Over the spring semester, Team ecoVent took Bill Aulet and Howard Anderson’s New Enterprises course 15.390. The course is a fast paced course that presents a step-by-step guide to founding a company and writing a business plan. The course was very valuable to our team, as it systematically led us through the many questions we need to consider and challenges we will face going forward. At the end, we were forced to condense our ideas into a 20 page business plan and were selected as one 12 teams in the class to pitch before the class and a panel of visiting judges.

In the final lecture before two class meetings of 6 pitches each, Bill Aulet gave a lecture on how to make a winning pitch. This class was one of the most valuable lectures I’ve heard while at Sloan. Dip and I have toyed with our pitch and are continually iterating on what we include and the order of our deck. Bill walked through what he has found to be the most successful. In addition to the guidance on the content of the pitch, Bill’s emphasized the importance of intangibles – it’s not what you say but how you say it.

Bill cited “Calla’s Law” as the key to success. Maria Calla was a famous opera singer who is quoted having said that “There are only two things that matter: how you enter the room and how you leave it.” Judges, audiences and VCs form their first opinions far before you open your mouth. Bill emphasized the importance of looking and speaking confidently. You have to know your business and act that way.

Bill had many other tips. Here’s a few:

• Know your audience – understand who you are presenting to and present to them… the message should change by the audience.
• Keep it short and on point – don’t try to put too much into your allotted time. A pitch should lead to a meeting or another pitch. You need to sell your idea, not divulge every thought.
• Start with a story that explains your idea and its use/importance/problem – not all VCs and “pitch masters” agree on this point… see the first bullet point.
• Focus on the ask – follow the adage “tell the audience what you are going to say, say it and tell them what you told them. Bill’s structure: start with a story, give a brief summary of your idea, tell the audience what you want them to take away from the pitch – the key ideas – and then tell them what you will ask of them at the end. This last part is crucial, and we have never done it in the past. This method is direct, targeted and frames the audience for what they are about to hear and what they will be asked to do in the next steps.

There were many more takeaways from the lecture, but I’m going to cut it there. Armed with these insights, Dip and I rejiggered our pitch and put on an audience choice award for best pitch of the first 6 team pitches (there was no vote between the two days). We received great feedback from Bill after the class, and one of the visiting judges has asked to purchase a beta system.

While it was nice to win the vote for best pitch, it was better to get great advice on how to structure our presentation and make the highest impact on our audience.

I love it. Everyone I speak to about ecoVent has something to say. I imagine that this finding is not only true to ecoVent, but true for all startups. When I tell someone our idea, they become interested and often question further. The more clearly they understand our vision, the deeper they probe and suggest ideas to consider. The feedback, enthusiasm, understanding and insights offered by each person I speak to varies widely; however, I have found it universally valuable to listen to everyone.

In this 3 part blog post series, I highlight some of the benefits I’ve found from listening to everyone’s feedback and responses to the ecoVent system. I also define a few common “characters” that occasionally emerges when we discuss ecoVent with people for the first time.

Free Advice is Worth the Price

Nearly everyone Dip and I speak to asks us if we’ve thought of some angle or heard of the leading Wi-Fi thermostat. Generally, the answer is yes. We have spent a long time trying to consider all the angles and features for our system. That said, we definitely do not have all the answers, and being open to other people’s thoughts is crucial for keeping the innovative juices flowing. No matter a person’s background or familiarity with tech, HVAC or entrepreneurship, their ideas can make yours better. If people want to share their insights, hear them out. You can learn from everyone.

Occasionally, Dip and I come across a character I like to call the “I Know Your Idea (IKYI: Ick · yee).” This special breed are the folks who hear your idea and immediately start “telling you” about your idea as if you just thought it up in a bar and threw it out there to get your friends’ thoughts. A few weeks back, Dip and I had a jarring run in with an IKYI.

We were chatting over lunch in MIT Beehive with some other aspiring entrepreneurs. The conversation turned to ecoVent, and a guy I’d never spoken with began telling Dip and I about our market – who we are selling to, how we should sell to them and how to look at the landscape. Thanks guy – all of your research and consideration has really made you the oracle here… The IKYI meant well; they generally do. However, his authoritative opinion on a subject he had only considered for a few minutes was uncalled for.

Everyone has their own way of dealing with a know-it-all. Dip just dismissed the guy immediately. I took a different approach. Although I didn’t appreciate his demeanor, I was moved by his conviction. The IKYI’s idea was strongly leaning to one of the go-to-market approaches we had been considering. His certainty swayed me… for a few days.

As Dip and I discussed our go to market strategy, something kept holding me back from fully buying in to the IKYI’s idea. Then I figured it out – he was confident, but wrong. At least I think he is wrong. His approach would put us in a box and make ecoVent less than it can be. Once I concluded that we should pursue the opposite strategy, I talked it over with Dip and we decided to move forward in that direction. So far, the results have been great. We have received very positive feedback from potential partners, and look forward to moving forward on our chosen path.