This winter I worked with a cofounder team of serious people. Linear thinkers, developers by trade, now building a company and are out raising serious money.
Every time we sat down together, I made them experiment. We tested new ideas. We took a creative approach to landing particular slides, to figuring out the narrative that explains their pivot, or finding the dynamic between them.
And almost every time I suggested a new experiment I got resistance.
They wanted to get it right. They wanted the answer. I’m betting you do too. Here’s the thing: there are very few “right answers” in storytelling, public speaking, or pitching. It’s part art form, part science, and for both you have to experiment to find your way.
You can copy someone else’s style. Sure. But a Monet wouldn’t be a Monet if he’d just copied someone.
If I give you a formula and you follow it blindly without taking the time to experiment and find your own answer, it won’t land. You’ll look like you’re putting on someone else’s suit. You won’t come across as an authority or an investment-worthy founder.
Experimentation is the key to finding your answers.
It will look different every time. That’s the point.
What Experimentation Unlocked
The cofounders came into a session stuck. Completely stuck on something that was critical, the economic driver.
Everyone understood the end user’s pain points, that part was clear. What they couldn’t articulate was the enterprise-level problem they were solving. The reason a business would spend money on their product.
So we ran experiments.
First, they explained it without direction… clear as an interpretive dance.
Then I had them explain it as if I were their mother, or their kid, someone completely outside the world of tech… clear as the fog around SFO (hi Karl).
They were frustrated and wanted to stop experimenting and really wanted me to give them the right answer. I asked them to go with me, just one more time.
I had them pretend they were a reporter from Wired who needed to explain their business to readers. That’s when it clicked. The enterprise problem was clear as a flawless diamond.
That’s what experimentation does. It’s not permission to be sloppy. It’s permission to not have the answer… yet. To play and to find it.
When you take the time to ask the question or constrain your answer in different ways, when you ask yourself “what’s the most important thing here?” when you look at something you know well from a completely new angle… that’s when you find your answers.
Next Time You’re Stuck, Ask Yourself
- How can I experiment?
- Can I look through a different lens?
- Is there a constraint that will help me find the answer?
- What can I learn through trying a different approach?
Tell me what you try and what you learn.
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