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MetaHeritage - Investor Ready Pitching Training by Audra Shallal — Transcript

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0:14Good morning, everyone.
0:17We see some people still joining so
0:18let's wait a little bit.
0:20>> Good morning.
0:21>> Good morning.
0:57>> I see some people still
0:59joining so let's wait a little bit more.
1:42So, hello everybody. Good morning,
1:44everyone and welcome to today's
1:46Metaheritage investor-ready pitching
1:48training craft your killer pitch. My
1:51name is Van Branteghem. I'm project
1:53manager at Grueso, which is an entity
1:56that is in Galicia and we are part we
2:00are an association that is a network of
2:04universities of the southwest of Europe.
2:07And I will be moderating today's
2:08session.
2:10We're very happy
2:12that you're joining us.
2:13We hope that today's training will help
2:15you better understand what investors are
2:18looking for
2:19and how to present your project in a
2:21clear, convincing, and most of all in a
2:23very memorable way.
2:26Next slide, please.
2:30In today's agenda, I will first briefly
2:33introduce the Meta Heritage project in
2:35which I'm part of.
2:37I will also introduce the Meta Heritage
2:39pitching showcase which is
2:42a training that is part of the project
2:44and then we will follow with a training
2:46session led by Olla Halal from
2:49European Business Angel Network Craft
2:52your killer pitch. I will then conclude
2:55with a quick question and answer
2:58session.
2:59Next. Thank you.
3:01Just before we begin, just a practical
3:04few points. Please note that today's
3:06webinar is going to be recorded that you
3:09can submit any questions using the chat
3:12and you can raise your hand during the
3:14question and answer session if you
3:16prefer to ask your questions directly,
3:18okay?
3:19Please feel free to use the chat to
3:21comment give
3:23us your ideas and your reactions during
3:26the the session, okay? So first of all,
3:29I'm going to introduce what is the Meta
3:31Heritage project. Please next slide.
3:36As I said before, the Meta Heritage
3:37project is a capacity building I3
3:40project. As some of you may know, I3
3:43means interregional innovation
3:45investment. It's a project that was
3:48founded by the ERDF and is managed by
3:51the European Innovation Council and SME
3:54executive agency. It's a project that
3:57will
3:58last 2 years. We started last year at
4:01the beginning of the year and it will
4:03end at the end of the year.
4:05The territorial scope of the
4:06MetaHERITAGE project is eight European
4:09regions across six countries. We are 10
4:13main partners and you can see our logos
4:15there and five associated partners. What
4:18is the main goal of the project is to
4:21increase increase the competitiveness of
4:24in the digital cultural heritage sector.
4:27So, we expect two results of the
4:30MetaHERITAGE project. From one side is a
4:33as I said before is a capacity building
4:35project. So, we expect a lot of capacity
4:38building tools and from the other side
4:40we are building an ecosystem. We call it
4:43our innovation map in which we are
4:45gathering all the actors related with
4:48innovation, digitalization in cultural
4:50heritage and tourism and the main goal
4:53is to know each other, exchange and
4:56maybe create projects together.
4:59Next slide, please.
5:03Next slide, please. I think maybe it's
5:06blocked. Oh, yeah. So, within our our
5:08activities
5:09we
5:12we launched the MetaHERITAGE pitching
5:14showcase which is an event in which we
5:18want to connect high potential projects
5:20in the digital cultural and heritage
5:22tourism with investors, strategic
5:24partners and innovation stakeholders.
5:27So, we launched it the call. So, I'm
5:29going to send you the link in a couple
5:30of minutes on the 10th of June and
5:35this call
5:36targets
5:37ideas within the field and we are
5:41the call will be open until the 7th of
5:43August and there will be different
5:45activities during the the
5:48um the the call in which uh this
5:51training is part of.
5:53Um
5:54the the we will close the call on the
5:567th of August. If you're interested, you
5:59just have to upload your pitch pitch on
6:01the link that I'm going to send you.
6:03Uh there will be an evaluation uh period
6:07uh from the 7th to the 10th of
6:09September.
6:10And on the 11th of September, the jury
6:12will meet in order to select the best 10
6:15ideas.
6:16These 10 ideas will have a moment with a
6:19tête-à-tête with investors, a one-to-one
6:21moment, in which investors will help
6:24them
6:25uh to to perfection their uh their
6:28pitch. And on the 5th of October, they
6:30will be able to show their pitch in
6:32front of a room full of investors. So,
6:36if you have an idea and you think your
6:38idea is good,
6:39first listen to Audra, and then present
6:42your call your your idea, and let's hope
6:45to meet you on the 5th of October.
6:50Now, I'm going um
6:52to introduce our uh expert, Audra
6:55Shallal. She i- is an enterpr-
6:58entrepreneurship and investor readiness
7:01expert at the European Business Angel
7:03Network. Audra, thank you so much for
7:06joining us today. The floor is yours.
7:12>> Okay, good um good morning. Well,
7:15actually now good afternoon. Um it's
7:18uh it's great to be here, and um and I'm
7:21happy uh to see that you know you're uh
7:23looking forward to actually maybe
7:24joining this program uh with the Meta
7:26Heritage, and um and preparing your
7:28pitches for, you know, the possible
7:30jury. Um
7:32um
7:32next Yes. So, I just wanted to quickly
7:36um
7:36let you uh know that um me um I'm an an
7:40entrepreneur, and also angel investor,
7:42but also an expert advisor for
7:44international organizations such as the
7:46European Commission, United Nations,
7:48OECD, but also as an EIC jury member for
7:52the European Commission,
7:53particularly in deep tech with ICT,
7:55health, and and energy.
7:58But I go quite full circle in
7:59entrepreneurship because I do believe
8:01that
8:02in order to help mentor and coach
8:05startups and and and also scale-ups, you
8:08have to be on the ground yourself. So
8:10that's why I started up companies. I'm
8:12actually going to be launching another
8:13company, you know, this summer.
8:17Also, I'm quite involved in different
8:19angel activity. I'm
8:21industry agnostic, so
8:24it's really kind of I invest in that
8:26kind of what they say in French that
8:27coup de cœur. So I like to invest what
8:31I feel that to accompany that
8:33entrepreneur on a journey, and if I feel
8:35their passion and purpose, they have a
8:37good team behind, they have a good
8:39vision, then
8:42if I feel that I could actually
8:43accompany a lot of my expertise, I'll
8:45jump on board, too. But then also
8:47sometimes on international organization
8:49side, they're not in tune with what's
8:51actually happening on the ground on the
8:52entrepreneurship side.
8:54And even on what angel investors need
8:57when it's coming to cross-border
8:58investing, when it's coming to
9:00investing
9:02with um
9:03other countries, regions. So this is
9:07where it becomes important with
9:08international organizations to be more
9:09in connection. And that's where with the
9:12European Commission, you know, I've been
9:13involved in their D2 Excel programs with
9:16deep tech, with renewable energies and
9:17all. Also in the you know, create the
9:20creative industries, and and
9:24and also in the sports and health and
9:26medtech. Now I had in EBAN I've been a
9:29board member for several
9:31for several years, but I had just
9:33launched last year the EBAN Sports. And
9:36EBAN Sports
9:37is something that I felt very important
9:39because it's showing how it
9:42sport tech goes completely horizontal in
9:44all different verticals. When it comes
9:46to health, wearable devices, when it
9:47comes to media broadcasting, even
9:49cybersecurity. When it comes to
9:51e-sports,
9:53also what's quite interesting is that
9:56because of gaming and also even filming,
9:58that is all integrated within the sports
10:00with the the culture and creative
10:02industries. So that becomes quite
10:03important. Now, what makes me quite
10:05interested in the meta heritage and what
10:07meta heritage is doing, what
10:09um
10:10they're doing and also European tourism.
10:12Actually, I saw just here Eliane that
10:15you mentioned that
10:16there was the European historic houses.
10:19Actually, you know, my family in the
10:20United States, they're living in
10:22Savannah, Georgia. So I know a lot about
10:23those historic houses and particularly
10:25in Charleston, South Carolina, too. And
10:27they're quite historical with a lot of
10:30European influence there. But
10:33I was a professional classical ballet
10:34dancer for my former career. That's what
10:36brought me to France. I'm American in
10:38Paris.
10:39And for the past 30 years, I'm half
10:41Lithuanian.
10:43So I do quite a bit also in the Nordic
10:46and Baltic regions. But
10:48as
10:49professional ballet dancer, I was also
10:50very involved as a mason and benefactor
10:52with the Paris Opera Ballet. And so on
10:55the culture side, it's quite important
10:56for me.
10:58Also with the Louvre, you know, and and
11:01I have colleagues also with the AI
11:03connected with the you know, AI and art.
11:08Who actually one of my AI guru
11:10entrepreneurs, Angelo Dalli,
11:13that's very well known also in space
11:15tech science and all. He's actually been
11:17the first in Paris to launch a big art
11:19expo on AI and art, which was too
11:22forward-thinking. This was years ago. So
11:24now I said to him that hey, there's
11:26actually this program that could be
11:28quite interesting even with his projects
11:30because of his forward-thinking that now
11:32the timing is here. But what I'm trying
11:34to show you here as a presenter and we
11:36as you can see my background,
11:38it's important for you also to to see
11:40with your background that sometimes you
11:42may not think that some things are
11:43connected and you feel that you want to
11:45drop some of your personal or you want
11:48to drop some of your past experiences
11:49because you feel that that doesn't have
11:51to do with the company you're developing
11:52now or not. But no, it's all
11:54interconnected. And that's why, you
11:56know, me as a professional ballet dancer
11:58and all, it was all about presenting. It
11:59was all about
12:01you know,
12:03when it's coming to have to to be, you
12:05know, on top of it for your audience and
12:08presenting. That helped
12:10later on for me when pitching. And which
12:13also
12:15me knowing as how to communicate, who
12:17are you communicating to your target
12:18audience. Because we could have very
12:20good presentations and very good
12:22projects, but if we are not
12:24communicating and tailoring it to the
12:26proper audience, then
12:29you could miss those those yeses and and
12:31get more no's. And it's not because you
12:34don't have the innovation. It's not
12:35because you're not showing that you have
12:37the right vision and that this could be
12:39disruptive technology. It's because
12:41you're having these other missing links
12:43and that the audience that you're
12:45targeting, whether it's angel investors,
12:46whether there's VCs, crowdfunding,
12:49public funding, it's very different
12:51audiences. And so you're not changing
12:53what you're doing, but you're changing
12:55how you're communicating. And that's
12:57where it becomes very important.
12:59Um Also, you know, I
13:01was a high-level
13:03competitive fencer and horse show
13:05jumper.
13:06And but I started that when I was 48
13:08years old. And why did I do that was
13:09because I tell all my entrepreneurs, you
13:11need to know how to fail fast, fail
13:13forward, fail often. And if I'm not if I
13:15got back into my own comfort zone and
13:17I'm not failing fast, and failing
13:19forward, failing often because I got
13:22back into my own comfort zone, I can't
13:24tell you entrepreneurs and startups and
13:26scale ups to do the same. So, I put
13:28myself
13:38I think someone has their doesn't have
13:40their microphone off.
