understand what your product does and what problem it solves.

Imagine the average VC sees 50-100 decks a week. What do you think will stand out more—a deck about L2s, transaction per second (TPS), and the white paper of the chain you‘re building on, or a story about how you’re building the Stripe for crypto payroll？

To demonstrate the point, I asked ChatGPT how Steve Jobs would pitch a startup focused on micropayments.

I think you get the point—its the vision that seals the deal. The details can come later.

At the same time, keep it grounded

The vision gets you in the door, but once you‘re out of the Shark Tank, you need some meat on the bones. Once they’re hooked, you need to show why it works and why youre the one to make it work.

A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) with some existing customers and feedback is good. A simple demo beats 20 slides. Having a handful of users, some feedback, and data is even better.

A deck showing how you processed 7,000 micropayments in the first three months and detailing stats like average creator earnings, fees, and successful settlement rates shows you arent just a visionary; you have thought this through enough to get something up and running.

While the investor may believe in your vision, they‘ll also want to know why you are the right person to make this work. As all entrepreneurs know, if you’ve spotted a problem, its highly likely someone else has, too.

You‘re going to have some competition, so why should they back you over them？ Knowing who your competitors are and why you think you’ll beat them lends a lot of credibility.

Oh, and don‘t forget to show you’ve done some research into regulations and the law. Thats something all VCs are increasingly concerned with these days.

Dont be wedded to any given blockchain

If you like Solana but a VC wants to give you half a million dollars to build on BSV, are you going to refuse it on principle？ Sure, you might have done your homework, but you can bet someone whos about to hand over that sort of check has, too. They might be open to changing their minds if you can convince them (later), but the point is you should keep an open mind.

The blockchain industry is tribal to the point of absurdity, and thats partly because the incentives are to preach the value of your chain to make the value of your coins go up.

Being dead set on a given blockchain can be off-putting for two reasons: it shows youre more concerned with theory and abstraction rather than execution, but it also means you may not be able to collaborate well. Being adaptable, pragmatic, and working well with others is likely more appealing to a VC than being right.

Wrapping it all up

Now you know how to pitch your blockchain startup without sounding like a cultist. Weve all been guilty of it in the past, but that era is over. We now need to move forward together toward success.

Communicate passion, focus on solutions, tell a story, show some evidence you‘ve thought it out, and stay open-minded if the VC wants to explore taking things in a slightly different direction, and you’ll have a better chance than most of securing an investment.