This is an anonymous post from an Elpha member.

Pitching my CEO & Founder

Solange208·Dec 20, 2021

Posted in:Software Engineering Career Growth

I'm not sure if this is the correct channel or not, happy to move it if needed!

My company is looking at the potentials of moving into the crypto space and I've gotten the opportunity to pitch my founders on how to go about this (which blockchain software to use, etc) before we head into Series B at the end of next year.

I'm a Jr. Engineer and this is my first job but I'm very confident in the idea I have.

My problem is, I've never made a pitch like this and I'm not sure exactly what the format should be or if that matters.

I'm really one of the only people in my company that has a good understanding of web3 and so I was considering making one of those sketched, voice-over explainer videos doing a compare & contrast of what they're wanting to do and my idea as well as how this tech better fits our budget and mission but I'm not sure that's apropriate.

Thoughts?

Gwenn83·Dec 21, 2021

As a founder/ceo, it is great to see you taking initiative. I think you want to structure this almost like a startup deck but branded like biz ops oppt. What makes these pitches typically fall short is the idea is often not deeply connected to the firm's mission, financials, etc.—it's not just about a "cool" idea but how does this complement or expand our existing work/product, expand our market, ROI, etc. This might look something like:- web3 (what is it, what it's important to look at, etc.—primer)- our company (what we do today, who do we serve, etc.)- the idea (what is it, what does it do for us, why is this an opportunity that we shouldn't miss, etc)- the idea execution (pro/con, what resources need to come together for this to be successful, how much will it cost, when will it be paid back, etc.)it's really important to hit on the firm value, which ultimately should be something or a combo of the below:- we can deliver our services to our existing customers for cheaper (improving our margins)- we can deliver more value to our customers (so upcharge)- we can serve a new segment or audience (more revenue)basically you're either cutting costs or driving more revenue (or both) and it should be clear which/or both, how much, what's the initial investment and maintenance. that might be a lot or new for you, let me know if you have other questions and I can try to expand or share some links! I'd recommend before making a deck to write out your idea in a word doc memo style and then from here you can start to layer in some of the above. A google research for a business plan could also help you walk through some of this step by step too. :)

Solange208·Dec 21, 2021

This is great thanks for taking the time to write that! My choice in software is largely due to that fact that it's more secure, at least 10x cheaper, easier to adopt, and it's much better for the environment (which is a key part of the company values, we're a fully remote team for that very reason and plant trees with every transaction ) Looks like I'm on the right track..... :D

Gwenn83·Dec 21, 2021

awesome, glad it's helpful—good luck