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Welcome to the BlogHer | bet ’11 liveblog of the Lunch Keynote: What Conveys Leadership in a Crowded Market?
Moderator: Moira Forbes (MF), Publisher of ForbesWoman
Panelists:
Laurie Yoler (LY), Managing Partner of Growth Point Technology Partners
Dana Mauriello (DM), Co-Founder and President of ProFounder
Megan Smith (MS), VP of New Business Development and GM of Google.org
MF:Purpose of today's panel how to develop the best pitch that represents you, who you are and to learn and grow from panel.
MF: Leadership is intangible quality we revere but people define differently. Important when asking people to buy into you, your concept, your experience. What are critical leadership qualities in entrepreneurship?
LY: I've seen lots of leadership styles that work well. Best article I've read recently is "Finding the Best Balance Between Power and Love." Ability to push team to take action with ability to show empathy and compassion. Too much love great culture but might not meet deadlines. Too much on the power side and people might leave. Lots of people talking about, e.g. David Brooks Social Animal.
MF: Great point that leadership qualities are evolving.
MF: What are great entrepreneurial leadership qualities when start business vs. when you grow and need more operational leadership?
DM: Energy and enthusiasm of three friends at start then two leaders and one friend was first turning part. How to work together as leaders and co-founders vs. as friends. Next turning point was when employees asked about 401K - different level of responsibility. Have responsibilities to others vs. schedule being my own.
MR: Leadership at early stages seems to involve ability to convey your passion to others but when other factors come into play leadership changes. How do you then pitch your personal brand?
MS: No matter what stage, across the board, the ability to act is important. Important in your personal brand to convey that you are the kind of person who can do that. I often ask them what people I'm interviewing what they did in High School. Did they act and lead? You want people who can deliver and act in a variety of settings. I am the kind of person who can translate vision into action. Did you do it as a kid?
MF: How do you create a narrative around your personal brand to inspire others to invest in you?
LY: At first my company brand was so strong so I didn't add personal details. It's easier when you have a big brand behind you to be your umbrella. Women often don't talk about "who you are, what you do." I developed better messaging what my passion is and what they do. "I inspire people people and help them reach their goals" is better than a resume (e.g. I worked here, I run this...). Develop a dynamic elevator pitch. Tell me about you, not your product.
MS: Tap into the meta reason why you do what you do and add a little bit of detail. What is it I love to do at a passion level about this topic?
MF: The ability to talk about your narrative - ability to move from leadership to execution - is important.
How do start to develop and practice your pitch?
DM: My co-founders and I found the passion easy to talk about. But people were hearing a different message so continued to iterate and incorporate feedback. Talked to everybody in lots of different settings to get a range of feedback.
MF: To audience: What are some of your pain points in developing your pitch
Aud: How to sound confident without sounding cocky?
MF: How to talk about me in the context of we? Pitch yourself without discounting your team?
MS: You want to be forceful and present. When someone asks you a question, how do you respond. How well you listen to the question will determine if you respond as confidence or cocky. Women face slightly different, and real issues.
LY: Have your facts behind you helps you come across confident while listening and taking feedback. Tough balance to also be humble and deferential with people who might invest in you.
MS: They're watching your ability to iterate. The ability to listen and push are important to leadership.
MF: Passion can be the entrepreneur's Achilles heel. Greatest quality can be the greatest weakness. How do you navigate? How do you listen to others who might have more knowledge about your passion?
DM: I recognized my responsibility to help those who I was passionate about. If I was leading them down the wrong path then my passion didn't matter.
MS: One mistake is getting stuck in market research phase and powerpointing too long. Want to convey the need, what you're going to do, who is the team - quickly.
MF: Any advice for addressing the key components?
LY: I see the opposite - pitching too early without enough research. I don't like fluff and pitches from people who haven't done their homework.
MS: Don't come in and say "I have no competition" Show why you are different, how you have a better approach. Being blind about that is a huge mistake.
DM: Be conscientious about why you are pitching to.
MF: Figure out who the right people to pitch to, are. Are there ways to think creatively about who to pitch to.
LY: There is more transparency online now. Go to TheFunded.com check out profounder. Some will listen to your pitch just to check you out but you don't want to waste their time. e.g. pitching to a VC that just funded your direct competition.
MF: Does gender ever shape how you pitch and convey yourself? Some leadership qualities found more in women than men. Does gender affect pitch process? e.g. do women have time making the ask?
MS: Hard to answer. Possibly having more women and men in the lab together. A lot of times things are founded by the guys at the beginning and need more women involved from the start. Encouraged by conversations happening now about inspiring and supporting women and girls.
MF: Lots of talk about the amount of funding women receive. How many of you think being a woman has heavily shaped your experience as a woman it wouldn't for a man? Positive way? Negative way? (lots of hands up for each of the questions)
MF: questions from the audience?
Aud: Laura Fitton: women seem to start later - how do we get around this
MS: notice men often haven't finished college and women all have degrees
LY: one big thing I had to learn how to handle is repeated rejection and having to go out and make the ask - not waiting for others to come to you. I got concerned when 75 firms rejected Tesla but male CEO said OK - let's get back out there. Persistence really pays, get over being turned down.
MF: Entrepreneurs get turned down more than actors! How do you develop resilience?
Aud: Found old salts of SV found it refreshing to hear from a woman. I became obsessed with getting investors their money back but every venture doesn't go well. When do you decide to move on?
MS: Look at metrics, are customers coming. Maybe you have a biz dev, M&A opportunity? Did you create a killer app for another product? Look for an exit. Maybe you have a product that has a longer time horizon than the venture so maybe you need to be inside another company.
Aud: women have the opportunity to revolutionize business
MS: Make a difference and make money. Service based businesses.
LY: Women often driving building businesses in developing world.
MS: Kids, younger generation are interested in green, world changing ideas.
MF: Take gender out of the equation - what are leadership skills are needed. Build teams with diverse strengths.
Aud: Christine Herron: Put how credible you are in the beginning of the pitch. Establish credibility. What are some specific gender things that work, don't work.
DM: Men tout how much money investors will make, women talk about the opportunity instead.
LY: biggest mistake I see women make is pitching small, controllable ideas, not going for the big, game changing idea.
MS: Talk to the VC who is your neighbor for coaching and introductions. Leverage your network and get in the game.
Aud: Michelle Ferrier: What are you looking for in a team?
LY: Passion and hunger. Not the person with tons of experience but not the passion. Or strong personality who surrounds herself with junior people.
MS: At Google who they promote and why - who is the engineer in the room who is not necessarily the best programmer but who gets the best ideas from their team? Who do you have chemistry with? If someone is toxic it is service to everyone and them to not have them on the team.
MF: One last question. What was the toughest leadership question you had to learn?
DM: Having the conversation about values and separating that from friendship.
LY: Get over the need to control - learn how to effectively delegate inside and outside the company
MS: Having conversations about the right fit which might change as company grows. Find people who share the same values so company doesn't implode. Make sure you identify core values. Figure out how to keep founders and vision around even if they don't have the right operational skills.