PETER BOOLKAH — 00:11
Hi, Peter Boolkah here, and welcome to today’s edition of The Transition Guy.
Joining me today in the studio is Donna Griffit, author of Sticking to My Story: The Alchemy of Storytelling for Startups.
That’s a recently released book, isn’t it, Donna?
DONNA GRIFFIT — 00:28
Two weeks, and it has already hit bestseller status.
It’s like having a new baby without the sleepless nights. It’s super exciting. This has been 20 years in the making.
PETER BOOLKAH — 00:39
It’s always interesting when somebody releases a book because there’s a lot of thought that goes into it.
What made you decide that now was the right time to release your book?
DONNA GRIFFIT — 00:53
I’m a firm believer in moments finding us if we know how to look for the signs.
They’re a little like billboards we pass along the road of life. If we lift our eyes at the right moment, we just know.
I’ve known for years that I had a book in me. I’ve been writing a lot of content, and every time I wrote a piece about pitching, I would think, “That would be a good chapter in my book. That would work. That would fit right in.”
But it seemed like such a daunting task. Who has time to write a book? It seemed like this massive thing.
A little over a year ago, I was interviewed on a podcast by a lovely Kiwi marketing guy named Vince Warnock, who hosts Chasing the Insights.
He happened to mention during one of the preparation calls, just as you and I spoke before this, that he had a publishing company. He wasn’t trying to pitch me on it. He just mentioned it in passing.
I said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Tell me more.”
He empowers authors to become authors by taking them through the whole process. It isn’t ghostwriting, which I get pitched on all the time.
It made me laugh because, on the day my book was released, I received a pitch on LinkedIn saying, “Would you like to write a book? We can ghostwrite it for you.”
Then you get these proposals for $20,000. I thought, “That’s really funny timing. I released my book today and I wrote it myself.”
For me, it was about having a path and mapping it out. That’s very similar to what I write in the book about mapping out an investor pitch deck.
Sometimes you simply need to know the path. You need somebody by your side, whispering in your ear and providing accountability.
The timing was right. I had the guide and then it was about carving out that hour a week to write. The hour became two hours and then three hours.
I started writing in May, handed in my first draft in October and here we are.
PETER BOOLKAH — 02:50
Awesome.
Pitching is one of the reasons I wanted to speak to you today.
You remember the 2008–09 recession. Here we are again: Groundhog Day.
The circumstances are slightly different, but yes and no, because, for all intents and purposes, the capital markets are tightening for many people.
Lenders that would traditionally lend have shut their doors because they’re risk-averse, or their lending criteria are so damn steep that you would have to be crazy to borrow from them in the first place.
People are therefore looking for alternative investors. Part and parcel of that is that they’re going to have to create a pitch deck.
But investors have been burnt recently.
DONNA GRIFFIT — 03:52
Badly.
PETER BOOLKAH — 03:53
Let’s cover the big examples because there have been some very big failures.
In fairness, the people pitching may have started with well-intentioned motives, but some of them turned into total bullshitters. I don’t think investors are going to fall for that again.
DONNA GRIFFIT — 04:18
We think that, and then every few years we have an Elizabeth Holmes, an Adam Neumann or, as we’ve recently had in Silicon Valley, Sam Bankman-Fried.
We’re still recovering from that domino effect.
Silicon Valley Bank, which was a 40-year-old bank that had become synonymous with technology and startups in Silicon Valley, has just announced that its stock plummeted by 60% in one day.
These are really scary times. It has all trickled down from a lot of bad decisions.
As horrible as what Elizabeth Holmes did was, I genuinely believe she started with the intention of changing the way injections were done. She genuinely believed that she could do it.
Somewhere along the way, the pressure got to her or something else happened. In no way am I trying to justify it, but I tend to believe that people have good intentions.
It’s a philosophical argument I have with my husband. I give people carte blanche until they prove me wrong. For him, everybody is guilty until proven innocent.
I take the opposite approach.
PETER BOOLKAH — 05:37
Somewhere between those positions, there’s a middle ground.
What I’m seeing, especially in the UK, is that investors—those with money—have become nervous.
DONNA GRIFFIT — 05:49
Yes, and rightfully so.
Nobody wants to be the next person who was taken for a fool. I’m sure due diligence will tighten up again.
I can’t do anything about that. What I can do is help startups tell much better stories that demonstrate their urgency and relevance during times like this.
There is still money to be invested. Investors have commitments, they have funds and they need to make their quota of investments.
Who are they going to put the money into?
Many have already said, “We’re going to conduct follow-on rounds for our current portfolio and help those companies weather this storm.”
That is understandable and worthy of respect.
Others will still be looking for the next gem that could genuinely become the next Airbnb, Uber or whatever comes next.
