The Pitch
p/the-pitch
The podcast where early stage startups pitch investors
Josh Muccio
The Pitch - Josh pitches Sheel β€” Hear Josh pitch Sheel on a new direction for The Pitch
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Replies
Ryan Hoover
Great podcast and I was delighted to hear how transparent you (@pitdesi and @joshmuccio) were about how the podcast is doing. I like the idea of moving to a direct conversation/Q&A between the entrepreneurs and investors, although as mentioned on the show, I'm unsure this is a big enough change to open The Pitch to a broader or different audience. As Shark Tank has shown, this subject matter is appealing to a (suuuuper) wide audience, but they've done so by sensationalizing much of the fundraising process. I don't have any genius ideas for you but something that might be missing (that Shark Tank does a good job of) telling more of the story of the entrepreneurs. It's easier to communicate this aspect through video but perhaps there are more things you can do to make the audience build empathy with those pitching.
Josh Muccio
@rrhoover that's great. Truly great feedback. Thanks Ryan. Based on the feedback we've received over the past few days (since the episode went live) it seems like the "live" panel is a no-brainer. So I'm very excited for that to be a reality soon (hopefully) It seems like people who listen to podcasts do NOT want sensationalization. They want genuine, real people telling TRUE stories. Or it needs to at least feel TRUE (thinking about Limetown) So if we tell the backstory... what's the part of the backstory that's most interesting to you? Is it the why? The how? The journey? I'm trying to figure out how to tell more of the story. How much time should be allocated per show. If it increases the length of each show by 3-5 minutes is that a bad thing?
Brian Jordan
@joshmuccioβ€”great episode, thanks for sharing this discussion! Love your hosting style and seeing these windows into startups seeking funding. Re: thinking of different show formats, audience appeal and business models, two thoughtsβ€” One thing that feels missing from episodes is any sort of commitment / success prediction / tough decisions as a result of the pitch and consideration process. Shows like Shark Tank, Make Me a Millionaire Inventor, Restaurant Startup etc. get lots of dramatic mileage from the fact that the decisions featured are final and life-altering. What might a Pitch format look like where investors make a hard decision early on? What sort of relationship might such a show need to have with the startups and investors for that sort of moment to happen in-show? Re: business models, it might be worth thinking about what all value is being created by your work, and think whether there might be a natural way for a business model to work by capturing some of that.Entertainment and bringing an audience together πŸ‘‰ ads. Feedback on pitches πŸ‘‰ course (as discussed in episode). Identifying great startups πŸ‘‰ πŸ’­. Facilitating investments πŸ‘‰ πŸ’­. Featuring investors in front of startups and investors (and LPs?) πŸ‘‰ πŸ’­. I don't have a great understanding of how the startup investment world operates, but it feels like the latter areas of value creation might be far larger than the former. Wonder if there might be natural business models capturing some of that value being created. What might The Pitch look like as an arm of a VC firm?
Josh Muccio
@bcjordan Hey Brian, that's incredible feedback. Thanks for taking the time to put that together. It's very strange to feel like we're putting out all this value while still feeling like we don't yet have a sustainable business model in place. Podcasting is weird like that apparently! So we really, REALLY want investors to make those hard decisions early on. We're hoping that the new live investor panel will help encourage that. We also are looking at sending the startup deck to investors beforehand to help them get to a yes or no more quickly. Funny we just had someone tell us that we don't have a large enough audience to launch a product. I was offended at first, but now I'm thinking I'll prove him wrong instead. πŸ˜‰ So the idea of being a branch of a VC firm... I think it makes sense. Another listener just mentioned that to me as well. My only concern is if it then sounds TOO branded. Or if then we are only featuring that VC's startups. Which I think would be bad. But in my opinion, yes. I think we are open to working with another VC firm if the fit is right. But only IF we can figure out a way to do it where it doesn't sound overly promotional of that VC firm. It needs to still feel like The Pitch and feature a variety of startups and investors from different firms. Thanks again for your feedback Brian. Means a lot.
Josh Muccio
This episode was a new (& fun) challenge for me. Totally different format, we tried to be open and honest about the progress we've made as a show in 2015. Since The Pitch was originally launched on Product Hunt I really value the feedback from the community here. Let me know what you think about our new direction (pitched in this episode) πŸ‘ thx to @pitdesi for his help with this episode and congrats to @lisa_muccio for her debut appearance πŸ˜‰
Fred Rivett
Loving the honesty in this episode Josh. Your hosting has come on leaps and bounds, and it's great to hear you're considering how to make The Pitch even better. Hope it all pays off πŸ‘Œ
Josh Muccio
@fredrivett thanks Fred 😊I'm honored.