13:41>> Yes, I did have it later. Sorry.
13:44>> Okay, yes. So,
13:46and so that's where, you know, I had
13:48gone into the fencing because I hate
13:50competition. So, many people who know me
13:51now,
13:52I think I even see GupSport there. So,
13:55with SportTech coming from Tbilisi,
13:57Georgia, I see you on the screen. So,
13:59would think that, oh yes, she is very
14:01competitive and you know, she got a few
14:03gold medals here and there. But
14:05actually, I hated competition. And and
14:07that's why I put myself out of the
14:08comfort zone. I went into horse show
14:10jumping obstacles because of to overcome
14:13my fear. It actually helped me become a
14:16better investor because
14:18usually, you know, I go with my
14:20intuitions. But before I started
14:21hesitating. And with a horse, you cannot
14:23hesitate. You hesitate, you're not going
14:25to jump the obstacle. He's going to
14:26refuse. So, it made me actually a better
14:29investor. I don't I don't hesitate as
14:31much. My intuitions are pretty good. If
14:32I like the company, I like the
14:33entrepreneur, I see the vision, I see
14:36they have a pretty good go-to-market
14:37step-by-step approach, then you know,
14:40then I'm going to be much more faster to
14:42invest. Also,
14:44in the fencing, it taught me patience
14:46and strategy. Usually, it's I want it, I
14:48want it now. So, you know,
14:51in in fencing, you know, you if you
14:52precipitate, you'll get touched. So,
14:55sometimes, you know, taking time doesn't
14:57necessarily mean you're losing time.
14:59That took me a lot to learn because
15:00there was a moment I wasn't getting
15:02those touches. I didn't understand why I
15:03wasn't winning the matches and my coach
15:05saying, you know, you you need to have
15:07more competitions behind you. You didn't
15:09start when you were six, you started at
15:1048. So, you have others who have more
15:13experience, Olympic fencers, you have,
15:15you know, all these competitive. So,
15:18so I started having smaller objectives.
15:21This is something for you to think about
15:22even in your startup company. You know,
15:24what are your milestones? You know, what
15:26if you're looking for funding, you know,
15:28like what are the small stages you're
15:29going to go? You know, instead of always
15:31looking at the big picture that if we
15:32don't get this money, we're not going to
15:33be able to go further. If we don't get
15:35this client, we're not going to be able
15:36to
15:37uh hit our sales turnover. Um this is
15:40where it's important to know that
15:42sometimes, you know,
15:44uh by taking some time to to do things,
15:47you know, like correctly, um actually
15:49will get you closer to your key of
15:51happiness. And it brought me closer to
15:52my key of happiness because after 2
15:54years of just starting fencing, I
15:56qualified European and then qualified
15:58for the World Champions uh in uh in
16:00Dubai and
16:02uh at 52. So, that's also what I want
16:05you all to know, you know, as you're
16:07um you know, embarking
16:09either whether it's fundraising,
16:11whether, you know,
16:13moving into new markets, that if you are
16:15motivated enough uh
16:17uh and uh and you're passionate you have
16:20your purpose, it doesn't matter if
16:21you're 52, 60, 35, um if you're
16:26pivoting, just like you pivot a business
16:27model in your company, anything is
16:29possible because even me, an average
16:31person, was able to do that. So, that's
16:33what I just wanted to leave you with a
16:34little um you know, also um
16:37why also I'll be now moving in um
16:40giving you all the tips
16:42um on uh you know, on the 1-minute
16:44elevator pitch, also on your 5-minute,
16:4610-minute blitz,
16:48um is because um I actually, you know,
16:50helped set up the first women angel
16:52network in Paris.
16:53Um I'm on the Sophia Business Angels
16:55Network on the board, you know, in the
16:56south of France with the Sophia Business
16:58Angels Technology Park.
17:00Um I had co-founded Flying Finn Angels
17:02in the Central Finland, that's with all
17:04the flying, you know, Finns and uh rally
17:07drivers
17:08um in that region where they focus on
17:10sport, health, uh cybersecurity and um
17:13sustainability. And I helped develop the
17:15Nordic Female Business Angel Network,
17:18advisory board on the African Federation
17:20Business Angel Network, and helped
17:21launch the Bahraini Business Angel
17:23Network. So, I'm quite involved in those
17:26Angel Networks, but also
17:28globally and
17:30so when it's coming to presenting and
17:32pitching, I could say it's quite
17:34interesting that whether you're in the
17:35US, Europe, Nordics, Baltics, Africa,
17:39West Africa, Georgia, Caucasus regions,
17:42Armenia, usually you're still having the
17:45same pitfalls with most entrepreneurs
17:47when it's coming to business model,
17:48competition, and go to market. And and
17:51and a precise ask. So, that's something
17:53that I'm going to
17:55further with you to precise so that you
17:58know what are the the must-haves
18:01within the the pitch.
18:03Next.
18:05So, within your elevator pitch, we
18:08always say what is the purpose of the
18:09elevator pitch? You know, why have one?
18:13Why describe in 60 seconds? So,
18:16many, you know, of you would say well,
18:19you know, to advertise yourself, to
18:21gather interest, you know, but is it
18:25just gathering interest?
18:27You know, is it I mean
18:29is that enough?
18:31Just gathering interest?
18:32And
18:34and that's why it's very important to
18:35know
18:37what is the purpose of the elevator
18:39pitch. It's to motivate your audience to
18:42act.
18:44And
18:45it's to motivate your audience to act.
18:46So, if you're at a jury, it's motivating
18:49that jury to select to select you as
18:51number one. If you're at a at a business
18:53angel, it's motivating, you know, the
18:56angel investor to want to be interested
18:59to take you to an appointment to meet
19:03other investors at their angel network.
19:05And what does that mean? You see other
19:07investor angels through the network. So,
19:09when I'm I'm motivate the audience to
19:11act, is that it's not just about
19:13motivating those that are within your
19:15audience or at your event or not, it's
19:17motivating them to want to contact more,
19:20to contact their other colleagues and
19:21investors interested to wanting to jump
19:23on board, to want to invest with with
19:26you so that you see they they will end
19:29up you'll be able to end up raising that
19:31500k.
19:32Uh because one will not probably have a
19:34ticket of 500k. So that's why it's the
19:37motivate remember to all the motivate
19:38the audience to act. And I'll see if you
19:40understand you know a little bit further
19:42in the presentation. But also who are
19:45your target audience? Are they
19:46shareholders, investors, clients, media?
19:50So you know it's important because
19:52sometimes you have engineers and they
19:54are presenting and pitching and this is
19:56even we're going into series A B and
19:58you'll have scale-ups and real deep tech
20:01and
20:02with their pitching the you know they
20:04can end up focusing on the the product
20:06or the service, their their technology,
20:10why it's so great, all the benefits and
20:12and we never hear the rest because
20:14remember
20:15you're pitching your business. You are
20:18not pitching
20:20your
20:21your product or service because anybody
20:24could have a similar product or service,
20:26add some integrate integral innovation
20:29and what's
20:31and so in the end what
20:34you know
20:35how are you making money? What is your
20:37go-to-market? Where is that vision? Do
20:39they have the right team behind? So
20:42this is where it's important really how
20:44you're also targeting and that's when I
20:45say targeting audience because angel
20:47investors they're investing their own
20:49personal money. So and VCs are investing
20:52other people's money. So you see there's
20:54a bit different mindset. More VCs are
20:56more bottom line. If they feel that
20:58you're not leading it even if you're the
20:59founder but you don't have all the right
21:01credentials and skills as a CEO, they're
21:03going to want to say that you need to
21:04move out and we need to put someone else
21:06and we need to put the you know that
21:08will be able to lead the team and be
21:09more operational to reach these you know
21:12the these numbers.
21:15Angel investors you know are why we say
21:17angels you know also is because we're
21:19accompanying you. We're helping you. If
21:21you don't have a whole management team
21:22and there's a gap you need angel
21:24investors can help if they have the
21:26marketing experience, some industry
21:27experience, corporate experience, go to
21:29market experience, financial experience
21:32so they can help you
21:34as as advisors at the same time which is
21:37quite important.
21:38So again, it's about motivating your
21:40audience to act.
21:42Um
21:43so
21:44also next um there are five things in an
21:48elevator pitch. And um it's usually the
21:51five W's.
21:53So always remember who? Who's behind the
21:56idea? What? What's the idea? Where?
21:59Where's the marketing opportunity? When?
22:02When are you going to get to the
22:03finishing line? The milestones and why?
22:07Now why is why so important? Because why
22:10is about your passion and purpose. Why
22:13are you doing what you're doing? What is
22:15the impact that you want to make?
22:16Because if you're just following trends
22:18and think oh okay everybody's into AI so
22:21let's add AI to my product and let's see
22:23what happens.
22:24Uh this will give some of that
22:25innovation. Maybe we'll get more
22:27investors interested because they feel
22:28we're touching on AI. But if it doesn't
22:30make any sense and it's not adding any
22:32value to what you're doing then
22:35you
22:36um again
22:38you following trends this is where
22:39investors uh why they they want to
22:41really know like what's the impact you
22:43want to make? You know what is your
22:44purpose and passion? That's why they
22:46want to see also with your background or
22:48experiences and that's why the
22:49storytelling becomes important and
22:51that's where the why having a little bit
22:53of a 30 second teaser in the beginning
22:56crafting your
22:58um storytelling
22:59um and creating a thread through your
23:01presentation this is what makes the
23:03connection. You know, what is the impact
23:05you want to make? And that's also why
23:07when it comes to angel investors, many
23:08are impact investors. They want to know
23:10what impact you're making on so on the
23:12social impact, educational impact,
23:14health impact,
23:15um
23:16environmental impact. And now they're
23:18even wanting to know how do you monetize
23:20that? You know, you're saying you're
23:21going to make
23:22you know,
23:24help reduce climate change by this much.
23:26Well, how are you monetizing that and
23:28how can we see that you in numbers you
23:32are reducing that by a certain amount of
23:33years? Or when it comes to EdTech,
23:35education, you know, are you able to if
23:38you're saying that
23:41you're going to be putting in all these
23:42coding schools, you know, maybe with a
23:44foundation you're showing that with
23:45every euro that you make in profit is
23:48going to go into a foundation that goes
23:49to coding schools that in in Africa. But
23:53so it's about, you know, if you're
23:55saying you're making impact, you need to
23:57monetize it and you need to show how
23:59you're making that impact particularly
24:01for impact investors. So, next. So, who
24:04who's behind the idea? What what's the
24:07idea? Where where's the marketing
24:09opportunity? When when are you get to
24:11the finish line? And why?
24:13Um also, is it about Now, why did I not
24:16say
24:17how?
24:18Well, of course it doesn't start with W,
24:20but how it's too long in a 1-minute
24:22[clears throat] pitch. You know, how are
24:23you making money? You know, how is this
24:26work?
24:27Um how is for is for later in your in
24:30your presentation. And that's why many
24:32get when they sometimes you know, you'll
24:35have a 1-minute or a 2-minute pitch.
