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Comment by pg | Hacker News Reader

Maybe my case is unusual because YC takes applications online, but I don't like it when people walk up to me and "pitch" me by reciting some preformulated speech about their startup. I can almost never understand what they're talking about. And it makes me feel like a target, in much the same way it probably does to women when guys walk up to them and recite preformulated pickup lines.

The unit of conversation with a "tech celeb" need not be a pitch. I'd suggest trying an ordinary conversation instead. I don't know about other people, but it would definitely work better with me.

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This is a tough thing for founders. I was in this situation earlier this year after I won a ticket to Google I/O. One of the events was a Google Ventures mixer, which turned out to be a "speed-dating" event. I was excited to meet Joe Kraus, who gave my favorite Startup School speech ever, but what to do in this format? Launch into a cooked-up pitch? But I wanted to talk to Joe, not use him for target practice based on his job. But wasn't that kind of what I was expected to do? Still, what a borderline-presumptuous missionary tack to take with someone I respect. But wouldn't I get over that knowing teammates were counting on me to get us funding any way we could?

At last, I decided to skip the pitch, chatted very pleasantly with Joe, got some great advice and his card. In retrospect, that was really about as much as I should expect in a five-minute sit-down. He seems twice as much of a great guy as I thought he was. The pitch can wait until the next time we cross paths or it's been a lot better tested. But I better recognize now how awkward these situations can get.

Probably the optimal plan would be to engage the investor and let them draw the idea out of you by asking questions. Not just because this is less aggressive, but because it's more efficient. Preformulated pitches are usually so bad that it makes my head ache trying to figure out what the company does. If I could just ask questions I could probably narrow it down pretty rapidly.

The 'What do you do' question almost always comes up. Or the 'what are you working on?' question. That's when you can say your few words about what you do and what you are working on. If the other person is interested they might ask a question. You say something like:

"I'm a app/web developer who just finished contracting at the fastest growing company in the world making apps for fortune 100s and am now working on a start up doing Travel Guide-Apps."

Their eyes may glaze over half way through your "I'm a web developer..." at which point you notice this and drop it, ask them what they do, or ask them some other question.

Anyway, I guess that is basic 101 conversation techniques.

A fun game I used to play with friends in bars/clubs was introducing someone else. My friend would pretend to be a french student new to the city and I was introducing them around. Got into some very funny conversations with people... especially when they realized what the game was.

I think you could seriously improve your 'What do you do' answer. If you'd simply said "I develop travel guide apps" you probably wouldn't get any eye-glazing and in all likelihood it might even lead to an interesting conversation about traveling and favorite destinations. Don't brag about how awesome you are and don't get into details about who you work for or how awesome they are. Simply state in as high-level terms as possible actual real world problem you are solving, and don't worry if your short answer isn't technically correct. If they care you can clear up any confusion when they ask for more details.

Thanks for the comment, Paul. Blog posts are funny, b/c you have to boil down a bunch of complex ideas into something people can grok while skimming. I actually don't like the word "pitch" or think of myself as someone who really pitches things very well at all. But it does describe sharing your ideas with other people, capturing it in a single word. A more accurate description would be "sharing your vision" or something similar.

If there's one thing I've learned over the years (whether meeting new startup people or trying to get a date) it's been the "don't be a douchebag" rule. Treat people like people. The best "pitch" is actually not a pitch. It's authentic, where you're talking to someone who you honestly believe will be interested in what you're doing, and you're sharing something you're sincerely excited about.

The last person you want to be is one of the "Jersey shore meatheads" trying to dry hump some poor woman out on the dance floor (to harken back to my earlier analogy). :)

It is actually how most of the world works: you tend to remember people you meet in person (versus those who cold email or call you), and as long as the pitch is not canned or scripted (people who do this well can be very conversational about how they describe it), it can lead to a follow-up meeting and further discussion.

I'm curious as to how often this happens (in person). Is this a weekly occurrence?

Just take a look at the TechCrunch Disrupt conf videos with pg and other VCs. They get pitched constantly when it's totally out of context and inappropriate, eg when they're on mic to ask a question or participate in some contest. Granted this was a startup event, but you could tell that these people would pitch like this at any opportunity they see upon recognizing a VC.

In your case the "pitch" would be an intelligent conversation. The traditional pitch wouldn't be a pitch because it's ineffective. The article only talks about anxiety but the importance of iteration is in there (he got the first number after 4 or 5 tries) and I'm sure his pitch was more natural than your typical "deer running towards headlights" kamikaze pitch.

I think part of YC:s success is that you take applications online. One doesn't need a lot of networking and pitching skills to get into YC, just a great team, ambition and some kind of idea. That means you get startups that other investors will never see.

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