Category: Get Early Stage Funding

Empowering European entrepreneurs by accelerating sales, marketing, funding and business development for startups.

What is the Power of Pitching?

We pitch new ideas to our colleagues We pitch innovative solutions to our customers We pitch expansion and growth to investors And we pitch responsibility to our teenagers… Pitching is how we start the process of opening other people’s minds to new and different ideas. And it's an important first...

Hiding in your Comfort Zone?

Are you Hiding in your Comfort Zone this Summer?   It’s summertime. That means it’s time for us to do some unusual things; things that we don’t normally do. But lately I have realised how much of my life I’ve spent hiding. Hiding in the familiar places, routines, tasks and...

A Pitch is Not What you Think

Most entrepreneurs think that pitching is something you do in an elevator or to win a competition. While these are indeed 2 types of pitches, there is a lot more to this. Pitching is how you first get people interested in your product, service or new idea. Think of Pitching as a...

The Best (free) Gift You Can Ever Give

For me, Christmas is about giving; giving gifts to express appreciation and gratitude to the people in our lives we care about the most. While millions are racing around, shopping for that last-minute perfect present, don’t forget the best gift of all. This holiday season, give your loved ones something...

Your Voice is an Emotional Stethoscope

Words on a page can convey meaning. But words that are spoken can move hearts. Your voice belongs to both your body and your mind and it is shaped by your internal experiences. It is influenced by your emotions and feelings. Your voice was formed based on your own childhood experiences...

The Power of Pitching

Just before Christmas I competed in the Finals of the Techtour European Venture Contest. Oddly enough, I was one of the category winners (this surprised me, but never underestimate the power of a good story). Since I am a serial entrepreneur and back after 9 years, Techtour interviewed me in...

Naked on Stage

Last week I did a talk in front of 600 people. I was naked. No colorful Powerpoints, no music, no flashy videos to hide behind. Just me. Just my naked voice. Here is what someone tweeted just after my talk: You know you're a confident speaker when you go on...

Words, Dance but no Music

It's Friday morning and I'm sitting on a crowded plane in the midst of 8 young men who are headed to Amsterdam for a big weekend together. They are incredibly talkative in an endless stream of chatter, banter, intense debate and raucous laughter. Normally I would have to put in...

A Tolerance for Silence 

Right now I am on an airplane. I’m flying home at 20,000 feet from Kuopio, Finland. I’m decompressing. Imagine a town dropped right in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Imagine being surrounded by a thousand miles of flat and nondescript landscape with nothing but seemingly endless trees and lakes… then...

7 Fatal Voice Mistakes that Entrepreneurs Make when Pitching

Why some of the things you can't even hear yourself saying may be killing your pitch and ruining your first Impressions In my head I sound like George Clooney – deep and sexy. But when I hear a recording of myself, I’m reminded more of Stevie Urkel. The voice inside...