24:37We do this a lot with TechTour. They
24:38have like a 1-minute 2-minute pitch
24:41um
24:43in the morning before all of the
24:45parallel sessions where everybody's
24:46pitching their events.
24:49So, this is where um
24:51um they see that as their
24:54um Um,
24:56and why is because not everybody can be
24:58in all the parallel sessions. So,
25:01they're letting all the investors be in
25:02the audience to listen to all the
25:04companies so that if someone happens to
25:06like a company that's not in their
25:07session that they're actually being on
25:09the jury for, they may want to have
25:11one-on-ones with them later. So, that
25:12one-to-two-minute becomes quite
25:14important. And if you are busy just
25:16talking about how
25:19the you know, the product talking it
25:21just focusing on the product but not on
25:23the the overall.
25:25Next.
25:28So,
25:29again, remember that there's three types
25:31of
25:32listeners. You have your visual, so you
25:35know, power your presentation slides,
25:37whiteboard. You have digital, auditory.
25:40And then you have aesthetic, those like
25:42on the demo.
25:43So, you know, there's those that you
25:45know, are able to click in more on the
25:47auditory side, others on the visual,
25:48they need to kind of follow on the
25:50visual, you know, as you're
25:51communicating and others aesthetic. So,
25:53remember you need to
25:55to
25:56fill in those three
25:59audience uh
26:01um, members. Now, to see if you
26:03understood what I meant by, you know,
26:05motivate your audience to act.
26:07Imagine you're going to the movies, you
26:09have a movie the those movie trailers,
26:11they're usually 100 to 120 seconds. Um,
26:15and why do you have to go and watch for
26:18like 10-15 minutes all these different
26:19movies, you know, that they're going to
26:22be showing? You know, you came there
26:24just to see the movie.
26:25So,
26:27I'm always asking you,
26:28uh
26:30so, what's the purpose? Like, why do
26:31that? So, you'll have some of the
26:33audience of you guys saying like, well,
26:35you know, to be interested to go to that
26:37movie or to go buy the ticket.
26:40But is it just about buying the ticket?
26:43So, that's where I want you to know if
26:44you really understand motivate your
26:47audience to act.
26:49Because it's all about what's the goal
26:50to act on it. So, the goal is not to
26:53just buy the ticket, but it's to leave
26:55the theater and tell someone about it.
26:57So, if you have Taken and they're saying
26:59we're having Taken 2 and it's going to
27:00be taking place in Budapest with Liam
27:02Neeson, and someone says, "Oh, yeah, the
27:04Taken 1 was really good. When is that
27:06coming out? When is it playing?" And
27:07then they go tell someone else who ends
27:09up telling someone else, all of a sudden
27:11you have five times more people coming
27:12to the movie theater. And so, that's the
27:14same again as I was saying when you're
27:16pitching to investors, when you know,
27:18you don't know if you'll be in an
27:19elevator, if you're going to be at a
27:21restaurant. You know, there's going to
27:22be these moments and that's why I say
27:24you do need to practice your 1-minute
27:26pitch. You need to rehearse it so that
27:28it comes naturally and and quickly
27:30when speaking about your company. Next.
27:34So, I have
27:36this elevator pitch formula that I give
27:39this to newbie entrepreneurs. I give
27:42this to
27:44I give this [clears throat] to
27:46scale-ups. I give this to serial
27:48entrepreneurs. It's very, you know, as
27:51if you're at school at 6 years old where
27:53the teacher's saying fill in the blanks,
27:55but this really helps to take your
27:57project and and and really channel it.
28:00So, because already here you can see
28:03that we're already saying that, you
28:04know, this company is in this industry
28:07venture developing these products or
28:08services for these target markets and
28:10customers. We're solving the pain or
28:12problem using our unique technology and
28:14product. Our team
28:16is including, you know,
28:18a five-core team with an advisory
28:21an advisory board of two people and a
28:23scientific council of, you know, three.
28:25Unlike
28:27certain competitors, we are offering,
28:29you know, this
28:31these benefits and
28:33and
28:35dramatic improvements in the in the
28:37technology. And then I didn't put it
28:39here, but that's where you need your
28:40ask.
28:42So, that's why it's always don't forget
28:43your five W's and the one big A. Now,
28:45the big A, the ask, is that
28:48here where I didn't put it was because
28:50as I said, tailoring to audience, you
28:51know, if you're pitching to shareholders
28:54or pitching to customers or pitching to
28:56partners or something that it's a bit
28:59different your ask. But here, as we're
29:01pitching for investors, you then we want
29:04to know, who are you
29:06what how much are you looking for? So,
29:07I'm looking for, let's say
29:10200k, let's say for 10% equity. Why do
29:12we want to know the equity? Some want to
29:14avoid mentioning equity. Why? Well, some
29:17feel that well, we can negotiate that
29:18later. But no, why we still want to get
29:20a general ballpark is because if you say
29:2210% of 200 gives us an idea that you're
29:24kind of have a pre-money valuation of 2
29:26million. And that just helps us in a
29:28ballpark
29:30say, okay, can they justify that? What's
29:32their IP? Do they have a you know, a
29:34real good CTO? Who's the and a team
29:38behind it? Who's their chief marketing
29:40officer to implement that go-to-market
29:41strategy? Do they
29:44you know, it is it besides the IP? Is
29:46this disruptive technology? Can you
29:48know, um
29:50and
29:51what is
29:53also in are they able to with their
29:56milestones be able to show a lot of
29:58traction, you know, with their
30:00also their product line or their if they
30:03already have their prototype and and
30:07what is their kind of future product
30:08lines? So, you see they want to be able
30:10if you are able to justify that 2
30:12million with what you're already doing
30:15and with
30:16if you have your IP and you know, the
30:18right team and the right advisory board
30:22and the right
30:23and your product or service pretty much
30:25already been commercialized with a
30:27certain amount of clients. See, this is
30:29what then says, okay, that's credible.
30:31That you know, we could pretty much
30:32justify it. Later you could negotiate
30:34it, but that's pretty much it kind of
30:35makes sense. And then for what usage of
30:38funds? So, we want to know, is it for
30:40R&D? Is it for
30:43your fine-tuning your prototype,
30:46marketing and sales,
30:48to for your marketing campaigning?
30:50Because also, you see, sometimes you
30:52have um
30:53um startups saying, "Oh, we're going to
30:57we're going to
30:59for the team. We need to develop our
31:01team because without the team, we aren't
31:02able to do X, Y, and Z." But if it's
31:04just the team, that's intangible assets.
31:06So for us investors, you know, we feel
31:08like that could walk away.
31:10Uh so we we really want to invest in the
31:12R&D. We want to invest in the
31:13technology. We want, you know, we could
31:15have a small margin of helping develop
31:17the team, but it shouldn't be a large
31:19percentage of your usage of funds,
31:21the team. So that's something for you to
31:22think um
31:24about also. Also, don't forget that it's
31:27better to talk in numbers than
31:28percentages because if you're saying
31:30that, you know, yes, there's 20% of, you
31:33know, of this target group that is, you
31:36know, doing this and we're taking 5% of
31:38that, we don't really know. We may not
31:41be in that sector. We may not be We may
31:44be diversifying our portfolio, so we
31:45don't really know like that that even 2%
31:48could be quite big for your type of
31:51sector in what you're doing. So that's
31:53So usually it's better to talk in
31:55talk in numbers.
31:58Um also, um as
32:01um next
32:05So also,
32:06I wanted to tell you quickly about
32:10when we're
32:11about your effective business pitch. So
32:13what I'm telling you about crafting your
32:15pitch. So I gave you that your 1 minute,
32:17you know, and you know, kind of working
32:19on there to stem from there because And
32:23and again, you can add once you start
32:25working on that elevator pitch formula,
32:26you could actually add a little bit.
32:28You'll have a couple seconds, you know,
32:29to give a little bit of a teaser, which
32:31I always think in elevator pitch, if
32:33you're able to say that, you know,
32:35something quantified, you know, to the
32:38problem that brings attention to it
32:41and the impact you're going to make to
32:43draw everyone in to your
32:47your pitch. That's what makes quite a
32:50nice
32:51killer pitch in a 1-minute. Now, many
32:54say that, "Okay, I This one's asking me
32:56for a 3-minute pitch. They're asking me
32:58for a 5-minute. This one's asking me for
33:0010-minute." Then they I even have my
33:02entrepreneurs or if I'm mentoring them
33:03like, "Okay, here's my 5-minute. Okay,
33:05I'm going to have to make a 10-minute."
33:07Actually, I have I have what you call
33:09the 10-minute blitz, but the 10-minute
33:12blitz can be a 3-5 minute. You still
33:14have to have most of those elements. So,
33:16some will say, "Oh, well, with all those
33:18elements, Audrey, that's too many
33:19slides. I don't think I'm going to make
33:21it in 3-5 minute." But, they always do
33:23in the end, but in the beginning they're
33:25always hesitating and I said again, "No,
33:28because one message, one slide." Because
33:31usually sometimes you think, "Oh, it's a
33:323-5 minute. Okay, I'm going to put three
33:34elements together. put the business
33:36model, the you know, the revenue model,
33:38and the market target market opportunity
33:41at one slide. So, that pretty much
33:42covers that part as I'm moving through.
33:44That'll get me through faster." No, no,
33:46no. You are going to be on that slide
33:48for probably 2 minutes. So, and then
33:50you're going to not make it for the rest
33:53of the presentation of what we need to
33:54know. Also, for the investor, he's going
33:56to be trying to focus on, "Oh, what is
33:59Okay, that's the business model. Is it a
34:01B2B? A B2C? Is it an SaaS? Is it an
34:05HaaS? What is the Who are they
34:07targeting? What are the revenue
34:08streams?" But, then when they see like
34:10revenue model with the financial
34:12projections along with the target market
34:14with your business model, it's too much
34:16information at once. Um, one message,
34:19one slide. And when you have one
34:21message, one slide, it goes through
34:23fast. You can go through 10 to 15 where
34:25you the investor is following you. He's
34:27moving. It also helps you to move.
34:30And that's why when you take a 10-minute
34:32blitz and you have all the elements,
34:34you're not going to go in as much
34:35detail. You see in a 3-minute, you're
34:38going to go much faster through it,
34:39knocking on each points, one to two
34:41lines you're going to say, but every the
34:43investor felt he got the all the
34:45elements that he needed. And then
34:46question and answer, they will poke you
34:48there. In 5 minutes, you can go a little
34:50bit more where you could maybe, you
34:52know, add a little case study be after
34:54your
34:55uh you know, talking about your product
34:57and innovation and technology. Um
35:0010 minutes, you have time to go more to
35:02elaborate on your go-to-market, and then
35:04also uh
35:06to kind of show how you could go into
35:07other verticals and explain things more
35:09and and talk more about your competition
35:12and things. But you see again the
35:13elements don't uh change. Next.
35:19So again
35:21when you're bringing in to the audience,
35:23and what I'm saying um
35:25um to bring in, you know, what is the
35:29again, your story. Is that, you know,
35:31what is the pain or problem, okay, that
35:34uh that you're addressing? Next slide.
