Scaling Nerds | Startup PR, Thought Leadership and Storytelling for Startup Founders

Imagine you are about to perform a three-minute startup pitch. You stand on stage, the countdown timer ticking. Precious seconds go by, and as you start talking about your business, you explain who you are. You mention the team — beep, beep — the time is up. What. Already. Well, that has happened to a lot of founders.I can guarantee you, nailing a three-minute stage pitch is not easy, and it’s not something that most of us can just wing. Some of the best practices for preparing a long presentation actually do not apply to a three-minute stage pitch and can even be harmful.Why? Because the margin of error is so thin.In this episode, you’ll find out how many words and sentences you can actually fit into a three-minute pitch, what the four elements are that you absolutely have to include, and how you can end your pitch on a powerful note. The interesting thing is, it’s easier to turn a three-minute pitch into a five-minute or eight-minute pitch than the other way around.It’s better to start with a short version and then add to it, whereas cutting content is really, really tough. So whatever you take away from today, this is the essence of your pitch.Our lovely guest today is David Beckett. David is an international pitch coach who has trained over 2,900 startups and scaleups to win over 490 million in investment. David is also the creator of the Pitch Canvas and author of the books Pitch to Win and Blue Moon Pitch. It was really a blast to talk to him, and I hope you’ll enjoy the conversation as much as I did.Scaling Nerds helps science and tech founders master the essential communication skills of startup growth so you can fundraise easier, attract customers, and scale faster. I’m your host, Marina Schmidt, a communications advisor for founders specialized in AgriFood, biotech, and materials — or put differently, I scale nerds.LinksConnect with David Becketthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbeckettpresentationcoach/Best3Minuteshttps://best3minutes.com/The Pitch Canvashttps://best3minutes.com/the-pitch-canvas/Connect with the host:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidt-marina/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected] use some help with your comms? Check out ⁠⁠⁠https://www.wearekinetik.com/#StartupPitchTraining#ThreeMinutePitch#FounderFundraising#InvestorPitchTips#PitchCoachInsights#StartupCommunication#DeepTechFounders#ScienceTechStartups#PitchToWin#PitchCanvasFramework#ScalingNerdsPodcast#StartupGrowthStrategies#StartupSEO#PodcastSEO#PodcastShowNotes#FounderSkills#PitchStructure#StagePitchPreparation#EntrepreneurAdvice

Okay, this was a really, really great episode. Today I'm helping another founder with a life pitch fix, and you are really in for a treat because on the one hand, Strong by Form, the company of today, is absolutely fascinating. And on the other hand, we are also going to be covering so many helpful concepts that will help you improve your pitch and your communication, all while working on a really interesting case study.So to start off, I will just pitch you Strong by Form how I pitch it to friends or random people, right? If you think of a healthy tree, imagine a healthy tree with long branches. It is really fascinating how resilient trees can be, right? Surviving wind and storm. How is that possible? It is actually partially due to the way the fibers of the wood align. Now Strong by Form saw an opportunity here and decided to analyze this and learn from the natural fiber structure of trees to create wood that is as strong as steel or concrete.Now their super wood can be used as the cover, the external layer of cars. Imagine a Mercedes or a BMW just covered with a layer of wood on the outside.Super resilient, but it could also cover skyscrapers or replace the concrete slabs used within skyscrapers. Andreas Mitnick, the founder and CEO of Strong by Form, is, in my humble opinion, sitting on a gold mine of storytelling that can sometimes be pretty hard to grasp as the founder, right? Because there is a German saying: you don’t see the forest due to too many trees.Well, that is exactly what is going on in this episode. You get to witness the process of rediscovering the forest, the big picture, as we, layer by layer, reshape the pitch of Strong by Form from the ground up. You will find that Andre’s excitement and energy truly build throughout the episode.So I would say it really is worth listening until the end.LinksConnect with Andres Mitnikhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/andres-mitnik/Check out Strong By Formhttps://www.strongbyform.com/Connect with the host:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidt-marina/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected] use some help with your comms? Check out ⁠⁠⁠https://www.wearekinetik.com/⁠Podcast KeywordsScaling Nerds, startup communications, founder communication, science and tech founders, deep tech startups, VC-backed growth, startup fundraising, investor decks, startup storytelling, founder branding, startup marketing, venture capital, thought leadership, media strategy, technical founders, startup growthEpisode keywordsstartup pitch example, Series A pitch example, pitch deck feedback, live pitch coaching, how to pitch investors, startup storytelling example, deep tech pitch, climate tech startup pitch, materials startup, sustainable materials innovation, biomimicry startup, wood stronger than steel, founder pitch training, investor presentation tips, pitch deck strategy, startup communication skills, VC pitch preparation, real startup case study, Andres Mitnik interview, Strong by Form pitch.

