The Most Underrated Skill in VC
Read time: 4 min
Storytelling: The Most Underrated Skill in VC.
Ever watched How I Met Your Mother?
Of course you have.
That entire show is a masterclass in storytelling.
And here’s the thing—
The tech industry? It's the same.
Tech is built on stories. Stories about how the latest trends are going to change humanity.
Those stories are how things move.
Back in 2006, Eric Schmidt gave us a lesson.
He dropped a bombshell on Google’s strategy.
And it wasn’t about some shiny new product.
It was about presentation.
“No words on any slide,” Eric said.
Wait… what?
How the hell do you convey key messages without words?
“So what goes on the slides, Eric?”
“Images.”
“You mean... only images?”
“Yep. And choose your titles wisely. Seven to eight words max.”
Eric. Steve Jobs. They rewrote the rules on presentations.
They forced everyone to rethink their game.
New principles were born:
The bigger the audience, the fewer the words. Eric and Steve? Known for slides with zero words.
The title does the heavy lifting. It’s gotta work. No more passive garbage. Not “Customer retention” but “Customers continue to be retained strongly” or, even better: “Net revenue retention continues to be > 100%.”
Use memorable images that tell your story. The image owns the slide. It has to drive the point home. Spend more time thinking about the right image. Could be a customer, a graph, a logo—whatever hammers the message in.
Take this one from Continuum.
Wind turbine blades being buried at the end of their life cycle.
That’s the image.
It’s bleak. It grabs you.
You’re instantly on board to find a solution.
Or check out Carbon Cure.
A cement truck. A full-on factory.
The size of the impact hits you. It feels real. It’s visual. It outlines the solution.
You immediately spot the solution.
And Notpla?
They hit it out of the park. Their algae-based biodegradable material is genius, and the photo of marathon runners drinking from it?
Brilliant.
It pulls you in—makes you curious. You need to know more.
Speaker notes are your best friend.
Pack your details there. No reading off the slides. That’s lazy.
Good speakers? They prep hard. They rehearse dozens of times. Then do it again.
But here’s the caveat:
If you're emailing this deck to be read asynchronously, you’re in a different game. You need a new deck. One that incorporates your most critical speaker notes.
So, let me give you the ultimate pitch:
Storytelling.
This guy could sell you anything 👇
Now, imagine the stories we could tell in Climate Tech.
The stories are there—they just need the volume turned up.
Final Thought
If you’re not taking storytelling seriously in your company, you’re shooting yourself in the foot.
Paint the picture.
Make them see why this is big.
Why this is exciting.
Why this is important.
Startups?
They’re a game of luck.
But with a killer story?
That’s your edge.
That’s your ammo.
Use it to attract capital. Talent. Attention.
It’s worth every minute you invest in it.
Because, trust me, it pays off.
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