35:37Okay, here's our solution. What is the
35:38solution to the the the the pain or the
35:42the problem? The solution uh
35:44um and then remember also
35:46the solution, every entrepreneur may
35:48have the same solution. I'm now like
35:50actually in sport uh in sport uh tech,
35:53I'm getting a lot of companies that are
35:55wanting to
35:56um have this dilemma of uh not losing
35:59talent. So they're kind of focusing on
36:01the parent coach and the
36:04um and the athlete. And um they're
36:07trying to create platforms and how to
36:09uh address this problem. But I'm already
36:12seeing quite a dozen of the same
36:14companies kind of addressing this. Is
36:16something wrong with that? No, this is
36:17good because it shows that obviously
36:19there's a pain. And and you know, and
36:21and you know, and you're having
36:22entrepreneurs in the in the sector uh
36:25feeling it, and so they want to find the
36:27a solution for it. So, that's why
36:29solutions may be the similar of how
36:31you're going to
36:33um
36:34um find the solution to that problem,
36:36but that's why you need the next slide,
36:38the product innovation, because usually
36:40the solution you mix it. Um no, please
36:43um
36:45I think
36:46Yes.
36:47Um I I said
36:49When I say next, because when I say next
36:51slide, I meant to in their pitch deck.
36:54Um So, in the um
36:57So, um on the
36:59That's why it's important on the next
37:01slide, your product and technology uh is
37:04there. Because before, when you have um
37:08in the
37:09uh when you're talking about solution,
37:11we want to know the solution. Okay,
37:12we're reducing it by this much, we're um
37:15increasing the amount of talent by this,
37:17uh
37:17these kind of metrics. Then we say, "And
37:20how are we doing that?" Here is the
37:21technology, here's the product or
37:23service. This is what This is what we're
37:25doing. Here's the secret sauce. Here's
37:27the the uniqueness of the of what we
37:30have. That's on that slide. Once we know
37:32that, "Oh, okay. We see the innovation
37:35in the in the uh and the technology.
37:37It's quite disruptive, and we see that
37:39you found a very good solution to the
37:40problem." So then, "How are you making
37:42the money?" So, that's when we want to
37:44know what's in the business model.
37:47And the business model
37:49um is um
37:50very important um just after because you
37:53see again, it's about sequence.
37:55So, I don't want you to forget that, you
37:57know, sequence is very important. Um
38:00sequences um
38:02uh because uh for investors, you know,
38:05they're you're building on your story.
38:07And if you kind of uh mess with the
38:09sequence, it could get quite confusing.
38:12So, um could you please the next um the
38:15next
38:17um the next. I'm going to see the
38:20Okay, and then the next.
38:23So,
38:24you see sequence is quite important. So,
38:28after business model, that's when we
38:30want to know, okay,
38:32you know, it's like how you make it the
38:34money. So, on your business model, are
38:35you a B2B? Are you a B2B2C? Or are you a
38:38B2C2G? You know,
38:40are you
38:42HAAS? Are you hardware as a service? Are
38:44you software as a service? Are you a
38:45platform as a service? That's what
38:47That's what we want to know. That's
38:48clear. Then we want to know, what are
38:50those revenue streams? So, many will say
38:52like, oh, subscriptions, licensing fees,
38:54royalties. Okay. But if you don't
38:57quantify it, it tells us nothing. So,
39:00what gets you the investment? The more
39:02precise, the more quantified. So, if you
39:05say, okay, it's a we're having a
39:07freemium and then we have a hundred euro
39:09for
39:10for an average, you know, subscriptions
39:12and then it's a two hundred for premium,
39:14you know, we're also doing licensing
39:17fees. We're getting royalties from here.
39:19We also get commissions from there. Wow,
39:21okay, we can see that you're getting
39:22different revenue streams coming from
39:24different, but we also get the pricing.
39:26Why the pricing important for us? Is
39:28because when you then talk about the
39:30market size growth on the
39:33on the next slide, you're showing where
39:35the market opportunity. What is your
39:36total applicable market? What is the
39:38service attainable market? And then you
39:41say if you're getting two percent of
39:42that and we remember that with each user
39:45that the subscription fee is this and
39:47that also they're getting a commission,
39:48you know, from
39:50this target market, etc. Then we say,
39:52hey, this thing can go really scalable.
39:55So, you see, that's why it's important
39:56sequence also. Once we know that we see
39:59that even with five percent market
40:01share, they could
40:03that it's quite a big for their sector
40:05for what they're doing.
40:06Then we want to know, okay, so then who
40:08are exactly those target customers
40:09you're targeting now? And
40:12and once we see that, okay, this is
40:14their target there's now and that, you
40:17know, as they grow, they could maybe
40:19then, you know, move into another
40:21customer group.
40:22But then, where's the competition? And
40:24that's when we want to know afterwards.
40:26Okay, we see how they're positioned, we
40:28see the market opportunity, we see how
40:30they can make money, but then who else
40:31is out there? Now, what I like on the
40:33competition
40:35and the competitive
40:36grid is
40:39is a micro environment and the macro
40:41environment. What do I mean by micro
40:43environment? Micro means, you know,
40:46a competitive grid that shows all the
40:48differentiating factors and
40:50technological factors. So, you know, is
40:52it the pricing, is it the type of
40:54technology, the interface? That's where
40:57we want to know compared to three or
40:59four of your direct or indirect
41:01customers. So, when some say, "Well, we
41:02don't have
41:03you know, direct competitors." Well,
41:06then you don't there you then maybe
41:08nobody wants what you're, you know,
41:10offering. But
41:12what is but you you maybe have indirect
41:15that are doing something a bit similar,
41:16but they're not doing exactly what
41:18you're doing, but it's showing that you
41:20there will be a need. So, that's where
41:22it you if you say that, "Well, they're
41:24not really competitors or it's very
41:26weak."
41:27You are dead to the investors.
41:30Comp if you do not have a good
41:31competition, and I'm telling you I have
41:33seen this all over globally. The the
41:35competition slide usually
41:38for 80% entrepreneurs, that's their
41:41weakest. And so, the ones that are good
41:43is that they have that competitive
41:45landscape. Now, what makes one even
41:48better
41:49is if they have one slide on the micro
41:51environment and one slide on the macro.
41:53And the macro is the competitive matrix
41:55where you're showing the industry
41:56players on the on the on the matrix on
42:00your XY axis. That shows the industry
42:02partners and it shows where your secret
42:04sauce is on the right-hand corner. So,
42:06that shows on the macro side. And once
42:08we get convinced and say, "Well, that we
42:10We their competitive advantage, we see
42:11their secret sauce. We see their
42:13uniqueness. So then what's their
42:15go-to-market? How are they going to
42:17market? And that's what we want to know
42:19on your distribution and sales channel.
42:21You know, what is your go-to-market? You
42:23know, what are your first you know, for
42:25example, in France? And then will you be
42:27going then to the rest of Central
42:29Europe? Will you be moving into the
42:30Nordics and Baltics? You know, how are
42:32you you know, taking that step-by-step
42:34approach? Once we see that this
42:36go-to-market looks quite scalable and
42:38ambitious, then we want to know, okay.
42:41So then who's behind it? And that's why
42:42the team becomes important to talk about
42:44it now in this
42:46in your pitch. Not before, cuz sometimes
42:48they say, "Oh, because we're talking
42:50about the jockey
42:52and
42:53you know,
42:54because we're always saying do we invest
42:56in the horse or the jockey?" Well,
42:58everybody can have top, you know,
43:01you know, purebred horses coming from,
43:03you know, the Middle East, North Africa,
43:05or wherever, but it's the jockey that's
43:08going to have that strategy how to
43:10accelerate it to get him to the
43:11finishing line,
43:13you know, before
43:15with their strategy. So it's the same
43:17with the team. When we now because we
43:19now know what the technology is, we now
43:22know what your go-to-market strategy is,
43:26and also the the size of your ambition,
43:29that's what we say, do they have a good
43:31chief marketing officer? Do they have a
43:33good chief technology, you know, with
43:36the the behind the innovation? Is this
43:38the chief marketing officer do they have
43:40a sales team getting you to get to your
43:43go-to-market? So that's where the team
43:45becomes important. And why do we always
43:48say you should have at least three on
43:48your team?
43:50Not because it's just, you know, like
43:52okay, if we don't get along, there's one
43:54that can help mediate. Yes, it's true,
43:56but
43:57because one is making the product, one
44:00is selling the product, and one is
44:04managing. So if you have a core team,
44:06it's fine If you also have an advisory
44:08board, and that's why advisory board
44:10important because if you have like the
44:11director of Facebook or the director of
44:13the Louvre in a museum or you have some,
44:15you know, big architect that uh is well
44:18known in their agency on advisory board,
44:20they can also help with the missing gap
44:22in your team to help you along the way,
44:24but it also gives more credibility to
44:26investors that oh, they got some good
44:27people on board. So, even if they don't
44:29have a large team at the moment, you
44:31know, they have a good advisory board,
44:32you know, advising them. And once uh the
44:35we you um
44:37uh show us, you know, the great team
44:39behind, that's what we want to know then
44:41what who what are the strategic
44:42alliances and partnerships? How do you
44:44endorse that team? And that's what we
44:46want to know. And remember, partners
44:48it's not about filling each other's
44:49weaknesses. It's not like oh, if I don't
44:51have Google, it's not going to happen.
44:53So, if we don't have that partner and
44:54you make it so important, it's about
44:57adding value.
44:59So, you can good do very well on your
45:01own, but if you get the partner and that
45:03that partner works with you, you both
45:05add value to each other. So, if they
45:07happen to walk off one day, it's not
45:09going to make or break your business.
45:11You're still able to move forward and
45:12reach your milestones. You'll just maybe
45:14reach your milestones a lot faster and
45:16gain certain market share a lot uh
45:19quicker, you know, with a partner who
45:21could add value to what you're doing.
45:23Then, once we know um that that uh you
45:26got the right people behind, and that's
45:27also on the lines of partnerships also
45:29show did you get rewards? Did you get,
45:31you know, don't forget that, you know,
45:33um and uh and things. Then, what are
45:35your financial projections? So, that's
45:37where it's important um
45:39um we don't want we just want to know
45:41the cash flow, you know, on your revenue
45:43model like very easily. If you could
45:45just go back up to that financial
45:47projection slide, it's it was like the
45:49previous uh
45:52um
45:56>> Antonio, can you go back two slides,
45:58please?
46:00>> Up.
46:01>> I think it Yeah, this Yeah, this one.
46:03So, we just want to know, you know,
46:05these main, you know, um, numbers,
46:08uh, um, not any more than that, but, uh,
46:10um, and then a graph that shows,
46:12uh, your, your, uh, cash flow. And
46:15where, you know, you break even, where
46:17you are in 3 years, and and your runway.
46:20Because we want to know, is it going to
46:21take you 6, 12 months? Because as you're
46:23raising money, by the time you get the
46:25money, you that's where you want to know
46:27is that, you know, do you have enough
46:28cash? You know, because cash is king to
46:31us. So, uh, you could end up having, you
46:33know, good revenue, sales turnover, but
46:35then you could be burning through the
46:36cash and be in the red on a day-to-day.