 Early-stage founders spend years learning how to fundraise from venture capitalists.But very few ever look beyond the VC sitting across the table.Just like founders need to fundraise from VCs, VCs need to fundraise from limited partners.Who are the guys who give VCs the molah-molah?What are the hidden incentives?And how those dynamics quietly shape fundraising, timing, and pressure.“Everyone thinks they’re pitching one person. They’re not.”Ariel Barack is a Senior Partner and the Chief Executive of Ordway Selections, a private investment office investing primarily in food and agriculture, health, blockchains, and digital assets.As Einstein said, “You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”Well, today we will look at the rules of the game, so you can play better than anyone else.This was a very interesting conversation, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.LinksConnect with Ariel Barackhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/arielbarack/Mentioned: Anterra Capitalhttps://anterracapital.com/Connect with the host:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidt-marina/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected] use some help with your comms? Check out ⁠⁠https://www.wearekinetik.com/

Find out how to solve the top 3 issues you may face in corporate sales: .1 not understanding the process, 2. the sale taking way too long, 3. getting ghosted or declined and not knowing why.An absolute must-watch episode for any founder currently hustling for big client deals. LinksConnect with Ben Kimura-Gross:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-k-g/Check out Catalynehttps://www.thecatalyne.com/https://www.thecatalyne.com/Connect with the host:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidt-marina/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected] use some help with your comms? Check out ⁠⁠https://www.wearekinetik.com/Episode Keywordscorporate sales strategy, B2B startup sales, enterprise sales for startups, how to close corporate deals, selling to large companies, startup pilots vs paid contracts, why pilots fail, avoiding getting ghosted in sales, long sales cycle solutions, procurement process explained, selling into corporates, founder led sales, startup business development, enterprise deal negotiation, corporate innovation programs, startup partnership strategy, revenue strategy for startups, Ben Kimura Gross interview, Catalyne startup sales, closing big clients fast.Podcast KeywordsScaling Nerds, startup communications, founder communication, science and tech founders, deep tech startups, VC-backed growth, startup fundraising, investor decks, startup storytelling, founder branding, startup marketing, venture capital, thought leadership, media strategy, technical founders, startup growth.

 Thought leadership. It's a big topic. You may know of Infarm, the vertical farming company that raised $600 Million before going bust after the Ukraine war drove up energy prices and made their business collapse.Regarding their operations can say all you want, the CEO of Infarm was an exceptional fundraiser. But how did he do it?One of my close friends worked for infarm and thats how I found out that they actually hired a full-time employee in charge of supporting the founders with thought leadership.Raising funds requires investors trusting the team, especially the founders. To me, thought leadership is about scaling yourself. Instead of only relying on one-on-one introductions you create ways for people to get to know you and what you are up to.But well... how?Lets explore this in the second half of this conversation with Sarah Rall, Director of Communications at Cherry Ventures.LinksConnect with Sarah Rall:⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahrall/⁠Check out Cherry Ventures⁠https://cherry.vc/⁠Connect with the host:⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidt-marina/⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected] use some help with your comms? Check out ⁠https://www.wearekinetik.com/Episode Keywordsfounder thought leadership, startup personal branding, VC backed founders, how to build credibility as a founder, investor trust building, startup media strategy, LinkedIn strategy for founders, founder visibility strategy, raising venture capital, startup reputation management, executive positioning, venture capital communications, Cherry Ventures, Sarah Rall interview, scaling founder influence, startup storytelling strategy, PR for startups, founder brand building, startup communications podcastPodcast KeywordsScaling Nerds, startup communications, founder communication, science and tech founders, deep tech startups, VC-backed growth, startup fundraising, investor decks, startup storytelling, founder branding, startup marketing, venture capital, thought leadership, media strategy, technical founders, startup growth.