You have an amazing idea. You KNOW it's going to attract a million eyeballs, if you can just get it in front of the right investors. You snag a meeting with the VC of your dreams, and begin describing your idea and why it will revolutionize the industry you're so passionate about - pet breath. But your VC looks confused. Why isn't he getting it?
As dwellers in the shadow of Hollywood, chances are that you've had a job in the entertainment industry before becoming a proud member of Silicon Beach. So let's think about two movies for a second: "Snakes On A Plane," and "American Beauty." One film is a campy horror flick about the terror of being stuck thousands of miles above ground with tons of killer snakes. Oh, and Samuel L. Jackson is the star. The other is about a thoroughly normal guy going through a thoroughly abnormal midlife crisis, starring homosexuality, thoughts of pedophilia and (possible) murder. Guess which one scared off actors, producers and studios before finally getting made and is now considered one of the best films ever made (hint: it's the same one what won a lot of Academy Awards)?
Great products are hard to pitch. Even the most prolific investors sometimes miss out on successful products because they just don't make sense (i.e., our lead investor Jason Calacanis and Twitter). Check out Ryan Sheffer's newest episode of "12 Months" as he discusses why he thinks this is the case.
