An equity story is the result of five questions: which chapters your story has, what each chapter conveys, the best order, how you transition between chapters and how you deliver it in a document and verbally. Like a great movie, it needs three things: a compelling script, outstanding visuals and a strong, authentic delivery.
For many, “story” or “equity story” are big, glorified, almost mystical words that are hard to grasp.
Let’s demystify them so we can get a better grip on it:
In the end, your equity story is the result of the following questions:
- Which chapters does your story have (your „storyline”)? Like: Problem Statement, Solution, Market, Competition, Founder Team, Financial, etc.
- Which information do you want to convey in each chapter?
- What is the best order of your chapters?
- How do you unfold the chapters of your story? In other words, how do you transition smoothly from one chapter to the next?
- How do you deliver the story the best (a) in a document and (b) verbally when presenting it?
That’s your equity story – take it easy.
If it makes sense, you can tell different sub-stories in different chapters of your story. The best movies are an aggregation of several sub-stories. Some examples:
- When you present your problem statement, you can embed the problems you’re tackling into a story. For example, You tell a story about yourself and how you were annoyed by the problems you’re solving now. Or you know someone who has those problems.
- When you present your team, you can tell a short (really short, please!) story about how your co-founders met. Or how you got your business idea – the „origin story.”
- When you show the impact of your solution, you can tell a customer’s story about how you transformed their life or business.
The possibilities are endless.
The best story script of a movie won’t be a blockbuster, though, without (a) great actors and (b) great visuals.
The best Hollywood movies have that combination in common:
A great script + stellar actors + compelling visuals (scenery, special effects, how they cut scenes, etc.).
And that tells you what you need to do to present an outstanding story:
- Script: Create a compelling, intriguing, and engaging script for your equity story.
- Visuals: Convey the story with outstanding visuals in your deck (and even data room). Remember: our reptilian brain loves visuals.
- Delivery: Learn how to deliver the story (and visuals) when you present it most efficiently. Please don’t act like an actor, though, as you’re not producing a Hollywood movie – be an authentic founder ;)
Frequently asked questions
What is an equity story?
It is the result of five questions: which chapters your story has, which information each chapter conveys, the best order of the chapters, how you transition smoothly between them and how you deliver the story in a document and verbally.
Which chapters does an equity story have?
For example problem statement, solution, market, competition, founder team and financials.
How can sub-stories strengthen an equity story?
Embed the problem in a personal story, tell a short story of how the co-founders met or how the idea came up, and tell a customer’s story about how you transformed their life or business.
What does it take to present an equity story well?
A compelling script, outstanding visuals in the deck and even the data room, and an efficient, authentic delivery when presenting.
