Lessons from San Francisco #1 always be pitching
“Holy crap this is terrible!” I thought to myself. I was so damn jet-lagged I could barely keep my eyes open, let alone articulate a coherent sentence, let alone be grilled on it. But here I was with my two founder friends in the back of an Uber from San Francisco airport, pitching to the driver.
There were many things that we were briefed on before our pilgrimage to Silicon Valley. And the surreal fact that we would hear people pitching their startup idea wherever we went was one of them. It could be the people at the table next to you at Peet’s coffee, in the hotel lobby, or even at the gym.
I wasn’t however expecting this.
It all started out as a regular ride, until someone dropped the F bomb. “We’re founders of tech startups and have come to Silicon Valley to meet investors and understand the US market better” the founder in the front seat explained to the driver.
“So what’s your business” he enquired, of which it was explained to him that we all ran separate startups.
“Okay, well then give us your pitch” the driver instructed.
Yes it turns out that here in Silicon Valley even the Uber drivers have MBAs (of course they do) and I must admit I deflected the driver’s request for as long as possible as it was truly the last thing I wanted to do. But you know what, as we went around the car taking turns to give him our spiel, I must admit he had some excellent points. “So how are you making money? Why are people going to care about your product? Why wouldn’t I just do xyz instead?” The guy really didn’t hold back.
I reckon I pitched a good 30 times that week, whether it be a formal pitch or a 30 second elevator. I pitched to fellow startups, I pitched to VCs, I pitched into every company we visited including Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and then some. Yes, I even pitched to someone in the coffee queue. And as much as I would have given a limb to have avoided pitching to him in the back of the car that foggy morning, ultimately it was the best thing I could have done to prepare me for the barrage of questioning that came my way that week.
I’m sure many others in building their business can empathise with being on the spot and how important it is to always be pitching. And to that Uber driver, a big thank you!
More of the Silicon Valley adventure to come….
