316 | Get Your Climate Startup Funded with a Great Pitch Deck with Zoë Dove-Many
Our guest this week on the pod is Zoë Dove-Many. Zoë is on a mission to get climate solutions out of the lab and into the mainstream with the power of storytelling. As a brand strategist and designer her well crafted pitch decks helped raise a total of $22.8M in 2022. She writes a weekly newsletter on storytelling, brand strategy and climate solutions at Helloë Creative.
This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of our host, Zelizer Consulting Services.
Resources mentioned in this episode include:
Transcript of Climate Startup Pitch Deck Interview with Zoë Dove-Many
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You can read the full transcript of this episode here.
Key Topics & Bullet Points
1. Zoë Dove-Many's Journey in the Climate Space
- Seeking online hubs related to climate and sustainability
- Connecting with founders and individuals making an impact
- Emphasizing the importance of asking questions and deeply listening
2. Funding and Boom in the Climate Space
- Significant influx of funding in the climate space
- Impact of funding boom on recent developments
3. Leveraging Impact to Address Climate Change
- Working with individuals and organizations making a big impact
- Providing clarity on message for impact-driven individuals or organizations
4. Nuanced Pitching Strategies
- Pitching strategies for companies at different growth stages
- Emphasizing the importance of real-world data, traction, and scaling in later-stage pitches
5. Importance of Storytelling and Audience Understanding
- Creating personas based on demographics and psychographics
- Emphasizing the hero's journey and crystallizing audience problems and startup solutions
6. Addressing Multiple Problems in Climate Change Solutions
- Clarifying the pitch to avoid overwhelming the audience
- Creating fun and joyful branding for climate businesses
7. Zoë Dove-Many's Pitch Deck Guide
- Offering a free pitch deck guide on her website
- Importance of visual content over text in pitch decks
- Process of creating pitch decks with minimal text and high-level storytelling
8. Importance of Visual Presentations in Pitching
- Ideal slide length for presentations
- Using visuals, icons, and shorter sentences in pitch decks
- Collaboration with a designer to layout the presentation
9. The Power of Engaging Pitch Decks for Climate Startups
- Impact of effective visual presentations in gaining investor interest
- Comparison of pitch decks to teasers for generating interest
10. Zoe Dov Manny's Impact in the Climate Startup Space
- Amount raised for climate startup funding in 2022
- Running Hello Creative, a collective focused on pitch decks and brand strategy for climate startup founders
11. Transformation into Climate Startup Space
- Observing problems in the advertising industry and personal pivot to the climate space
- Transitioning design work to include more brand strategy
12. Financial Aspects in Pitching for Investment
- Using pitch decks to help identify the money problem
- Showcasing financial aspect clearly in the first few minutes when pitching for investment
- Emphasizing financial return or impact based on the audience when pitching for grant or VC funding
13. Techniques for Creating Engaging Pitch Decks
- Transforming awareness into a deliverable, starting with a detailed text document
- Importance of colorful language and fun titles for engaging slides
- Varying the number of slides in a pitch deck based on the client and the story emphasized
14. Pitch Deck Creation and Purpose
- Addressing struggles in creating pitch decks and bridging technical knowledge gaps
- Use of imagery and charts in pitch decks
- Different purposes for using pitch decks, such as pitching for investors or inviting co-founders to join a startup
15. Effective Communication in Pitch Decks
- Ensuring the pitch deck's content resonates with the audience and is compelling