I see startups like that every day. There are exceptional companies and exceptional teams out there.
PETER BOOLKAH — 06:52
Here’s a question I get asked frequently: how do I create a compelling pitch for investors?
DONNA GRIFFIT — 07:01
You buy my book!
No, I’m just kidding.
That’s why I wrote the book. I wanted to give people a guide.
When you went on a trip somewhere, you used to carry a travel guide. I had these dog-eared, folded-down travel guides when I went to China for the first time.
This is the travel guide for navigating everything to do with a pitch.
I’m recording the audiobook today. I should hopefully be finishing it in the studio.
As I read it, I expected to be cringing, but I’m actually really proud of it because it goes into the level of detail needed to understand the logic behind the process.
With every chapter—market analysis or the competitive landscape, for example—I provide actionable tips explaining what to do.
It’s about understanding the way investors think, how to tap into that and how to use storytelling to drive the pitch.
There’s a very specific structure, and then I break down every slide.
I wanted to reach more people. With the timing of the recession, spending $10 or $20 on my book—depending on the promotional offer—is a good investment because it can genuinely help.
My hope is that those who need extra help will then reach out to me and I’ll help them refine their story.
PETER BOOLKAH — 08:31
When will the audiobook be available?
Many of the people who tune in are auditory. They don’t read.
DONNA GRIFFIT — 08:38
Probably within a month or so.
Perhaps by the time this episode airs, you can check StickingToMyStory.com, which is the book’s website. The update will be there.
PETER BOOLKAH — 08:50
To give the people tuning in today a high-level overview, what are the most important things they must do to create a compelling investor pitch?
DONNA GRIFFIT — 09:05
First, I divide it into chunks—four acts, like a four-act play.
I’m a theatre baby. I’ve been acting since I could talk and went to Broadway shows as a child. I fell in love with theatre.
If you trace the roots of storytelling, we can go back tens of thousands of years. We can look at everything from cave paintings to Gilgamesh and The Iliad, and then move through Greek tragedy, Shakespeare, Chekhov and Molière.
Everybody wrote in a similar archetypal way, dividing the story into acts. There was a real story arc.
We continue to go to the theatre and watch films and plays as new things emerge. The structure remains the same.
That’s my answer when people ask, “Wait—if everybody does it that way, isn’t it going to be boring?”
No, because your content and uniqueness are what shine through.
The structure is there, but it should be transparent. You’re using that structure while driving your unique story through it.
Our brains are happy because this is how they’ve been hardwired. This is how we’ve learnt to interact with the world.
My girls grew up loving stories and wanting to hear stories. They’re now nine and six and they read voraciously. They also make up and write their own stories.
This is how we learn about the world.
The first act is the problem, the pain and the villain.
What problem are you solving in the world?
My guideline is to turn that into a story.
I receive spam emails all the time from people trying to sell me services. Today, I received one that grabbed my attention. I tried to deconstruct what had happened.
He started with a story. He created empathy by explaining a pain he had experienced as a business owner, and that grabbed me.
I still haven’t replied. I’m going backwards and forwards about whether I need the service, but he made it through the initial “block sender” response.
Turn the problem into a story.
The second act is your solution: what you’re selling, what the product is and how it works.
Guide us through a story there as well. How has it worked for your customers?
Give us a real user journey. That highlights it much more effectively because people can imagine themselves, or somebody they know, using it.
The third act is the business data: the market, business model, competitive landscape and go-to-market strategy.
Finally, the fourth act—which is also frequently neglected—is your vision for the future.
Now that the hero has slain the villain, what comes next? How much bigger can this become? Which other kingdoms need protection?
We go through a circular, almost Hollywood-style ending, but we also drive the vision forwards.
PETER BOOLKAH — 12:17
That’s probably where most companies are weak.
They like giving facts but don’t like telling stories. They’re not good at storytelling.
DONNA GRIFFIT — 12:27
Yesterday, I worked with a tenured professor from a leading Ivy League university who has made an incredible biomedical discovery.
The story was all over the place and fragmented. It was simply a matter of pulling everything together in the correct order.
All the fragments were there. Sometimes it’s about gathering them together and sometimes important things are missing.
It’s like taking those fragments and creating a beautiful mural from the individual pieces, so that they tell the story in the right way.
PETER BOOLKAH — 13:03
I think that’s why Patrick Lencioni does so well with his books.
He creates fables, which are stories most people can relate to.
DONNA GRIFFIT — 13:13
It all leads back to fables and myths.
Storytelling is fundamental to who we are as human beings.
PETER BOOLKAH — 13:20
That’s clear.
We divide the pitch into four acts. They create those acts and, hopefully, they have created a story that people will want to watch or listen to.
DONNA GRIFFIT — 13:34
Listen to, watch and then act upon—invest in or buy from.
