📺 Stream EntrepreneurTV for Free 📺

How to Tell Your Company's Story The co-founder of Thumbtack, a service that matches local professionals with customers, talks about pitching your company when fundraising.

By James McKinney

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Marco Zappacosta is the co-founder and CEO of Thumbtack, a service that matches customers with local professionals. In this clip from an episode of "The Startup Story" podcast, Zappacosta talks about fundraising and shares tips for pitching venture capitalists. His tips are:

  1. Know your audience and their goals
  2. Make your pitch a story with a narrative
  3. Ground the audience in the significance of the problem that will inevitably be solved — and that you and your company are the best solution, and why
  4. Start with the problem, not the product
  5. Communicate clearly that you understand the market, the dynamics, the competitive landscape and how your approach speaks to those specifics

Related: How to Turn Your Idea Into a Business

James McKinney

Creator & Host, The Startup Story

James McKinney is the Founder & Host of The Startup Story, a multi-channel brand platform that brings the lessons of highly successful founders directly to the everyday founder. Whether it is through The Startup Story podcast or via the Startup Story LIVE event series, entrepreneurs everywhere can receive tactical and practical guidance from founders who are a few steps ahead.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

These Coworkers-Turned-Friends Started a Side Hustle on Amazon — Now It's a 'Full Hustle' Earning Over $20 Million a Year: 'Jump in With Both Feet'

Achal Patel and Russell Gong met at a large consulting firm and "bonded over a shared vision to create a mission-led company."

Business News

These Are the 10 Most Profitable Cities for Airbnb Hosts, According to a New Report

Here's where Airbnb property owners and hosts are making the most money.

Side Hustle

How to Turn Your Hobby Into a Successful Business

A hobby, interest or charity project can turn into a money-making business if you know the right steps to take.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Productivity

Want to Be More Productive? Here's How Google Executives Structure Their Schedules

These five tactics from inside Google will help you focus and protect your time.

Starting a Business

This Couple Turned Their Startup Into a $150 Million Food Delivery Company. Here's What They Did Early On to Make It Happen.

Selling only online to your customers has many perks. But the founders of Little Spoon want you to know four things if you want to see accelerated growth.