46:38So, uh, we want to know, what is the
46:40burn rate? We want to know what's the
46:41runway. And make sure that if you have
46:43these hockey stick growths, you usually
46:44see that more from the men than the
46:46women. The women are less risky, so they
46:48want to show sustainable business. The
46:50men want to show that this is going to
46:51go scalable, IPO, we're going unicorn.
46:54So, uh, you have to be able to address
46:57those hockey stick growths. So, usually
46:59what we investors do now is we reduce by
47:0130% financial projections of the men and
47:05increase 30% by the women, and we pretty
47:07much get,
47:08uh, the, the average a little bit of
47:11what's actually really going to happen
47:12in the, in the future. But, um,
47:15this is kind of what I wanted to show
47:16you just on those financials. Okay,
47:18thank you. If you could just go back to
47:20that, that, uh, 10-minute blitz, uh,
47:22thing. And once, uh, we see that, okay,
47:25this could go, this is financially
47:26feasible, that's when we want to know,
47:28what are your previous and future
47:30milestones? What's the traction? You
47:32know, what have you done? What are you
47:34doing now? And what are you planning to
47:35do? And then under that timeline, we
47:38want under it the financial milestones.
47:40So, when you launched the company and
47:43when you set out, you know, your
47:45prototype, when you got certification,
47:47what did you get grants? Did you have
47:49love money? Did you have angel
47:51investing? Did you have crowdfunding?
47:53That's where we want to know what, uh,
47:54you um, had used the funding for
47:56previously. Then currently you say,
47:58"Okay, we're looking for that 200 K to
48:02use for R&D to fine-tune our prototype,
48:04you know, to enlarge our team and
48:06for our marketing and sales." And then
48:09many
48:10entrepreneurs are afraid to say what
48:12they're going to do in the future. They
48:13think, "Well, we already asked for 200
48:14K. If we say we're going to need 1.2
48:16million in a year and a half, might
48:17scare away the investors." No, the
48:19investors come on board because they see
48:21the credibility. Oh, okay, in a year and
48:23a half they're going to then start
48:25scaling up and moving into new markets
48:26with with 1.2 million. Okay, how are
48:29they using that too? Oh, well, they used
48:31the money wisely previously. Now they're
48:33asking for this and it looks like they
48:35they make sense about that next
48:37follow-up financing. So it it's it's
48:40credible. It it makes, you know, sense
48:43how they're using their money wisely.
48:45And that's once we see that then we want
48:46to know then the big A, the funding
48:49requirements. So for how much? 200 K for
48:5110%. If, you know,
48:54and which then gives you that pre-money
48:55valuation of about 2 million.
48:57We're using our funds for this and um
49:00and that you know, we
49:03are looking for and it would be great to
49:06to have this particular angel investor
49:08who, you know, in a particular sector
49:09who could help us or maybe with
49:11marketing or finance while we're growing
49:13our team.
49:14And then I always like after you have
49:15your big ask is
49:17what are your five top reasons to
49:19invest? So like why invest besides that
49:21it's disruptive technology or you have
49:22this dynamic team?
49:25What are some, you know, gems?
49:27It's kind of like a back to a call to
49:28action. It's like coming back saying,
49:31you know, why
49:33should you invest in our company? And it
49:35kind of reminds them, you know, that,
49:36"Hey, this is why you should invest.
49:38These are my five top reasons." And then
49:40you close with your logo and your
49:42visuals and things. So
49:45this is kind of like a a very kind of
49:47fast forward kind of me kind of giving
49:50you a pitch workshop in a pitch because
49:52um you know, there's a lot of you know,
49:54different details that also give you you
49:56know, I would have like to go a little
49:57bit more, you know, giving you examples,
49:59you know, of different companies.
50:01Uh but you know, uh but uh I wanted to
50:03give you some tools first, because um
50:06um you know, I also when uh giving
50:08examples is for example,
50:10uh when uh I was um
50:13got interested investing in a in a
50:15company like in with bees. And I at the
50:17moment I wasn't really into the bees as
50:20much. I mean, I knew that we have that
50:21you know, there's less and less bees.
50:23But um when they were pitching, you
50:26know, um they came into their story.
50:29They were like, "You know, my great
50:30grandfather was a beekeeper, my
50:32grandfather was a beekeeper, and I'm a
50:34beekeeper." And do you know that, you
50:36know, look at and look at these crops.
50:38And he's showing pictures of these the
50:40crops now and then how they're getting
50:42dry and then what's going to happen in
50:4420 years. I was like, "Whoa, this is
50:45quite, you know." And he was saying how
50:47many bees, you know, are less and less.
50:50So, I was like, "Wow, that's quite." And
50:52um
50:52and because of like his story and then
50:54he found a CTO that was able to do the
50:56big data with these urban be hivings,
50:59where you can have these beehives on
51:00your balcony, uh you know, in Paris,
51:02Milano, in these big cities. And you
51:04don't need the bee gear and you can
51:06actually see how the bees are making
51:07honey. So, it's actually could be like a
51:09hobby, because you can see where the
51:10queen bee is. And so, um
51:13uh then I had all these ideas that oh,
51:14they could really scale up, because they
51:16could create communities, you know, even
51:17with their own honeys, you know, with
51:19others and children can actually have
51:21like their pet queen bees and and learn
51:23a lot about the bee. And you can
51:24actually be saving the bees and helping
51:27make an impact and contributing to it
51:28with your urban beehives. So, you see,
51:31how did that get me to what invest? The
51:33storytelling. The guy knows his about
51:35his bees. I mean, his great grandfather
51:36was a beekeeper, beekeeper, beekeeper.
51:38You know, he was smart to get the right
51:40CTO to come on board with the big data.
51:43The I was having all these ideas of how
51:45they could scale up. So, it that they
51:47could go into different verticals.
51:49Um
51:50and it's called Being, b e e i n g, and
51:52how they can go into different uh
51:54verticals also to scale up. So, for me
51:56it was like, "Wow." And then also, they
51:58can have like these kind of IKEA type uh
52:01urban beehives. And then for those that
52:03want to put them in the garden, um they
52:04could have like the Roche Bobois more
52:06luxury. So, you see this is where the
52:08ideas, the scalability, the you know,
52:10where you feel that uh the the company
52:12can go, the passion, the you know, you
52:16know that uh they you know, they were
52:17going to save the bees. They were also
52:19making foundations. They started doing
52:21education. And it's quite became quite a
52:23interesting company. So, you see um
52:26that's where um
52:27these uh that's where these um
52:30uh
52:31type of company is quite important. Like
52:33when we also say dual-use technologies,
52:35also think about your company, you know,
52:38and dual-use. You know, we had VivaJets,
52:41which is electric ski jets. And this was
52:43for you know, water sports for amateurs,
52:45you know, sport people. And actually,
52:48military and defense got interested
52:50because they said, "Oh, these are speedy
52:54and rapid, silent, and the perimeters
52:56are a bit larger, so we can transport
52:57our ammunition and and and the
52:59supplies." We military defense got
53:02interested. They never thought that this
53:04these ski jets were going to become like
53:06military defense. So, even someone doing
53:09probiotic non-alcoholic beer that
53:11enhances
53:13uh
53:13um
53:14uh um uh sport performance and reduces
53:16muscle athletes
53:20uh
53:21What happened? NASA and NATO got
53:23interested because for their soldiers,
53:25their military, their astronauts, that
53:27this, you know, better go have hidden
53:29mana probiotic and getting some more
53:31muscle and and and sport performance
53:33rather than um
53:34um drinking uh Heinekend and
53:37and not being as up performance. So,
53:39that's what got those different sectors.
53:41So, it's always for you to think too
53:42like, could this be dual use? You know,
53:44can I move other verticals? And one
53:46thing I want to leave you with too is
53:48it's always about the scalability.
53:50Where's your finish line? And um and the
53:52finish line
53:54is always so important. That's why it's
53:56like, what's your purpose and passion?
53:57How are you getting to the finish line?
53:59How are you going to scale up? And
54:00that's why for an investor, they want to
54:02know, you know, like um they want focus.
54:05So, they're like, okay, this is the
54:06target customer. This is who we're going
54:07to address, you know, first this
54:09particular vertical. But if it can if
54:11you can actually scale up in other
54:12verticals,
54:14you know, well let's say you can go into
54:16health, you can go into mental health,
54:17brain health, or you can go into other
54:19education or not. That's uh that's where
54:22it becomes interesting uh um for the
54:24investor because they see that you can
54:26move into other verticals and that to
54:28scale up, that brings more profitability
54:30and grows the business. So, um that's
54:32always important to be able to endorse,
54:34you know, what you're doing is to be
54:35able to show that scalability. Um I
54:38wanted to but I see I don't have time
54:41because I wanted to share with you so
54:42that you unders- stood a little bit
54:44more, you know, my kind of story on how
54:46running a marathon is like running a
54:48startup uh because that was where my
54:51passion and purpose was. You know, my
54:53father uh he was a top cardiovascular
54:55thoracic surgeon. He invented the
54:57pacemaker. Uh he was an electrical
54:59engineer, you know, turned heart
55:01surgeon. So, his background, so it's
55:04even me ballet turned economist, angel
55:07investor, etc. It's showing that, you
55:10know, um we have a life in a life. We
55:13you have to realize some of the things
55:15you're doing, you may it may not make
55:16sense, but when you look back,
55:18all the dots in your life will all
55:20interconnect and you'll realize that,
55:23oh, this is why I'm doing what I'm doing
55:24and why I'm getting there. And um
55:27and that's where um um
55:30and for me, you know, I think it was
55:32like I hate running and uh it was uh
55:35uh but I saw, you know,
55:38three days before this Marathon of Paris
55:40that I thought if I could grieve, you
55:41know, my father and and handle the
55:43challenge of cuz he was my role model.
55:46He was an innovator. He was
55:48he saved lives. I mean, you know, he
55:50saved I mean, people who have a
55:51pacemaker, it prolongs their life for 20
55:54years. And but he was modest. He never
55:57Nobody knew All his patients never knew.
55:59He did all of these innovations and and
56:02till the day he died, you know, with his
56:03obituary. And so I felt I had to do this
56:06marathon, you know, to give homage. And
56:09I hate running, never ran more than 5K.
56:11But what did I
56:14But
56:15and I had three days to prepare. I would
56:16never tell you to prepare three days and
56:18go run off. This was a different
56:19situation, you know, but it was showing
56:21that you see, my passion purpose was for
56:24my father. That got me through those
56:25last 10 km cuz I would have never gotten
56:27through 10 km. But
56:29when I was preparing, I found a mentor.
56:32Where I'm saying it's always good to
56:33have a mentor. That's why this program
56:35also what they're doing with Meta
56:36Heritage and also to and and you know,
56:38with their programmings, you know,
56:40mentoring is important to to accompany
56:42you along the way because and that's why
56:44I got someone who used to do who does
56:46marathons. And when she heard that I
56:49said I want to do this marathon, she
56:50thought I was crazy cuz she said you've
56:51never ran more than a kilometer with me.
