Beware, the Green-Eyed Monster...
Entrepreneur Office Hours - Issue #236
I’ve titled this issue of EOH with a Shakespeare allusion. It’s from Othello. The villain — posing as a good guy — is warning the titular hero about being jealous (the “green-eyed monster”) of his love interest’s seeming flirtations with another man. Jealousy, as the villain of Othello knew, is one of the easiest ways to destroy a person.
Unfortunately, jealousy also seems to be a goal for lots of people on social media. And, for the last couple weeks, the all-powerful algorithms have been playing into their efforts by flooding my feeds with two types of content that seems intent on making me jealous.
The first type of content I’ve been seeing often is best described as “entrepreneur bro” content. It’s usually young, fratty guys showing off their alleged wealth via fancy cars, nice watches, exotic travel, etc.
The second type of content I’ve been seeing often is “get rich quick” content. It’s content where the person presents himself as though he’s making tons of passive income and then teaches some magic-sounding process for doing the same thing.
Luckily, I’m much too jaded to believe anything I see online. But, judging by the comments on lots of the content I’ve been seeing, not everyone is. As a result, this feels like a good time to share a casual reminder that there’s no such thing as “getting rich quick” or “passive income.” Instead, if your feed is similarly flooded with examples of outrageous (and impossible) entrepreneurial success, remember the real business model behind what you’re seeing.
Simply put, on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, people make money when they get you to watch videos. For example, a 90 second TikTok that gets 500k views will generate the creator of that TikTok around $500. It’s not a fortune, but, if you can pop out three or four of those a week, it’s not terrible money.
In other words, the content you’re seeing that features a viral strategy for making passive income or some entrepreneur bro talking on a podcast about how he’s crushing his revenue goals this year while sipping mojitos on a beach in southeast Asia… well… none of it is actually created to help you be a better entrepreneur. It’s all created to help those creators make money.
As always, the truth isn’t nearly as glamorous. Real entrepreneurial wisdom isn’t simplistic, and anything that makes entrepreneurship sound easy, quick, or glamorous is lying to you. Why? Because the truth doesn’t sell nearly as well as the dream.
Sorry.
On the bright side, Lamborghinis look terribly difficult to get in and out of.
-Aaron
This week’s new articles…
The Real Way to Dominate Your Startup’s Market
Despite what most entrepreneurs think, winning a valuable market isn’t all about having the best product.
Startup Founders Need to Know the Right Way to Spend Money
There’s a big difference between being cheap and being stupid. Unfortunately, most founders think they’re being the latter when they’re actually being the former.
Office Hours Q&A
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QUESTION:
Hi Aaron!
I read the article you highlighted about the new way of giving pitches so they’re more about telling your personal story as the founder. It was an amazing insight and thank you so much for sharing it. The advice you gave is completely changing the way I am preparing my pitch.
With regards to that, I was hoping you might be able to share some advice on what would be the best way to improve at personal storytelling.
I come from an engineering background in college, so I don’t have a lot of experience with storytelling and I would like to learn from someone like you who clearly spends lots of time thinking about this topic.
Warm regards,
Harold
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You’re right that storytelling is, indeed, a powerful tool, not just in pitches but in communicating effectively in all areas of life. And, the good news is, you don’t need to be an English PhD to leverage storytelling. In fact, as an engineer you’re actually better suited to storytelling than you probably realize because you’re already well-acquainted with problem-solving and precision, which are two skills that can actually enhance your storytelling once you apply them creatively.
To help with that, here’s a framework I often recommend for developing your storytelling skills, especially in the context of entrepreneurial pitches:
1. Start with the 'why': This is crucial. Begin by thinking about why you started your company. What problem did you see that needed solving? What personal experiences led you to this moment? Connect your personal journey to the mission of your business. Doing this will add depth to your narrative while making your passion more obvious to your audience.
2. Structure your story: Every good story has a clear beginning, middle, and end. In your beginning, set the scene and introduce the problem. The middle should involve the challenges or 'adventures' you faced along the way. Finally, the end is where you have a chance to wrap things into a nice bow and reflect on how the journey has changed you or prepared you for future challenges. This structure helps maintain clarity and keeps your audience engaged. If you want a pro strategy for effective narrative structure, go to YouTube and search “Hero’s Journey.” You’ll find lots of good lessons.
3. Be authentic: The current state of storytelling demands a sense of authenticity. To make sure your story feels authentic, share real struggles and failures along with the successes. This vulnerability not only makes your story more relatable but also more memorable. People trust and believe in leaders who are human, just like them. Plus, investors don’t trust “perfect.” They realize any entrepreneur pitching a company that seems too perfect is almost certainly lying.
4. Practice, practice, practice: Just like coding or designing, storytelling improves with practice. Share your story with different audiences and get feedback. Notice what resonates with people and what doesn’t. Each practice attempt will also improve your delivery and timing as you learn to read audiences.
5. Read and listen to great stories: My last bit of advice is one you might not be thrilled to start, but I bet you’ll love once you get into it. I suggest you immerse yourself in stories. Read books, listen to podcasts, and watch presentations from successful entrepreneurs. As you do these things, don’t just sit back and enjoy the ride. Be a critical listener. Pay careful attention to how people build their narratives. If you like something, ask yourself why you like it. If you don’t, ask yourself why you don’t. The better you get at critically reading other people’s narratives, the better you’ll be at creating your own.
Got startup questions of your own? Reply to this email with whatever you want to know, and I’ll do my best to answer!
