There’s no doubt that Silicon Valley is a different beast in the world of startups and being pitch-ready, at any moment, is critical to a company’s growth and success. However, many entrepreneurs struggle to connect with their audience and provide a crisp 360-degree view of their business, failing to capitalize on opportunities and move things forward. Fortunately, delivering a compelling presentation is a skill that can be learned and perfected.

Authors of Decoding Silicon Valley: The Insider’s Guide, Michelle E. Messina and Jonathan C. Baer, host this special podcast session to share insights from the Valley’s unique vantage point for evaluating startups and provide pitch coaching.

During this podcast, they share the content framework and how to be an effective storyteller when presenting to investors along with an easy-to-use formula for a concise, effective elevator pitch that can facilitate more effective networking at events, meet-ups and conferences.

Podcast listeners can expect engaging discussion and exercises that will get them beyond their slides and comfortable whether pitching in an elevator or boardroom.

Topics include:

• Developing a natural presentation style
• Understanding your audience to connect with them emotionally
• Focusing your presentation with the content that matters
• Mastering the 1-minute and 5-minute pitch

Speaker: Michelle E. Messina
Co-author, Decoding Silicon Valley: The Insider’s Guide and CEO of Explora International LLC

Michelle E. Messina is a serial entrepreneur who brings strong sales, marketing, and business development skills to startups everywhere. She pioneered the Silicon Valley best practices training of startups in 2004 and has worked in more than 35 countries for dozens of international governments. Michelle believes that being an entrepreneur is the hardest thing you’ll ever enjoy doing.

Speaker: Jonathan C. Baer
Co-author, Decoding Silicon Valley: The Insider’s Guide and Managing Partner of Threshold Ventures

Jon Baer is a recovering venture capitalist who loves working with early stage companies around the world. He was the founder and CEO of two venture-backed companies, one of which was a spinout from SRI International. Jon now spends his time teaching, mentoring, and advising early stage companies with leading accelerators and investors around the world. He believes that startups require tough love; and need to focus on money, metrics, and milestones. Jon teaches startup CEOs to say less, because less is more. Jon’s LinkedIn profile is https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonbaersiliconvalley

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