The Successful Pitch with John Livesay

Now displaying: October, 2016

Fearless Branding, Robert Friedman | TSP083 0

Oct 31, 2016

Episode Summary

Robert Friedman is the Owner of Fearless Branding, and has five core questions that help narrow down your focus and get more specific with your brand. When you close many doors, you can keep the right doors open! Find out what his five core questions are on this week's episode and get started developing the right brand image for your company today!

What Was Covered

03:50 - Branding is everything!
04:00 - Why did Robert start his company, Fearless Branding?
06:15 - Fearless brands try not to be all things to all people.
07:00 - At first, Fearless Branding was just a name, but now its meaning is fully integrated into the company.
07:15 - So, what does it mean to be fearless when you're building a brand?
08:40 - When you're willing to close doors, you will get more opportunities and be able to stand out in your market.
09:00 - Who you say no to is just as an important as who you say yes to.
11:15 - We have to make a decision on where we draw the line.
11:55 - Keep in mind that branding is a tool that supports your business objectives.
13:45 - How does Robert help entrepreneurs position themselves effectively in front of an investor or customer?
16:40 - As a mental test to see whether your company is unique, put your competitor's name into your pitch. If the pitch is still true, it's a bad sign!
21:00 - Who do you help?
27:50 - Robert talks about Apple's branding.
32:35 - Robert recommends The Hero and the Outlaw, by Carol Pearson and Margaret Mark.
34:25 - Don't forget to download the fearless manifesto.

Tweetables

Be more precise to differentiate yourself
Close many doors so you can keep right doors open
Consumers love brands that fearlessly express their unique essence
Deep resonance requires fearlessness

Links Mentioned

J Robinett Enterprises
John Livesay Funding Strategist
Fearless Branding Website
The Hero and the Outlaw. by Carol Pearson and Margaret Mark
Let's Get Real Or Let's Not Play, by Mahan Khalsa

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Crack The Funding Code!

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Brooklyn VC shares Pitch Secrets, Charlie O'Donnell | TSP082 0

Oct 24, 2016

Episode Summary

Charlie O'Donnell is the founder at Brooklyn Bridge Ventures and has been an active member of the New York City startup community for over a decade. As an investor, Charlie looks for New York-based startups that have yet to raise 750k in a previous round. Charlie discusses the key lessons he's learned from pitching to various companies in his career on this week's episode.

What Was Covered

05:10 - How did Charlie get involved with investing?
09:45 - What has Charlie learned through his years of pitching?
13:25 - What does it mean to be authentic?
17:30 - How do we get more female founders to pitch?
19:30 - Charlie believes you should have high expectations of your team.
21:05 - How did Charlie know that Twitter and Foursquare were going to be big?
26:15 - Even the best team and the best idea make pivots along the way.
27:40 - What does Charlie look for when investing in a company?
30:40 - In the last few years, there hasn't been a ton of retail investing.
31:45 - What makes a good pitch?
34:10 - Charlie recommends the book, The 50th Law by 50 Cent and Robert Greene

Tweetables

Knowing who to pitch to is half the battle
Aim for creativity over compromise
Language has immeasureable impact
Treat people like you believe they can be better than they are

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Crack The Funding Code!

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Former AOL/Facebook Exec Turned Investor, Vince Thompson | TSP081 0

Oct 17, 2016

Episode Summary

Vince Thompson is the Founder of Middle Shift and an advisor for several startup companies such as Contract Cloud and Jukin Media. Early in his career, Vince lead the advertising sales organization for AOL and later went on to serve as Facebook's first head of national sales in 2005. Learn more about how to find the right advisor for your company and what Vince looks for in his pitch on this week's episode.

