Dave Schappell

“America is the greatest engine of innovation that has ever existed, and it can't be duplicated anytime soon, because it is the product of a multitude of factors: extreme freedom of thought, an emphasis on independent thinking, a steady immigration of new minds, a risk-taking culture with no stigma attached to trying and failing, a noncorrupt bureaucracy, and financial markets and a venture capital system that are unrivaled at taking new ideas and turning them into global products.”
― Thomas L. Friedman

“Before you can present a win-win deal, you must understand it. Sketch out the fundamental value exchange for each party. The customer is hiring you to solve certain problems and achieve value. That is the foundation of your working together. Like any foundation, it needs to be strong and will be tested over time. Sometimes, when you’re seemingly down a dead end, reverting to the first principles will illuminate another way forward.”
― Rags Gupta, One to Ten: Finding Your Way from Startup to Scaleup

“A related tactic is asking them to play your value back to you.54 This works especially well when the customer has been reticent to give feedback. I was nervous to do this when this was first taught to me. What if the customer couldn’t do so? What if I didn’t like what I heard? But that’s the point. You want to know if you landed your value proposition or what parts of the pitch didn’t stick, something like, “You’ve clearly seen a lot and are very advanced in your thinking. I’m curious, what value do you see, if any, in what we’re doing?”
― Rags Gupta, One to Ten: Finding Your Way from Startup to Scaleup

“Explicitly ask for feedback. Have the customer play the value back to you. Receiving candid feedback is paramount when pitching. You won’t know what went right, or more importantly, wrong, unless you hear directly from the customer. One effective tactic, toward the end of the meeting, is to ask the customer for their impressions. I like to say, “In the final minutes, I’d love to zoom out a level and get your take on what you’ve seen or heard and how it matches your expectations.” If they answer with polite platitudes, probe further: “Are there specific areas that resonated for you and also ones that you have concern about that we ought to know?”
― Rags Gupta, One to Ten: Finding Your Way from Startup to Scaleup