56:53And until she found that and I said,
56:56well, no, it's kind of for my father.
56:57She goes, oh.
56:58Passion purpose. So she said, okay, I'll
57:00come with you. So she accompanied me.
57:02But you see, how did I use my mentor? I
57:05told my mentor never ran more than 5 km.
57:07So we said, okay.
57:09Our milestones, which is the same in
57:11your company milestones. What are your
57:13milestones? You know, what are you
57:14planning to do? You have to already
57:15think of about that in the beginning of
57:16your company. All the way to the finish
57:18line. So you have to already think, do I
57:20want to go IPO? Do I want to be unicorn?
57:22Do I want to grow? Do I want to go
57:24international? Or do I just want to be
57:26And there's nothing wrong with being the
57:27leader of France or the leader of
57:29Tallinn or the leader But that's where
57:31you want to um
57:33And you have to know already from the
57:35very beginning because that's helps you
57:37to know what your milestones are to get
57:38there. And for me, the milestones was 5
57:40km * 8.
57:425 * 8 because in my mind, I'm just
57:45running 5 km. And then what do I say to
57:47all my entrepreneurs? Celebrate the
57:49small wins. Not just, you know, when you
57:51get the big uh money and you're saying
57:54that, "Okay, I just exited
57:56uh the company. I got acquired. Okay,
57:58I'm going to Bora Bora." But this is all
58:00about wins. So, when you get that uh
58:02grant or when you get that uh customer,
58:05go to get a bottle of champagne or go do
58:07something that uh that you always wanted
58:09to do. Um
58:11so, for me, it was like after 5 km, my
58:13celebrate to win my my mentor ran ahead
58:15of me, got a double espresso, and so I
58:18always had a double espresso every 5 km
58:20to help me get through the next. But,
58:22that got me through those milestones.
58:24Now, I also told my mentor, "Where are
58:26my pain points?" So, my pain points were
58:29the forests because there's no
58:30monuments, you don't see the Notre Dame,
58:32you don't see Bastille, you don't see
58:34the Arc de Triomphe, you see nothing.
58:35Just trees, trees, trees. And for me,
58:37that's like not going forward. That's
58:39like staying in one place. So, it's the
58:41same in your company. What are your pain
58:43points? You know, is it raising money?
58:46Is it growing the team?
58:47Is it um going to new markets? Where are
58:50those pain points? And that's what you
58:52have to let your mentor know and that's
58:53what you have to discuss as a team. And
58:55um and that's why when I got into the
58:57first forest with all those trees, my
59:00mentor,
59:01she didn't notice she saw tears coming
59:03down my eyes as I was running because
59:05actually the playlist that I listened to
59:07about my father with the music came on.
59:09So, I started thinking about my father
59:11and some memories, and she actually
59:13said, "Audrey, think of this as
59:15meditation in motion. Think about your
59:17father, the good things all." And she
59:19was looking, she was, "Are you okay?" I
59:21said, "Yeah, I'm doing that. It's okay."
59:22And I kept uh running. I got through
59:24that part. And then it was kind of like
59:26smooth sailing. So, it's the same. You
59:28got through your pain point, you finally
59:29got the funding, but then you're
59:31thinking, "Okay, it's go- it's good, you
59:33know, we're moving. We got the money."
59:35And then all of a sudden, what? Uh,
59:36series A. Now we have to go to the VCs.
59:40And now they want the bottom line. And
59:42now we're going to have to do it all
59:43over again. Oh, and we just thought that
59:45we were just getting there. Then here
59:47comes the pain again. But
59:49that's where again, you know, it was
59:50like me with the forest, you know, the
59:52next pain. And that's why my mentor
59:54knowing the bigger pain, which is also,
59:57you know, you're getting bigger, series
59:59A, it's a bigger, you know, bigger, um,
1:00:02risks and this and that, was, um, she
1:00:05said, uh, she actually had someone come
1:00:07and kind of accompany her because she
1:00:08knew she was going to need help on those
1:00:1010 km too. But, um,
1:00:13but for me, when people would say, "What
1:00:14was that big strategy of you those last
1:00:1610 km?" You know, it there wasn't any
1:00:19big big formula for me. I mean, my
1:00:21formula was actually I was very very
1:00:23angry. And I just had this constructive
1:00:26anger. I, you know, you could see a lot
1:00:28of emojis going up there in my head, uh,
1:00:30not very nice emojis, you know, but it
1:00:33was, uh, but you see, it was
1:00:34constructive anger because, um, that's
1:00:37what you need to. When you start getting
1:00:39demotivated or you feel like, you know,
1:00:41"Oh, I just keep getting the nose, nose,
1:00:43nose." Or those client, those customers
1:00:44are just not, you know, signing on the,
1:00:47um, the contract. You know, it it's, you
1:00:49know, I just keep it getting Maybe I've
1:00:50already had 10 nose. Maybe I should just
1:00:51give it up. You know, why did I even do
1:00:53this?" That's usually when you're this
1:00:55close
1:00:56to succeeding.
1:00:57I actually almost threw my fleuret,
1:00:59which was embarrassing for my son. I
1:01:01should have never showed him that. He's
1:01:02a French champion in in in fencing. I
1:01:04helped him with with, you know, the
1:01:06mindset. And actually I was the one
1:01:08throwing the fleuret in the bleachers
1:01:10like a like a 14-year-old kid. But, you
1:01:12know, my son came back to me, "Why are
1:01:14you in a competition if you think you're
1:01:16going to lose? Mom, you know, you still
1:01:18can win on the elimination match. You
1:01:20got zero on all the matches, but there's
1:01:22the elimination match. So, you still got
1:01:24one last chance. And I was ready to just
1:01:26drop it all. But then I thought I have
1:01:28to show my son. I can't just, you know,
1:01:30give up. Then he'll give up the rest of
1:01:32his life. So, I gave it that last. Was
1:01:34missing some touches and my son said,
1:01:36"Get more aggressive." I got more
1:01:38aggressive, started attacking. I ended
1:01:40up with a huge bronze medal, the first
1:01:42national competition that I did. Bronze
1:01:45medal and um and then bronze medal next
1:01:47next. But I was this close to quitting.
1:01:50So, how would I have known?
1:01:51So, that's why, you know, my point is
1:01:53like you need to sometimes have this
1:01:54constructive anger, you know, to kind of
1:01:57push you. Kind of like give yourself a
1:01:59spanking, move yourself forward, you
1:02:01know, it's not so
1:02:02uh you know. So,
1:02:04um that's uh and so just to end, you
1:02:06know, is that uh I got to the last 500
1:02:09m. There was a huge teddy bear. I didn't
1:02:11realize that it was the the cardiac uh
1:02:13for premature babies
1:02:15uh
1:02:16you know, association. And actually my
1:02:20they used the non-invasive surgery of my
1:02:21father. And I didn't know they sponsored
1:02:23that marathon. So, I felt like my father
1:02:25was like, "You did it. Go, girl. 500 m.
1:02:27You don't need to prove anything to me
1:02:28anymore. Get to the finish line." So, um
1:02:31that's something I want to share with
1:02:32you was because I really saw, you know,
1:02:35that through that experience, I would
1:02:36actually say everybody should once in
1:02:38their life do a marathon even if they're
1:02:39just walking, you know, because it's
1:02:41those last
1:02:4310 km that I don't know who's done a
1:02:45marathon here, but it's
1:02:47you got to find it in your mind those
1:02:49last 10 km. And so, and I think because
1:02:52now it's kind of like I've had, you
1:02:54know,
1:02:564 years ago my father died, then my
1:02:57godfather the next year, my mother, you
1:02:59know, my dog, and then just yesterday my
1:03:02father-in-law. But what's keeping me
1:03:04pushing, you know? Actually, it's you
1:03:05guys. You guys are getting me through
1:03:07the what I just lost yesterday. So, I
1:03:09could be a little bit in tears now, but
1:03:11you know, I want to be able to cuz I
1:03:13feel that, you know,
1:03:15it was meant, you know, today you have
1:03:17your workshop. I want to inspire you to
1:03:19go to the finishing line. I want you to
1:03:21know that there's ups and downs. I want
1:03:23you to have a perfect little uh blitz,
1:03:25whether it's 1 minute, 3 minute, 5
1:03:27minute, 10 minute. And um and um to
1:03:30craft your story, never leave
1:03:32your purpose and passion, even with VCs.
1:03:36It's always about your storytelling.
1:03:38And um
1:03:40um and I want to wish you all the luck.
1:03:44>> Wow, Audra.
1:03:46I think this was not a training. This
1:03:48was one of the most uh motivational
1:03:51speech I ever heard. First of all, I
1:03:53wanted to thank you because I know your
1:03:55personal situation. You explained it to
1:03:57me yesterday, and you're here giving it
1:04:00all, giving your energy and your
1:04:01passion. Second, I love the beekeeping
1:04:05story. I think I'm like Pilar. I think
1:04:08I'm going to dig into it because I'm
1:04:10obsessed with animals and I love bees.
1:04:13Uh
1:04:14and uh also,
1:04:16you know what? I uh
1:04:18I had this this idea in mind, and I've
1:04:21always thought about uh my ideas, let's
1:04:23say, stupid. I think I cannot go
1:04:25forward, but why not?
1:04:27This is what you gave me today, and I'm
1:04:29really thankful. It was really nice. It
1:04:31was really interesting. You gave a lot
1:04:33of practical tools, a lot of I think
1:04:35energy in order to not give up. I think
1:04:38that is the main
1:04:40uh message from you is is going to be a
1:04:42hard road, but just just not give up
1:04:44give up. So, I think it was very
1:04:46interesting. Thank you so much, Audra.
1:04:48And um I saw that there were a couple of
1:04:51questions on the chat, and I wanted to
1:04:53double-check with you, Audra. Uh there's
1:04:55uh Jordan No, Harold that was asking if
1:04:58we could upload the slide, uh the
1:05:01presentation. Can we upload it on our
1:05:03website?
1:05:04>> because now that you Now that you
1:05:06understand the sequence, because if
1:05:08someone just looks at the slide sequence
1:05:09before, you'll never understand why the
1:05:12you know there's a sequence and why it's
1:05:14so important you know every element
1:05:16after each one. Each slide is endorsing
1:05:18the the one before it. So now that you
1:05:20know, you know, this is again remember
1:05:23these are like your 3 5 10 minute
1:05:25pitches that
1:05:27that
1:05:28that blitz.
1:05:29>> Yeah, and I think it will be very
1:05:30complimentary with the call because that
1:05:32will help people in order to prepare
1:05:34their pitch and upload the proposition
1:05:37in the in the in the website. So thank
1:05:39you thank you so much. I see also that
1:05:41Pilar requested the name of the B
1:05:43company. I was looking for it as well. I
1:05:46found it and it is there is being.
1:05:49And we have people with thanking you
1:05:51because it was really nice and you were
1:05:54I don't know
1:05:55a lot of good energy. I think I'm
1:05:57finishing almost finishing my week with
1:05:59a big smile in my face.