What Was Covered

04:00 - What was it like for Vince working for AOL?
06:50 - It's not what you do at your day job that gets you more opportunities, it's what you do after hours that counts.
07:10 - Vince talks about what it was like to work for Facebook back in 2005.
11:00 - What is Contract Cloud and how did the founder find Vince?
14:20 - Vince talks about another company he advises, Jukin Media.
17:30 - How involved is Vince as an advisor?
20:15 - When you're looking for an advisor, make sure they love the company as much as you do.
22:40 - What does Vince look for in a pitch?
25:40 - Be upfront with your intentions, don't ask an investor to go out for coffee only to pitch them!
28:30 - Vince discusses his book, Ignited.

Tweetables

Be authentic when you pitch
Show passion and why you are domain expert
Show me you are solving a real problem
Don't exaggerate your projections

Crack The Funding Code!

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Scared Speechless, Steve Rohr | TSP080 0

Oct 10, 2016

Episode Summary

Steve Rohr is a communication expert, speech coach, and author of the book, Scared Speechless. On this week's episode, Steve offers quick tips on how to improve your speech to investors and shares advice on how to reduce anxiety and nervousness before you get in the spotlight. Remember, the key to presenting a fantastic speech is practice, practice, practice!!

What Was Covered

04:20 - Why did Steve become a speaker?
07:25 - What is our brain doing when we get nervous? In fact, why do we even get nervous in the first place?
11:30 - Steve offers helpful tips on how to overcome your nerves when you're about to speak.
14:30 - The audience is rooting for you. They are not your enemy!
18:20 - What is the 'underdog effect'?
22:30 - What should we be saying to ourselves before we get up for a speech?
28:05 - Remember, you are in control of your thoughts!
28:10 - How can we effectively practice our pitch?
31:05 - Keep your speech simple!
32:45 - Practice, practice, practice. Stand up and recite your speech as if you're already on stage.

Tweetables

Pitch is to be read not said.
Investors are not the enemy, they want you to succeed.
What is the underdog effect?
Secret to stopping negative self talk.

Links Mentioned

J Robinett Enterprises
John Livesay Funding Strategist
Steve Rohr
Scared Speechless by Steve Rohr
@RealSteveRohr on Twitter

Crack The Funding Code!

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Angel Investor Shares His Criteria, David Dotlich | TSP079 0

Oct 3, 2016

Episode Summary

David Dotlich is the founder and chairman of Pivot, one of the world's largest providers of customized executive learning for senior leaders of Fortune 500 companies. David is also the author of several books including Why CEOs Fail, Transitions at the Top, and Head, Heart & Guts. On this episode, David discusses some of the key factors that make a good leader, as well as why introducing new leaders into a company culture rarely works unsupervised.

What Was Covered

03:55 - How did David get involved with leadership?
05:15 - What's the definition of a good leader?
07:30 - You have to be very honest with yourself as a leader about your strengths and weaknesses.
08:40 - How can a leader or entrepreneur attract talent?
11:00 - You have to know what kind of culture you're trying to build and hire people based off of that culture.
11:55 - Transitions at the Top is David's 12th book.
14:30 - Hiring a new executive to help change the culture will not work. In fact, the already-established culture will end up changing the executive.
18:55 - Entrepreneurs need to be fluid with their skills. What once worked in their startup may no longer work when their company has been purchased by a larger organization.
23:50 - Impulse control is really important as an entrepreneur.
27:10 - There's such a huge turnover cost of an employee.
28:15 - How do you know when your employee has reached his/her limit in terms of skill set?
31:35 - Talk to your team and ask them for feedback on how you can be a better leader.
33:30 - Good leadership has three factors: Head, Heart & Guts.

Tweetables

Delegate Don't Dictate.
High EQ requires impulse control.
What do we have and what do we need?
Why CEOs fail.

Links Mentioned

J Robinett Enterprises
John Livesay Funding Strategist
@DavidDotlich on Twitter
Why CEOs Fail by David Dotlich
Head, Heart & Guts by David Dotlich
Transitions at the Top by David Dotlich

Crack The Funding Code!

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