19 Comments
User's avatar
Piyush Gupta's avatar

Great writeup Chris. Is “revealing what’s already true” possible without traction, or is traction itself the real truth investors respond to?

Chris Tottman's avatar

Catnip for investors is growth. Before growth ie pre product it's pedigree. The founder is the pitch though - never forget that

Nazanin Bigdeli's avatar

The founders who raise the fastest aren’t better storytellers; they’re better at revealing what’s already true.

Chris Tottman's avatar

Wow. So we'll articulated Nazanin - thanks for sharing your wisdom ✨

Ivan Landabaso's avatar

Storytelling = underrated fundraising superpower.

Chris Tottman's avatar

One of the highest ROI skills 💲x

John Brewton's avatar

This breakdown shows why the strongest stories feel lived in, not performed.

Chris Tottman's avatar

💯 comes out natural. The closest to conversational the better it lands 🤝

Kamil Tarya's avatar

Ops view: Act One is where clarity matters most. If the shift isn’t obvious in behaviour or cost curves, the rest of the story collapses. Execution only compounds when the opening act is undeniable

Chris Tottman's avatar

Great comment and brilliantly articulated ! Thanks ✨

Kamil Tarya's avatar

Thanks Chris, have a good one!

Karen Dietz's avatar

Great post Chris! Your breakdown and advice is spot on. Thanks for posting — from one business storyteller to another :)

Chris Tottman's avatar

Thanks for sharing Karen 🎉

Passport Inspiration's avatar

no doubt that progress indicates potential, good ideas are a dime a dozen and all over the internet these days

Edward Grundy's avatar

Very nice breakdown of the stages

Chris Tottman's avatar

Glad you like it. Thanks for sharing

User's avatar
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Dec 11
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Chris Tottman's avatar

Why are you prospecting all over my feed? It's coming off weird and makes the claims in the comment sound untrue. Ie you're offering this incredible pedigree where you're building huge audiences for others whilst at the same not demonstrating it yourself in your own profile. Comes off fake.

User's avatar
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Dec 10
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Chris Tottman's avatar

The pitch works best when it's like a conversation about a secret that you've found and mastered vs a broadcast 🤓