Then you create the narrative for every slide.
I actually script what the founder will say on each slide so that they have their speaking points.
I don’t expect them to follow it verbatim, but it helps enormously.
Sometimes people come to me and say, “I’m not a very good presenter. I need to work on that.”
Fifty per cent of the presentation problem is solved when you have a good, strong message.
If you’re reaching for straws in the air, of course you aren’t going to be a good presenter.
PETER BOOLKAH — 14:10
Do you know what? Probably a good way to see how it isn’t done is to watch Shark Tank.
DONNA GRIFFIT — 14:17
We watch Shark Tank religiously. It’s our Saturday-morning family tradition with our girls.
There are some really good pitches on the programme, and most of the really good ones tell a powerful story.
Of course the investors want to know about the numbers and the margins. They want to know all of that.
But what really captivates them are the amazing, moving stories explaining how the business came into existence and what was awakened within the founder.
Somebody might say, “My father was killed in 9/11. He had always loved cooking and had this dream to bring this...” Then it becomes this cutting board.
Everybody brings their story and unique background, and that says a lot about them as a person.
When they also have the numbers to support it, the reaction is, “Wow.”
I’m a huge fan of Shark Tank. Whatever happens afterwards and whether they genuinely receive the funding at the end, I think that, of all the reality shows, it has a great message.
PETER BOOLKAH — 15:19
That leads me to the second question.
On Shark Tank, people apply to the television programme, get selected and have the opportunity to pitch.
Most people don’t go down that route.
DONNA GRIFFIT — 15:32
No.
PETER BOOLKAH — 15:33
How do you typically see companies approaching investors?
DONNA GRIFFIT — 15:40
I mainly work with technology startups, although I also work with some lifestyle, packaged-goods, apparel and fashion companies.
First, you need to know who your investor is. You need to understand who is investing in your sector.
There are places such as Crunchbase where you can learn about investors. There are various databases and lists that very kind people have created.
Then you need to determine whether they have invested in one of your direct competitors.
Don’t approach an investor who has invested in a direct competitor. It isn’t going to happen, and you don’t want a meeting like that because you could give away vital information.
Next, try to find somebody who can connect you. That might be another entrepreneur the investor has backed or a trusted adviser who knows them.
Look on LinkedIn to see who they’re connected to. If you can obtain a warm introduction, that’s great.
In the book, I also explain how to write the blurb you want somebody to send.
Write it in the third person so that it’s easy for them to copy, paste and make the introduction. Don’t make somebody’s work difficult when they’re already doing you a favour.
It’s about creating relationships.
Sometimes you simply have to send cold emails, so you need to be smart about how you write them.
Investors see hundreds of pitch decks every week. You want to be the one that rises above the noise, and there are ways to do that through storytelling.
Instead of a complete pitch deck, tell a 30-second version using the same structure: the villain, your hero and something fascinating about the business, followed by your achievements.
That’s it.
PETER BOOLKAH — 17:30
Do you have any tips for today’s audience about negotiating the terms of an investment?
DONNA GRIFFIT — 17:40
As I say in the book, I’m a words woman, not a numbers woman. I’m not the person you would approach for numerical advice. There are excellent people out there who can provide it.
The first thing I would say is: don’t negotiate with yourself.
Don’t put a valuation on the slide. Don’t make that mistake.
It’s like playing cards. You don’t want to show all your cards the first time around.
You should include the amount you need to reach your next major milestones. That’s what investors want to understand.
What will their money fund?
Leave the negotiation to the lawyers and accountants. They know what they’re doing—provided you have found trusted professionals. There are some excellent ones out there, but don’t simply sign with anybody.
It’s more important for you to know what you need, what you’re requesting and exactly where the investment will take the business.
What are your KPIs—your key performance indicators—when you reach the end of the runway, the money has been used and you’re ready to raise the next round?
PETER BOOLKAH — 18:42
Basically, have a good negotiator on your team.
DONNA GRIFFIT — 18:46
That always helps, but I don’t necessarily think it will be somebody from the team unless you have a CFO handling it.
When the term sheet arrives, professionals step in. You have lawyers and accountants. They’ll examine the numbers and make sure everything is right.
Don’t accept just any investment. You don’t want to sign your soul away to the devil.
Before we started, Peter, you said some of the terms lenders are offering are ridiculous. You’re right.
These are terms you could be committed to for a long time.
Returning to Shark Tank, Kevin likes offering royalty deals in perpetuity: “I’ll receive a dollar from every sale.”
Perpetuity means forever.
You’re going to give him a certain amount of money from every sale you make. That isn’t only a potential cash-flow problem; it could also create problems with future investors.
You need to think about the cap table you establish now. What will it communicate to the investors in your next funding round?
