In one very long day, I had many back-to-back 15-minute initial zoom practice sessions with founders. Each gave a short version of their investor pitch. We used the remaining time to talk about their business idea.
In each and every case, in real life, I would have stopped listening in under 30 seconds. From that 30 seconds, I would have rated them a 1 (unsalvagable) on the standard 1 to 5 scale (whether or not I could use threes).
By the end of the presentations, my opinion was generally unchanged.
But, in each and every case, by the end of the 15 minutes, I was convinced that their idea had merit. (Generally merit enough to rate a 4.)
In each and every case, there was a wonderful idea in their brains that just had no way to escape out through their mouths.
In each and every case, it was difficult to extract the idea from their brain.
In each and every case, it was worth the effort.
That extraction and subsequent refinement is an important part of what top accelerators like Founder Institute do.
Perhaps there is a lesson that we should have all worked harder in our high school and college English classes.
But perhaps, the bigger lesson is for me.
Perhaps in real life, I should extend my patience beyond 30 seconds.
I wonder what I’ve been missing.
