Guy Kawasaki’s 10 Entrepreneur Pitch Slides Interpreted for Job Seekers

guy_kawasaki_headshotGuy Kawasaki has a post titled The Only 10 Slides You Need in a Pitch.  I want to take each of the ten (in bold, below), and then share how this applies to a job seeker. (If you go to his post, note you can click on the image and make it readable)

For context, Guy is talking to entrepreneurs who are pitching investors (typically angel investors or venture capitalists), hoping to get them to invest in their business idea. I’ve seen a number of pitches from entrepreneurs and I can attest that a lot of people could use refinement in this important communication opportunity. I’ve seen enough communication from job seekers and others who network, when they are in an “important communication opportunity,” and they mess it up.  Too much information, or too little information.

I’m not saying these are the 10 slides, or points, that job seekers and networkers need to have in every, most, or any, communications, but consider these important points, and how and when you would use them:

  1. Title. This is your basic information like name, contact info, website, tagline, etc. I’ve heard 30 second pitches from interesting people who didn’t make it clear what their name is, or how to get in touch with them later.  Make it easy for people to know who you are, and find you.
  2. Problem/opportunity. Guy says “describe the pain that you’re alleviating or the pleasure you’re providing.” This is simply what problems you solve… how you help companies (or people)… what you bring to the table.
  3. Value proposition. This is the VALUE of your solution. It takes step two to the next level, where you quantify what you do or have done.
  4. Underlying magic. Guy says to “describe the technology, secret sauce or magic” that you have. This might include trainings, certifications, experience… or any special models or systems that you abide by or have created to do your job more effectively.
  5. Business model. Guy says “explain who has your money temporarily in his pocket and how your going to get it into yours.” This is all about knowing who your customer is… what value do you bring to people/companies, how much you are worth to them, etc.  You should know what value you bring to anyone who would pay for your services… can you imagine being in an interview and sharing how much money your services have generated, because you understand what you are worth to customers?
  6. Go-to-market plan. Guy says “explain how you are going to reach your customer without breaking the bank.” Often, companies already have systems set up to “reach the customer,” but sometimes your ideas and ingenuity to increase revenues can be the standout difference between you and the other candidates.
  7. Competitive analysis. Do you understand the competition, industry, and companies that are relevant to your company and industries? You bring considerable value if you do.
  8. Management team. If you are looking for a job you won’t have a management team or board, but you can talk about who you have worked with, and who has influenced your thinking. Who are your peers, who do you learn from, who do you hang out with (professionally, not privately)?  If I know you are a student of Covey, Carnegie, etc. then I can get an idea of how you think.
  9. Financial projections and key metrics. Obviously Guy is talking about finances from an entrepreneurial perspective. To convert the concept to you, do you know how much you need to make?  How much you want to make? Do you know how people in the role you want make, considering experience level and geography?  This comes down to how much you are worth.  Understanding these numbers will really help you when it comes time to talk about salary, compensation package, etc.
  10. Current status, accomplishments to date, timeline, ad use of funds. I would say this final point is your portfolio of accomplishments. What have you done, what projects have you worked on, and how integral were you in the success of those projects? Artists can easily create a visual portfolio… I think that we can all have a portfolio. If yours isn’t visual, then it should be a collection of stories that illustrate what you have done.

Again, these are not 10 points to use in an interview, but if you work through the answers to each of these topics, you’ll probably be better prepared for interviews, networking opportunities, etc.

What do you think?