Tips for pitching to investors | A brand new look for Quest Minutes
TQD: Issue 08
Welcome to The Quest Digest 👋🏼
Read the thoughts of Justin Kan, the co-founder of Twitch 🧠, scout opportunities to work with us 📣 , access episode summaries, and connect with our amazing and driven community 🌎
Know anyone that would love to join over 20,000 smart, curious, and interesting listeners?
In this issue:
🤩 Glow Up: A fresh and sleek new look for Quest Minutes 👀 ⏰
🗣 Startup Therapy: Justin’s top tips for pitching to investors and raising money
🗞 We made it: The Quest was name-dropped by CNBC!
Waiting for this week’s Quest Minutes like:
You may have noticed that Quest Minutes was missing from your inbox this week.
That’s because we’re introducing some slight formatting changes, thanks to some great feedback from our community members!
What’s new?
True to its name, Quest Minutes will be much shorter than what you’re used to. We’ll focus on giving you brief, but important takeaway points from each episode.
Corresponding timestamps will be included so you can skip to the sections of the episode you want to hear. Convenient!
You’ll no longer receive Quest Minutes as a separate email. It will be included as a section in our newsletter issue releases to save some space in your inbox :)
Leave us a comment below to tell us if you like / dislike this new format!
Without further ado, check out this week’s revamped Quest Minutes below!
📱 Quest Minutes: Josh Richards
Catch the full conversation here:
Full Sway Ahead
If social media is a game, Josh Richards would have won it before learning how to drive. At 19, he’s accrued a pretty impressive track record:
24 million followers on TikTok,
Co-founded an energy drink company (Ani)
Built a creator house
Made his name in venture capital as one of the most watched Gen Z VC’s
Can’t have it all [21:55]
“It sucks, but you can't pick both. You can't decide to be the kid that does social media and get all the attention on (that) side, but then expect to go to school and have everyone treat you like a regular kid.”
Being so successful at such a young age means that Josh has had to sacrifice a lot of his teenage experiences. From being bullied at school, to never experiencing prom or graduation, life for Josh is bittersweet. He doesn’t regret it, but it’s not a choice easily made.
Controversy [26:25]
“It just started to hit me that I was kind of just being a 17, 18 year old kid. I wasn’t being responsible with the opportunity that I've been given. I feel like I have lightning in a bottle, I have this one huge opportunity and I'm not going to waste it...”
After a string of controversy for his antics and lifestyle, Josh realized that the power of his platform also came with a great responsibility. Not wanting to fill the role the world had typecasted him as, he sought to become a better influence for the online community.
Work Ethic [45:23]
“If you want to be a top 10 social media person, you're going to have to put a lot more work into it than the bottom 90 of that top 100... I think people just don't realize that.”
It all looks easy from the outside. Whether you’re a Twitch streamer, musician, professional athlete, writer, or Internet viral star - no one gets to see the ugly work but you. Josh warns against getting too caught up in the fantasy of visual results.
Building Credibility as a VC [52:55]
“I knew being a TikTok-er or being a social media star, at least that's what people see me as - I needed to prove to everyone why they’re wrong.”
Striving to break from the stigma of being a young-and-dumb Internet star in the investing space is a challenge for Josh. In order to do so, he has humbled himself and has adopted a learner’s mindset. He is committed to proving his worth by slowly equipping himself with a solid foundation of knowledge and experience in the investing world.
🧠 Startup Masterclass - Pitching to investors
You pitch your startup to an investor.
The investor:
Justin’s got some great advice to help you pitch flawlessly, and reel in those big dollar bills. Here’s what to keep in mind.
1. Create a powerful narrative
Stories are powerful tools to get people to understand and care about your ideas. Being overly technical in your pitch can be off-putting and not very compelling.
A simple narrative strucutre:
The world is a certain way (your problem) ➡️ something changes (your solution) ➡️ the world is changed for the better (justify your solution).
General tips for a better narrative:
Keep it concise and simple to understand
Practice. A lot.
Know your numbers/metrics well
Define your own unique and authentic style of pitching
2. Set up meetings with investors
Go Wide
Reach out to as many investors as possible. Cast the net and widen your funnel to expose yourself to as many opportunities as possible.
Think Partners, not Firms
You’re going to be spending most of your time communicating with a partner, so make sure you get to know them. Determine whether this is someone you enjoy working with. Knowing your partners well will be extremely helpful as you move towards the partnership pitch.
Set up meetings in advance, and line them up!
Setting up a bunch of meetings close to each other will make it easier to shop around, and will give you more leverage with other investors - especially when you’ve already received a term sheet from one of them.
You pitch your startup to an investor.
The investor:
Want to hear the whole story? Check out Justin’s latest video:
🗞 CNBC Feature
The Quest is getting traction…and not only in listens! CNBC covered our Mark Cuban episode in a recent article. Check it out here.
“When I was first getting started, I told myself that there’s two people in the world when it came to technology: There’s the people who created it and there’s everybody else. I was with everybody else,” Cuban told Twitch co-founder Justin Kan on a recent episode of “The Quest” podcast.
We’re moving up 🚀 🚀 🚀
👀 Coming up next…
BONUS: Justin’s back with the second episode of our highly anticipated Quest University mini-series!
He’ll share more ideas and his philosophy about chasing happiness on the Hedonic Treadmill. Sound familiar? Check out the Quest Digest Issue 06 here.
