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Hello and welcome to episode 6 of NZangels.com, a guide to raising angel investment in Aotearoa,

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New Zealand.

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I'm Dave Moskovitz, one of New Zealand's most experienced angel investors.

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And this is the So What episode.

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We're now in the second section of the series, Foundercraft, the art and science of being

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a founder.

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In the next set of episodes, we'll talk about many of the aspects of your startup, how you

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think about it, how you build it, and how you structure it to be investable.

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We'll go over some basic principles for building startups, and go through some of the resources

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at your disposal to help you out.

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Earlier we said it takes a village to build a startup, and we actually have an exceptionally

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helpful and supportive ecosystem here in Aotearoa that is ready to help you out.

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You only need to do your research, reach out, and find them.

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But today, we're going to dive into your So What, the little package that describes the

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problem you're solving, the product you've developed to solve that problem, and why that's

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important.

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So What.

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There's nothing more important to attracting investors than articulating your So What in

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a really clear, succinct, and attractive way.

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You literally have about 15 seconds to catch the attention of an investor, or anyone else

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you're trying to pitch your company to.

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15 seconds.

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You need to distill what you do into an attractive soundbite that encapsulates the essence of

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what you're doing in a compelling way, and makes the listener want to hear more.

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I have anecdotally observed a high correlation between startup success and the founder's

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ability to articulate their So What really clearly.

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Nail it in 15 seconds, in terms anyone can understand, and I'll be eager to hear more.

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This is your elevator pitch.

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On the other hand, if it takes you four slides and 10 minutes to describe the problem you're

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solving even before you get into any of the other aspects of your business, you've lost

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me, and probably for good.

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You've told me that not even you, the founder, understands your business well enough to explain

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it succinctly.

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How are you ever going to sell your product to a customer, or attract a great team, and

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why on earth would anyone want to invest in it?

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There's some formulaic ways of building an elevator pitch.

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Here are some examples.

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We do X for Y, so that Z.

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So DoorDash: we help restaurants reach more customers so they can grow revenue without

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building their own delivery network.

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Or we're the X for Y: Peloton, we're the Netflix for fitness.

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You can lead with a problem, so SwipeSense.

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Every year, 100,000 patients die because of hospital acquired infection in the US.

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This costs hospitals billions of dollars.

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Improving hand hygiene is the easiest way to reduce infections, but hospitals are still

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using pen and paper to track compliance.

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You can lead with your vision.

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Publons: we speed up science using the power of peer review.

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It's likely that none of these formulas will be exactly right for your startup, and investors

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see so many pitches that it's easy to spot overuse of cliches.

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But the point is this.

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You need to hook and catch people in the first 15 seconds of your pitch.

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Think about the opening music in this episode, the lead-in to the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction.

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It's near perfect.

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Deliberately structured, simple, catches you, brings you in, and you'll be humming it in

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your head for the next hour.

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You want your pitch to start with a similar hook.

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Zero in on what it is that's compelling about what you're doing and why it's important.

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We all want more of Mick Jagger's Satisfaction and less of Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant.

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But this episode isn't about your pitch, because we'll be going through your pitch

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deck in detail toward the end of the series, and it isn't really about your hook either.

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It's about your So What, which forms the basis of your pitch and your hook, and most importantly,

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for your startup.

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Now, I can't work out your So What for you.

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This is something you'll need to do yourself.

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Every business is different.

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Your homework for this episode is to work out your So What.

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Then research elevator pitches online, and then whittle your So What down into an elevator

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pitch.

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The fewer, simpler words, the better.

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This is critical to get right from the start and be ready to iterate it as your startup

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evolves.

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This is what is going to attract investors and customers to you.

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The longer you avoid doing this, the less progress you're likely to make as unclear

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goals almost inevitably result in wasted time, effort, and investor cash.

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Your So What is an important part of what makes your startup *yours*.

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It's a critical part of your DNA.

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Own it and wear it with pride.

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My final advice for you today is this.

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Never forget, it's your company.

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As you go through your startup journey, you'll be bombarded with unsolicited advice on every

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imaginable aspect of your business.

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Your So What should be your guiding light by which you evaluate this advice and most

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decisions related to your business.

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Don't get whiplashed by other voices, my own included.

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Let your So What be your guiding light and never forget that it's your company.

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Our next episode will ask you to do a deep dive into your own motivations.

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We've worked out the So What for your startup, but what about you?

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Building a startup is one of the hardest things you'll ever do.

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What's going to keep you engaged over the long haul?

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Why are you the right person to be doing this?

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Investors will ask you these questions and it's good to have figured this out and be

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confident well in advance.

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So until then, ka kite