As a funding strategist, John Livesay helps Tech CEOs craft a compelling pitch that engages investors to fund their startup. He hosts The Successful Pitch podcast with investor from around the world . John won salesperson of the year during his 20 year career at Conde Nast.
Entrepreneurial Role Models:
When business started difficulties overcame:
“One of the big ones was overcoming my fear of starting a podcast, because people would tell me look, I definitely need your help with my pitch but I also need introductions to investors, and at the time I didn’t know any investors. So I thought if I start a podcast interviewing investors I’ll have a network of investors I can connect them to. But my first fear was the fear of rejection, what if i ask people and they ask to hear other episodes. So I had to overcome that fear, and I realised being in sales most my career that you just don’t take rejection personally. The next fear was the fear of failure, what if no one downloads it. The big one for me was the fear of the unknown, the things I didn’t know about podcasting. The key to fear the unknown is to collaborate and find someone who needs the things you don’t”…[Listen for More]
Favourite Books:
How to Be a Power Connector: The 5+50+100 Rule for Turning Your Business Network into Profits Book by Judy RobinettFavourite Quote:
“If you want to play the game you have to know the rules” – Albert Einstein
Recommended Online Resources:
Trello – Ditch the sticky notes, spreadsheets, email, and clunky software for managing your projects, and become one of the millions of people to fall in love with Trello.
Best Advice to Other Entrepreneurs:
“Don’t go it alone, it’s a lonely job if you try to do it by yourself, you need to collaborate, you need to get out and share ideas and get help”…[Listen for More]
More About John Livesay:
Neil’s Quote at the Beginning:
Gary Wolf “Humans make errors. We make errors of fact and errors of judgment. We have blind spots in our field of vision and gaps in our stream of attention. Sometimes we can’t even answer the simplest questions.”
Other Quotes From the Chat with John Livesay:
- “If you can simplify things people will say yes and invest”
- “People remember your story so much more than your numbers”
- “People buy emotionally and then back it up with logic”
- “Figure out what you’re good at and outsource the rest”
- “Focus on your progress and let go of being a perfectionist”
- “Find a problem that you’re passionate about solving, then test the market to see if people will pay you for that solution”
- “You have to really be aware of why you and why now”
- “Forget selling yourself and tell stories instead”
- “Not all money is good money, there’s dumb money and smart money”
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