1:06:01I don't know if anybody from the public
1:06:03is
1:06:04wanting to ask anything is your time.
1:06:07If not you can always write us to the
1:06:10heritage
1:06:12we will be happy to help you
1:06:14and you see there's a lot of big fun
1:06:15soda.
1:06:17>> [laughter]
1:06:18>> And if there's any question is now or
1:06:20never.
1:06:21So please raise your hand or we give you
1:06:24the yeah.
1:06:27>> I'm happy you know anything that you
1:06:29feel like I think there's one Alice.
1:06:32>> Yeah, Alice Alice. So I'm going to give
1:06:35you you can I don't know if you can turn
1:06:37your micro. Yeah, perfect. Yeah, go for
1:06:40it.
1:06:40>> Um um hello. Um Odra I would like to
1:06:43know if I could I could get in touch
1:06:45with you because I I I believe I need
1:06:47somebody like you in my life.
1:06:49>> [laughter]
1:06:51>> We all need Odra in our life I think.
1:06:55>> No yes yes definitely. But no I'm happy
1:06:58I mean as you can see I'm quite
1:06:59passionate what I do. I'm also as I told
1:07:01you an angel investor so you know I you
1:07:04know if and those becoming in family
1:07:07whether it's through these type of
1:07:08programs or not, you know, whoever was
1:07:10attending, you know, I'm happy that if
1:07:12you need like a little bit of a like a a
1:07:15quick look at something or you know,
1:07:18just kind of a boost on something, I'm
1:07:20happy to you know,
1:07:22you could you know,
1:07:23Eliane, you can give them my um
1:07:25contact information and I'm happy, you
1:07:28know, to
1:07:29help with you know, some of those
1:07:33some of those things you may you know,
1:07:34you may have.
1:07:35>> We have something similar. I have I have
1:07:37danced ballet from 3 to 14.
1:07:40And
1:07:41I've been I've
1:07:42started my company
1:07:44for 5 years and I
1:07:46it's been
1:07:48not easy, but
1:07:50now I feel more motivated to continue to
1:07:52do what I want to do and thank you very
1:07:54much for that.
1:07:55>> Yeah, yeah, I started when I was 3. I
1:07:57was professional at 14 and that's what
1:07:59actually brought me to Paris was I was
1:08:01dancing with a ballet company south of
1:08:03France, but I had
1:08:05recurrent tendonitis, had to reconsider
1:08:07the career, but you see you you know,
1:08:09you don't know your lives. I mean, I
1:08:11would never think I'd go become an
1:08:13economist, entrepreneur, angel investor,
1:08:15you know, advising European commissions
1:08:17and then being a fencer and which
1:08:20actually fencing was with the lunges and
1:08:23the and the
1:08:25you know, the and
1:08:28ballet originated from fencing.
1:08:31So it became another sport, but I was
1:08:33able to pick it up probably faster, you
1:08:35know, also for horse show jumping, you
1:08:36know, you have the back and the even
1:08:38though my leg my feet go like this,
1:08:39that's why I do horse show jumping
1:08:41because dressage, you know, with my
1:08:43because of ballet, I'm too much like
1:08:45this still. But
1:08:47that's what I wanted to leave you guys
1:08:48with too that, you know, just like a
1:08:50company where you sometimes have to
1:08:51pivot the business model, it will pivot,
1:08:54you know, from as you're growing, you
1:08:55always have to be in touch with your
1:08:57team.
1:08:59I always believe every 3 to 6 months to
1:09:01bring your whole team together to say,
1:09:03are we going in the same direction? Are
1:09:05you know, have things shifted? Should we
1:09:07pivot the model?
1:09:08Um it's very important. You know, is it
1:09:11going ahead? And then also that reminds
1:09:13me because with Alice bring with
1:09:15competition, it's good to know your
1:09:17competition. That's why we want to see
1:09:18the landscape and things. But remember,
1:09:20don't get obsessed with it because you
1:09:22see Coca-Cola, they when Pepsi came out
1:09:25and Virgin Cola and Cherry Cola stuff,
1:09:28they came out with New Coke. And they
1:09:30did not New Coke was went bankrupt. They
1:09:33did Nobody wanted New Coke. They like
1:09:34the classic. So, actually if they had
1:09:37just been more innovative in their
1:09:38marketing, you know, like look Stan
1:09:40Smith Adidas, they did you know, all
1:09:42they did was change the colors and
1:09:44stuff, got some influencers, didn't
1:09:46change the shoe and became everybody was
1:09:49wearing Stan Smith Adidas. So, sometimes
1:09:51it's the innovative in the marketing,
1:09:53but you have to keep your vision because
1:09:55sometimes people say, oh, this
1:09:56competitor did this so we better do that
1:09:57and that one did that so we do and you
1:09:59lose your vision. You lose where your
1:10:01finishing line. It's good to see, you
1:10:03know, where you are, what's happening,
1:10:05but you keep your vision and your
1:10:06objectives. That's what gets you closer
1:10:08to the finish line. I think John Harold
1:10:11or
1:10:11>> Yes, Harold has a question. Yes.
1:10:14>> Oh, I just wanted to say thank you for
1:10:16all the nuggets in your gold mine.
1:10:19It truly was very enjoyable to listen to
1:10:21everything and also definitely like to
1:10:23speak with you. I have an amazing story
1:10:25to tell. So,
1:10:27>> Okay.
1:10:27>> that's that's all the time we have
1:10:29today, I think.
1:10:30>> Yeah.
1:10:30>> Yes. Yes.
1:10:31>> Okay, yes. You know, it's a pleasure.
1:10:33Yeah, yeah. And also I mean just I
1:10:36wanted to just mention I've see David
1:10:38here, you know, from Gup Sport, you
1:10:40know, on the on the and actually he was
1:10:42in one of our pitch events, you know,
1:10:44and very good project, you know, but
1:10:46then of course there always has to be
1:10:47just one, you know, but you know, I but
1:10:50I've been seeing David, you know, very
1:10:53forward thinking. I've seen him on the
1:10:54different
1:10:56events. He even came to this you know,
1:10:58because he's still pushing moving
1:10:59forward.
1:11:01You know, taking those next steps
1:11:03because
1:11:05each step you make and even if for
1:11:07example, it didn't work out because it
1:11:09was a very close one on that pitch
1:11:10event, but it didn't it didn't work out
1:11:12there, you know, still those who were at
1:11:14the event and then seeing at the next
1:11:16one and then seeing, you know, as you're
1:11:18you know, still moving forward, things,
1:11:20you know, all start coming together in
1:11:22the end, but it's those who actually
1:11:24keep pushing forward. And and also like
1:11:27keeping the the context of the network,
1:11:30you know, always, you know, we I've had
1:11:32like there was a company called
1:11:34BlockSport and he was always actually
1:11:39he was always um
1:11:42you know, saying good things and
1:11:44recognition for his first mentor, his
1:11:47first investors. He's now scaling
1:11:49completely up, but he's always going
1:11:50back to all of the the smart money, the
1:11:53people, the mentors, everything. They're
1:11:55always thanking them, keeping them up.
1:11:56And that's why he's building, you know,
1:11:58his inner circle, he's building his team
1:12:01of those around him that's not in the
1:12:03team, but a team around him that are
1:12:05following him along the way.
1:12:08And so that's something also for you to
1:12:10remember, you know,
1:12:12is that um
1:12:14is to always keep your, you know, your
1:12:16networks of people within your inner
1:12:17circle
1:12:19throughout to the development of your
1:12:20company.
1:12:22The good ones.
1:12:24>> [laughter]
1:12:24>> The good ones.
1:12:25>> Yes, that is very important, but that I
1:12:27think is very important as well for me
1:12:28as a personal I've been starting I just
1:12:31started in the European projects and I
1:12:34see that network and having contacts is
1:12:37very essential in order to move forward.
1:12:39There's no way differently than that.
1:12:42And yeah, I don't know if there's any
1:12:44other questions within the participants.
1:12:47Oh, yes.
1:12:48>> Yeah. Yeah.
1:12:48>> Santiago?
1:12:53I have Santiago as well and David.
1:12:57But I think Santiago is is on the chat.
1:12:59I have a question. Do you think it's a
1:13:00good idea to recontact a potential
1:13:02client
1:13:03that I think they weren't sure about how
1:13:06heritage documentation will benefit them
1:13:09financially and taking care of the
1:13:10heritage building.
1:13:12How should I approach them?
1:13:14>> Yes, most definitely because
1:13:17again, it's sometimes it's because, you
1:13:19know, you're ahead of the timing, you
1:13:21know? It's actually similar to one of my
1:13:23colleagues, you know, who's the AI guru
1:13:26and was doing all of this AI and art and
1:13:29doing a lot, you know, with cultural
1:13:30heritage and things. But but you know,
1:13:32he was too
1:13:33ahead of the timing. And then, you know,
1:13:36when I was actually seeing this program
1:13:38and and the different things that were
1:13:40going on with this consortium, I was
1:13:42telling him, "Look, you know, now it
1:13:44looks like the you know, everybody's
1:13:46kind of ready for that." So you could
1:13:48have been a little bit ahead of the
1:13:49timing and so that's why it's good. And
1:13:51then or you know, maybe you didn't have
1:13:53some of your own
1:13:55you didn't accomplish certain milestones
1:13:57which like made them feel like they were
1:13:58ready to jump on board. So if you've
1:14:00also evolved and moved forward
1:14:04and you feel that with the timing
1:14:06that they would understand better where
1:14:08they see the benefits, then I would
1:14:10definitely, you know, go back.
1:14:13>> Okay.
1:14:14David
1:14:16You raised your hand, David.
1:14:17>> Yeah, thank you so much. Aldra, thank
1:14:20you very much for brilliant session and
1:14:22it was really encouraging and and we
1:14:25also follow this line
1:14:28like learn never give up and and every
1:14:30obstacle is is a challenge and and
1:14:33motivation to to overcome it. But on the
1:14:37other hand, we have also heard
1:14:40die fast.
1:14:42What what do you think about this
1:14:45comparing one to another?
1:14:48die fast and never give up. How they
1:14:51>> Oh, you mean die fast? Well, it is kind
1:14:53of a little like for investors
1:14:55sometimes, you know, we've invested in a
1:14:56company and then we it's not really, you
1:15:00know, growing as it should and then
1:15:02we're like, okay, let's put some
1:15:03follow-up money because, you know, we
1:15:04don't want them to die, you know,
1:15:06because we've already put money. So, we
1:15:08try to put in, but sometimes we do have
1:15:10to tell ourselves, you know,
1:15:13sometimes you got to kill the puppy.
1:15:15It's terrible to say the puppy, you
1:15:16know, like, you know, cuz you never want
1:15:17to kill the puppy. You know, it's
1:15:19terrible, you know, like [laughter] I
1:15:20never liked that, you know, like kill
1:15:22the puppy. But, but you know, the thing,
1:15:25you know, but it's kind of meaning, you
1:15:26know, okay, you know, it doesn't look
1:15:27like that company's going to grow
1:15:29anymore, you know, it's it doesn't make
1:15:30sense anymore to put more money, you
1:15:32know, into that company. But, if you're
1:15:33talking from like an entrepreneur side,
1:15:36you know,
1:15:37um
1:15:38again,
1:15:39um
1:15:42take this example. It's the best thing I
1:15:44could give you for the moment.
