January 2021 - Rafferty Pendery

4 Things to Look For in a Public Speaker

Jan 29, 2021

So you’re in charge of finding a public speaker to teach you and your fellow tech entrepreneurs a thing or two about starting a business. It’s difficult enough to start a business as it is, but now you have to find a paid international speaker who’s good at what they do!

Fortunately, a lot of public speakers today have clips of their prior speaking engagements posted online, which means that you can get an idea of what you’ll be getting before you actually pay to have the public speaker give you advice. But still, there’s a difference between watching someone on video and seeing them speak in real life.

In order to know that you’ll be getting the most out of your paid international speaker, there are a few characteristics that you should look for. Every public speaker is going to be different — and, of course, not every public speaker is going to be an expert on tech entrepreneurship. But there are a few things that all good public speakers have in common. Let’s dive into them below.

1. Confidence

A lot of paid international speakers have amazing credentials that they can offer when beginning their speaking engagements. But going through a list of achievements and credentials isn’t going to motivate listeners. In order for you and the people around you to feel like you can trust the speaker you’re listening to, they need to have confidence. This is something inherent to great public speakers and you’ll be able to see it when you’re looking at example clips.

Confident speakers often have smiles on their faces and speak openly. They don’t stumble through their speeches, but at the same time, they do not seem overly rehearsed. They are also able to take questions freely, which is a major benefit if you’re seeking tech entrepreneur resources from a paid international speaker. Make sure that the person you’re hiring is confident in themselves and their message. Their belief in themselves will help you believe in them, in turn.

2. Self-Awareness

At the same time, you don’t want to work with someone who is so overly confident that they come off like a slick used car salesman. A good public speaker will be self-aware and will acknowledge where they lack knowledge. If someone asks your speaker a question about food industry entrepreneurship when they are a tech entrepreneur, the speaker should not pretend that they know the answer.

Additionally, this kind of humble attitude makes it easier for people to relate to speakers. Everyone fails when starting up as an entrepreneur; if a speaker does not have a story of failure to go along with all of their wins, then it might be harder for listeners to relate to them. Additionally, speakers need to think about how they can improve their speeches. When you look at an older clip of someone speaking, you should get something even better from the engagement you pay for. An estimated three out of four people suffer from speech anxiety, which means that a lot paid international speakers probably have suffered from speech anxiety in the past, too. It’s all about improvement!

3. Engagement

We’ve spoken a couple of times about answering questions from the audience. This type of engagement is important. The last thing you want is a public speaker that just talks at their audience without any engagement. Good speakers will not only take questions from their audience but will ask questions, as well.

When people are able to engage with their public speakers, they often learn more. Rather than going off of a prepared speech alone, speakers can provide information pertaining to specific circumstances. This can be hugely helpful for all involved.

4. Individuality

You don’t want a canned public speaker. Look for someone who speaks about their personal experience with entrepreneurship, as well as their life. When people are more personal and aren’t afraid to share what makes them unique, it’s easier for listeners to feel connected to them and heed their advice.

Everyone is going to have different tastes for public speakers. But if you pay attention to the prior work done by the person you’re hiring, you could find a gem who’s perfect for your purposes.

Questions to Ask Yourself When Seeking a Business Partner

Jan 28, 2021

Right now, there are a lot of people who are interested in starting a business in the tech field. This is especially true in light of the pandemic, which has a lot of people working from home. Of course, those who are working from home are relying upon technology to do their jobs and even to stay in touch with friends and connect with the outside world. Subsequently, it may be the right time to jump on launching your tech business into the stratosphere.

But how do you do that? For a lot of people, the key is finding the right tech entrepreneur partner to help them take their business from a vision to a reality.

As much as creating a business partnership can be exactly what your business needs to succeed in the long term, it can also cause you to fail if you don’t choose the right business partner. Right now, about 22.5% of all small businesses will fail within their first year. That often happens because tech entrepreneurs trust the wrong partners. And that’s why we’re looking into what you should consider when evaluating potential business partners. Here are just a few questions to ask yourself as you go through this process.

Are They Passionate About Your Business?

