#14 Strategic narrative, startup pitches, storytelling for founders ft. Andy Raskin, Silicon Valley storytelling mastermind

Whether it’s meeting a founder friend, a potential hire, investor, customers, or even a bunch of product team leads, there’s one thing that stands out–the ‘narrative’ you want to tell, the story of what you’re building and why you’re building that. Strategic narrative binds all the folks who are directly impacted by your ideas and in turn gives you all the clarity and helps you articulate your vision well. But, how do you frame this narrative? What are the components of a great story?  

Andrew Raskin is a Silicon Valley storytelling mastermind. Andy helps C-suite leaders and leadership teams align around a high-level story that powers success—in sales, marketing, fundraising, product development and recruiting—by getting everyone on the same page about strategy and differentiation. His post “The Greatest Sales Deck I’ve Ever Seen” is an internet sensation, with nearly 90+k views on Medium.

Andy explains what strategic narrative is, why it's an evolutionary thing, deconstructing the parts to make a good narrative; he discusses about what makes a good pitch and the mistakes founders often make while presenting their pitch; Andy and Aishwarya also chat about the influence of leadership in making a strategic narrative, real-time examples from Andy's advising companies, and the practical tips to get better at product storytelling.