1:15:47Watch I don't know if you saw it, but
1:15:48this Netflix documentary, you know, true
1:15:50story of that woman swimmer, she used to
1:15:52be a swimmer when she was, you know,
1:15:54young. Then she went and could did a
1:15:57different a completely different career.
1:15:59Then at 60, she was talking to her
1:16:00friend and said, you know, "Gosh, I'm
1:16:02like 60, you know, um
1:16:05I feel like I need to do something with
1:16:06my life, you know, and uh and she goes,
1:16:09"So, you know, I want to go and swim,
1:16:10you know, from Cuba to Florida to
1:16:12whatever, you know, in the the sea." And
1:16:15uh I don't know if you saw that
1:16:16documentary, but that Okay, watch it
1:16:18because it's a good documentary true
1:16:21story. Because her friend said, "Well,
1:16:23you didn't do it when you were 28." You
1:16:25know, so why do you think you're going
1:16:26to do it now at 60 with your physical uh
1:16:29this it's not possible. She was, "My
1:16:30mindset, my mindset." And see, that's
1:16:32what I understood, too. When I was a
1:16:33ballet dancer, I didn't have the same
1:16:34mindset as I do as an athlete now. And
1:16:37uh which way I was able to go quite
1:16:38quickly, quite competitively, and quite
1:16:41it was a mindset at 50.
1:16:44>> [laughter]
1:16:44>> But, you know, but she
1:16:47So, her friend said, "Okay, fine, you
1:16:49know, but I don't see just not the
1:16:50mind's going to get you in that water,
1:16:52so you know,
1:16:53you're not 28 again." And when she was
1:16:5660, they went, but there were these
1:16:58jellyfish that were poisonous and it and
1:17:01it she had to stop the the swimming
1:17:03thing. So, they went the next year, you
1:17:04know, she had her team, they tried
1:17:06again, same thing. Then they said,
1:17:07"Okay, three strikes, you're out. Let's
1:17:09try the third." They tried the third,
1:17:11same freaking jellyfish problem.
1:17:14So, then the team was like, "Look, we
1:17:16put so much money in this, so when
1:17:17you're saying die first and so much
1:17:20money we're we have families, this and
1:17:22this, you know, this is like, you know,
1:17:24you're in your 60s, you know, I don't
1:17:26know if you're having a midlife crisis
1:17:27still trying this, whatever, but they
1:17:29were like, "We got lives, you know,
1:17:31these jellyfish, it's not going to, you
1:17:32know, you can't get rid of these
1:17:33jellyfish."
1:17:34And she just was like, "No, this is She
1:17:37goes, "Really, the last time, just the
1:17:38last." And
1:17:40and then they made a mask and put her in
1:17:42some kind of gear, but they made a mask,
1:17:43you know, for her face, which was not
1:17:45very comfortable. And at 65, 65, she got
1:17:51went through swimming and and made it at
1:17:5365.
1:17:54So, that's my point is that
1:17:57you
1:17:57um
1:17:58when you're saying die first, it's more
1:18:00like, what are the other solutions? So,
1:18:01she could have kept doing that, you
1:18:03know, and just hoping a jellyfish
1:18:04doesn't come, but they went and found
1:18:05that, "Okay, let's try that mask. It's
1:18:07not great, but, you know, this is the
1:18:09best we can do to get through it." So,
1:18:11they did a lot of trial and error, this
1:18:12and that, they kind of pivoted, they put
1:18:14the the the mask on. So,
1:18:17that's my point, too, you know, you have
1:18:18to kind of you can't be stubborn still
1:18:20going the same way and then, you know,
1:18:21saying, "Okay, well, it's not
1:18:23happening." Sometimes you have to open
1:18:25your eyes, look and say, "Okay, maybe
1:18:27the target market is not the right one."
1:18:29Or maybe you know, I'm not with the
1:18:30right team or, you know, because I
1:18:33again, like I'm saying, I think um
1:18:35what I would say is that you want to
1:18:36kill and die what's the bottleneck. But
1:18:39not kill and die your passion and the
1:18:41impact you're making what you believe
1:18:42you can do.
1:18:43>> Yeah.
1:18:44>> Mhm. Yeah.
1:18:45>> Kill the Kill the way but not the
1:18:46target.
1:18:47>> Yeah.
1:18:49Great message.
1:18:51Uh we are
1:18:52uh we we have a little bit is a little
1:18:54bit um reach the end of the session. So
1:18:56we're going to take the last question
1:18:58from Stephanie because she reached out.
1:19:01How do you need to see in a solo founder
1:19:03to What Sorry, what do you need to see
1:19:05in a solo founder to invest? Can do solo
1:19:07rounders hire a brilliant team?
1:19:11>> And that's Yeah, you know,
1:19:12most people um
1:19:14most investors, they won't invest in a
1:19:16solo. You know, they'll say That's why I
1:19:18said why they expect at least three on a
1:19:20team because you one, you know, who
1:19:22makes the product, one who sells it, and
1:19:24then one managing, you know, the finance
1:19:26management of the team and stuff. Uh
1:19:28because even the So um but if we've had
1:19:34that have come to our networks where
1:19:36they were solo, but they had on their
1:19:38advisory board, they had um
1:19:41the
1:19:42Facebook, you know, marketing director
1:19:44of the US, they had uh you know, um the
1:19:48um commercial like director something,
1:19:51you know,
1:19:52of um of Google. They had like these big
1:19:54corporates and these other big that was
1:19:56in their industry and we were like,
1:19:59"Wow, you know, this advisory board's
1:20:00quite, you know, strong." And so we
1:20:02said, "Look, you need to get a good CTO
1:20:05and uh you know, someone at least to
1:20:07help you because you can't do
1:20:08everything." And when And they were
1:20:10saying, "Well, CTO
1:20:12uh you know, I don't have the the That's
1:20:14why I'm looking for investment." And we
1:20:16said, "Look, if you can't get a CTO to
1:20:18jump on board believing in what you're
1:20:21doing and you wanting to help and get to
1:20:23that finish line, then there's something
1:20:25that's not right how you're
1:20:26communicating or what you're doing with
1:20:28your project because you should be able
1:20:30to get people on board interested in
1:20:32helping you get, you know, to your
1:20:34finishing line. And um and so he did
1:20:36come back, you know, with a CTO, and we
1:20:38he had his good advisory board, and so,
1:20:40you know, we invested. But that also But
1:20:42because he was a you know, a founder
1:20:44with a good idea, vision, business
1:20:46model, that's why again, advisory board
1:20:48is very important. You know, I don't
1:20:50know if you remember Elizabeth Holmes,
1:20:52you know, that was that fraud you know,
1:20:54with the prick of a finger, and she was
1:20:56supposed to she was valued billions, and
1:20:58she was a dropout from Stanford, and uh
1:21:01she was really good at pitching, but
1:21:02that um but this was not an app. She was
1:21:05pitching like it was an app. This was
1:21:06biotech.
1:21:07And um
1:21:09but the thing is why people were jumping
1:21:10on board, though, was uh because she had
1:21:13such a big advisory board, and people
1:21:15wanted to be with Henry Kissinger and
1:21:16all. But where the red flags were was
1:21:19when they want to blame the founder, it
1:21:21was actually the investors, because
1:21:24this is a biotech company. So where's
1:21:26the scientific council? Where's all the
1:21:27scientists? Why does she have
1:21:28politicians all over? So, you know, so
1:21:31that's why also what what helps give
1:21:33credibility is investors, you know,
1:21:35always look at the advisory board who
1:21:37can help. And on your management team,
1:21:38if you can identify it and say that, you
1:21:40know, we have uh a gap, you know, with
1:21:42this marketing and sales, but you know,
1:21:44with my expertise in the commercial, and
1:21:47uh with this freelancer to help
1:21:49uh you know, um on a freelance basis,
1:21:51and with my advisory board
1:21:54uh member, you know, cuz you can always
1:21:56find advisory member. This is not uh
1:21:58this is not uh administrative board, you
1:22:00know, with votes. Advisory board members
1:22:02are, you know, like kind of like
1:22:03mentors, supporting, they believe in
1:22:05what you're doing. They also kind of
1:22:07want to follow along the journey. So
1:22:08some of them are with a bit of sweat
1:22:09equity, you know, um they they kind of,
1:22:12you know, accompanying you along, and
1:22:14they're also that if they're not being
1:22:16as active anymore, they can easily go.
1:22:19So as you build your advisory board, you
1:22:21know, sometimes you can also build where
1:22:23they're very good at one moment, you
1:22:25know, and then, you know, you can bring
1:22:26on new ones, you know, as you're growing
1:22:28um when you need them. That gives you
1:22:30that
1:22:31thing. So as you're saying also can, you
1:22:33know, solo founders hire a brilliant
1:22:34team and invest in them? Yes, I mean,
1:22:36there are some where you have those kind
1:22:38of also incubators accelerators where
1:22:40they actually say for founders that they
1:22:42can come and then they help you know,
1:22:44there's like
1:22:45those who want to jump on board
1:22:47startups. So they want to with their
1:22:49expertise, you know, you can find those
1:22:51to kind of join you through these
1:22:53different type of programs and
1:22:55accelerators.
1:22:58I'm not sure if that answers the
1:22:59question, but
1:23:01>> It looks like she said thank you.
1:23:03>> [laughter]
1:23:04>> Thank you so much Audra. I think we are
1:23:06all leaving this training with a big
1:23:08smile on our face. It was very
1:23:10interesting. You
1:23:12shared your passion with us. I think
1:23:15it's already somewhere in all my body
1:23:18and and I think from everybody's and it
1:23:21was very interesting. So if anybody is
1:23:25look has an idea, do not give up. Maybe
1:23:27your idea is going to change the world
1:23:29tomorrow. So
1:23:31do not in regards with Meta Heritage as
1:23:34a reminder, if you are in our field
1:23:37digital digitalization in cultural
1:23:39heritage and you have a passion related
1:23:42with history heritage or anything, do
1:23:45not hesitate to go to our website
1:23:48and share your idea with us. Maybe it
1:23:50could change something in the future,
1:23:52okay? And thank you everybody for
1:23:54joining us and have a beautiful and
1:23:57wonderful day.
1:24:00>> Thank you so much.
1:24:01>> Okay. Thank you Audra. Thank you so
1:24:03much.
1:24:04>> Bye-bye. [laughter]
1:24:06>> Bye-bye.
1:24:06>> You too.
1:24:08>> Bye-bye.
1:24:15>> Thank you very much Audra. It was
1:24:17wonderful.
1:24:18>> Okay. Thank you Antonio.
1:24:23>> Thank you Audra. I'll be in touch.
1:24:25>> Okay, yes, definitely.
1:24:27>> [laughter]

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