If you’re interested in creating a business partnership, chances are that you are the one who started the business and that you’re now looking for someone to help you take it to the next level. Whether you’re interested in a more financial partnership or in taking on a partner who wants to have an active role in the business, you need to find someone who is passionate about your organization. They can take a backseat in the creative process, but they need to believe in what you’re doing and be available to help.

Part of the reason why this matters is that your business partner will likely be involved in making big decisions and recruiting investors. It can be especially difficult for investors to funnel money into your business if they don’t feel like your partner believes in the business as much as you do.

Are They Reliable?

Now, there is such a thing as being too passionate — or having a directionless passion. Some potential business partners are just excited about the rush of signing onto a new business, but they aren’t as interested in seeing it through for the long term. Other partners are also involved in too many other businesses to give yours the attention it deserves. It’s one thing to be involved in a couple of different businesses, but it’s another to be spread so thin that you can’t make good on your commitments.

Successful tech entrepreneurs need to have a lot of focus. They also need to have reliable business partners who can make themselves available and do the work when necessary. A lot of this will depend on the partnership you agree to in the beginning. Some partners will not need to be very present; if you laid this out when creating a business partnership, you’ll have to stick to those terms. But your business partner should be reliable according to the partnership the two of you built. Otherwise, you may end up creating even more work for yourself without the help you actually need.

Are You Compatible?

When creating a business partnership, you’ll discover that it’s much like any other relationship. You need to be compatible with the person with whom you’re working. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the two of you have to be best friends. But you should have the same basic business styles and the same long term goals for your company. Your business partner should have the ability to build a strong relationship — not just with you, but with the other people working on your business. Take the time to get to know your potential partner before leaping into a long-term commitment to ensure compatibility.

Can They Take Risks?

There’s no getting around it: starting a business means taking risks, both personally and financially. If your business partner is not ready to take risks, they may not be the right partner for you. Be upfront about the risks your business will involve. The last thing you want is someone partnering with you and then bailing later. Don’t take it personally if they’re not up to the challenge. Instead, be thankful you found out before you reached an agreement and continue your search.

Finding a good business partner is a lot like finding a life partner. It might take you a long time to find the right one and you’ll need to be selective. But once you find that right person, it can change your life!

4 Tips That Will Help You Pitch to Investors Like a Pro

Jan 28, 2021

When starting a business in the tech industry, you need to consider what you’re going to do when it comes time to pitch to investors. You may not be ready to start pitching to investors quite yet, but it’s never too early to start preparing — especially if you have a fear of public speaking.

A successful pitch is heavily based on your ability to talk to people and essentially convince them to give you money. As such, very few businesses can succeed in the long term without a successful pitch. After all, about 82% of businesses that fail do so because of cash flow problems. One of the best ways to combat cash flow issues is to convince investors to commit to your business from the start.

One challenge, of course, is that investors often hear from many different tech entrepreneurs every year. Right now, a lot of people are interested in starting a business in the tech sphere. You’ll need to be able to prove in your pitch why your business is worth investing in. But how do you do that? Below, we’re looking into a few tips to help you pitch to investors and successfully secure funding. You don’t have to be an international public speaker in order to convince people to invest, though you may benefit from learning from one!

1. Hit That Elevator Pitch

You’ve probably heard about an elevator pitch before. An elevator pitch is a pitch that you could theoretically execute in the span of the time it takes to ride the elevator to your designated floor. Now, most investors will have more time than that to spare — but you still need to be able to deliver an effective pitch within a short amount of time. Most investors do not trust pitches that take a significant period of time to execute. They want to hear something punchy and quick.

Generally speaking, your elevator pitch needs to cover what you do, the problem your business solves, and what makes your business different from the competition. Don’t rush through it, but keep that elevator ride timeframe in mind when developing it.

2. Be Ready to Prove Your Results

When starting a business, it will take a while for you to gather proven data. If you don’t have results of some kind, however, you probably aren’t ready to start pitching to investors. Once you do have data, you need to make sure that it’s proven. There are a lot of tech entrepreneur resources available to help you gather and display pertinent data. But savvy investors will be able to tell if you’re trying to lead them astray. Don’t even try it. Instead, make sure you do your homework and can back up your claims.