Be cautious.
PETER BOOLKAH — 19:52
That’s a very good point.
I think one of the main reasons people try to avoid investors is that they want the investment and don’t necessarily mind surrendering some equity, but the one thing they don’t want to give up is control.
DONNA GRIFFIT — 20:10
That’s true.
You want to retain control of the shares, but you also want to find an investor who can give you value beyond the money.
That could involve opening doors, providing good advice or bringing experience as an entrepreneur or long-term investor.
I know a lot of wonderful investors.
Looking at the other side—and I speak to hundreds of investors and included some of their insights in the book—they want a founder with a flexible mindset.
They want somebody who will listen and is coachable. They want to feel that they have something to contribute.
If, during the meeting, you’re already arguing with them or rejecting everything they say, that will be a big, fat no.
Sometimes investors deliberately ask challenging questions to see how you handle them.
PETER BOOLKAH — 20:57
That’s a really good point.
But it all starts with the pitch deck at the end of the day.
DONNA GRIFFIT — 21:07
It does, because it’s the initial interaction. It’s what you send them beforehand.
Incidentally, the pitch deck you use during a meeting should be different from the one you send out.
There are two common pitfalls.
First, founders tend to put every single piece of data on the slides. The slides end up looking like eye charts at an eye examination before you receive your driving licence. It’s horrible.
They then say, “What if somebody wants to send it to somebody else or read it later?”
That’s fine. Have another version.
I call that version the teaser deck.
Take the eight or ten most powerful slides. You can add a little more text so that it works independently.
I try to keep every slide very visual, with a headline and a bottom line. If somebody reads those, they should understand the essential message.
People need fast messages.
We’re living in the era of TikTok, Instagram and Reels. People want quick, highly digestible information.
You need to provide that short, powerful version that captures their deteriorating attention span.
PETER BOOLKAH — 22:14
When you help people create a pitch deck, is it possible to structure the story so that investors understand from the beginning what the business owner wants from the investment—and perhaps that they aren’t prepared to surrender control of the company?
DONNA GRIFFIT — 22:39
We never want to state that outright, but I think it’s understood.
At an early-stage startup, you aren’t going to give away 51% or more. That would be suicide.
You probably already have partners and a divided cap table, so you need to be careful.
There are valuation formulas.
Right now, it’s a buyer’s market. The power has returned to the investors.
The year 2021 was like “Party in the USA”. Everybody was handing out cheques like hotcakes, and that party is over.
One investor here in Silicon Valley called what’s happening a market correction.
Valuations became so inflated that it was crazy. The problem is that companies which raised rounds at those inflated valuations will have a lot to prove during the next round. That will make it very difficult for them to raise more money.
PETER BOOLKAH — 23:46
It’s the equivalent of buying property at the top of the market.
DONNA GRIFFIT — 23:54
Will you ever be able to match that?
The pendulum has now swung in the other direction. We’re returning to more normal valuations.
They’re going to appear harsh, but if we look back a few years, these are normal valuations.
PETER BOOLKAH — 24:12
It’s a little like interest rates.
Everybody is currently screaming about interest rates, but over the last century, the average base rate in the UK was around 5%.
We’re more or less at the historical average.
DONNA GRIFFIT — 24:31
Things find equilibrium.
We swing towards the extremes, but hopefully we then return.
In the political scheme of things, I hope that happens too. We’re experiencing tumultuous times across many different areas and seeing lots of trends develop.
I’m an optimist, so I always hope we’ll end up with balance. That’s the best I can hope for people.
PETER BOOLKAH — 24:57
We will. We always do.
How long it takes, nobody knows.
If people want more information about you and want to understand how you could help them, what should they do?
DONNA GRIFFIT — 25:09
You can visit StickingToMyStory.com to find out about the book.
DonnaGriffit.com is my main website. That’s two Fs, one T and no H.
There’s a story behind that too.
My father-in-law is an artist. When he went to art school in Florence, he changed his name to Griffit. He must have forgotten the H—or so he would say.
It’s different, which makes it memorable.
At DonnaGriffit.com, I have a lot of useful resources. You can also contact me directly.
Please mention this podcast. If you heard me here, you’ll automatically receive a discount on any of my services.
PETER BOOLKAH — 25:51
Perfect. Thank you.
If anything has resonated with you today and you want more information, head over to Boolkah.com and get in touch.
If you loved today’s episode, please subscribe so that you don’t miss any future episodes. Share it with other people and give us a like because that always helps.
Donna, thank you very much for being an absolutely awesome guest.
DONNA GRIFFIT — 26:13
Thank you so much for having me, Peter. Cheers.
PETER BOOLKAH — 26:17
Remember: failing to learn is learning to fail.
Please stay safe.