3. Know Your Audience

If you’re looking for investors or tech entrepreneur partners, you need to know who you’re pitching to. Are you pitching to people who invest just to make money? Or are you pitching to people who want to take active roles in the businesses they’re investing in? The more you know, the easier it will be for you to provide targeted information that will appeal to them specifically. Now, you won’t always know exactly who you’re pitching to. But you should be able to get a general idea before heading in to make your pitch. Don’t go into a pitch completely blind; rather, take the time to know your audience as thoroughly as you can.

4. Work On Those Speaking Skills

When pitching, you’re essentially telling a story. You may be telling a story that is backed by evidence, but it’s a story nonetheless. You need to be able to engage your audience and draw them in so that they feel compelled to invest. While data is important, it can also be boring — so you’ll need to supplement that dry information with an emotional buy-in, which often comes in the form of storytelling. For a lot of entrepreneurs, starting a business is actually much easier than telling that story. If you’re uncomfortable with pitching, try taking a public speaking course. Look up videos of successful pitches and try to hone in on what made them successful. And if all else fails, just be honest and relatable. You don’t need many bells and whistles. You just need to engage your potential investors.

Pitching can be scary, but it’s also an amazing point in the life of your business. Hit the ground running and focus on making a pitch that you can be proud of!

4 Tips on Refining Your Pitch as a Tech Entrepreneur

Jan 5, 2021

We all know that becoming a successful tech entrepreneur can be incredibly difficult. There are a number of obstacles in the way of every entrepreneur, including securing funding, competition from other companies, and simply finding a winning concept for a business. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges an entrepreneur can face, however, is winning support from other business owners and investors.

Very few entrepreneurs run businesses independently for the entirety of their career. An entrepreneur may own the majority of their company’s equity, but they usually will require partners or investors in order to scale up at some point. This is going to require crafting the perfect pitch. For those wondering about how to succeed as a tech entrepreneur, the pitch is perhaps one of the most key components that you will need to master. With that in mind, let’s look into some of the best tips for tech entrepreneurs that want to make the perfect pitch.

1. Take Public Speaking Classes

A lot of pitching is less about the product or service that is being pitched and more about how it is being presented. Yes, you will need a high-quality idea if you’re seeking how to succeed as a tech entrepreneur… but your idea will be no good if you’re pitching it without confidence, charisma, and the ability to explain big concepts in an easy to understand way. This doesn’t come naturally to everyone, and that’s okay.

One of the best tips for entrepreneurs to consider is taking public speaking classes. Public speaking classes help everyone become more confident and natural public speakers, but they are particularly helpful for those that actively face difficulties when public speaking. Roughly three out of four people suffer from speech anxiety, and generally speaking, this is not an issue that simply goes away because people want it to go away. Therefore, it’s vital that issues with speaking are resolved as quickly as possible through high-quality courses.

2. Create an Elevator Speech

You won’t always need to have an elevator speech available when pitching your business idea. At times, you will be allowed more time or even extensive meetings to pitch to investors or potential partners. But when studying how to succeed as a tech entrepreneur, you’ll soon realize that if you can pitch your idea within 30 seconds, you’ll be able to pitch your idea just as well within an hour. However, pitching during the shorter time frame is significantly harder to master.

Your elevator speech should summarize in 30 seconds or less what you do. The goal of the speech should be to make whoever is listening interested enough to ask additional questions. Define why you’re different, and the investors or potential partners would want to work with you.

3. Know Your Audience

The more you know about your audience, the easier it will be for you to craft a pitch that appeals to them specifically. If you’re seeking how to succeed as a tech entrepreneur, you need to understand who you’re pitching to, and why they need you as much as you need them.

Sometimes, entrepreneurs won’t be able to know everything about everyone that they’re pitching to. If you’re pitching at a trade show or convention, you may essentially be pitching to a crowd. But if you research that show or convention, you can get an idea of who will be there and why they’re drawn to that event. One of the most common entrepreneur mistakes is assuming that all investors are solely motivated by return.

4. Present a Documented Plan

Your plan may very well change, but your investors still want to know what that initial plan is, and that you have one. Offer a plan for success for your business, relying on stages to map out how your business, and in turn those investing in it, will be successful.

There are many different keys to being a successful entrepreneur. But the ability to successfully pitch is perhaps one of the most overlooked. Don’t forget that people aren’t just buying into your business. They’re buying into you as well.