“How a dragon-mauling was the best thing that happened to me in business”

Dragons in San Diego story – its your story and you are the author

It was a sweltering first day of fall at the USDC 2003. I had been sent to give a pitch as a pioneer New Zealand entrepreneur to the University’s special Connect programme that trained people in the art of securing investment capital. If you had been with me that day, you would have seen in front of me in a small auditorium seated in a U-shaped formation of beige office tables, were a collection of venture capitalists, field experts, lawyers, and angel investors. In short, the crème-de la crème of San Diego’s Dragons Den who between them they had seen over 1000 investment pitches. But they had never ever seen one as bad as they were about to witness.

The first foreboding sign you would have seen on this sweltering day – was that every man in the room was dressed in board shorts and Hawaiian shirts except one lone overdressed overwarm kiwi cooking at the front in a fine-knit woollen black suit, complete with high-buttoned jacket. The heat didn’t stop there.

I can still remember the electric atmosphere at the end of my pitch making my concluding remarks, I heard this rustling sound and I thought “Is that the sound of a cheque-book being extracted from a broad-short back-pocket. But no, it was Jay Kunin, principle at Finistere Capital Partners, inching his elbows forward on the beige desk as he peered over his dark rimmed spectacles looking like a slimmed-down version of Peter Jackson as he asked “is that it”. Did you ever do anything really naughty as a kid. Did you ever do anything naughty and get caught. You know that moment of silence just after you find out your parents know, and before just before they start speaking. Yeah – I think you are all with me.

Helen Schmit, venture capitalist, a petite woman in an understated blouse and blue skirt was the next to speak. “If your product is so great, what’s to stop a local firm here getting investment backing and getting to market before you?” It was a good question. Deserving of a good answer. I paused for effect. I looked her in the eye confidently and I said “good question” – which may have been a powerful beginning to my reply had it not been my reply. I was starting to realise there would be no cheque-books taken out of board-short pockets or handbags today. But it didn’t stop there.

The baton was handed to the angel investors and they mauled me for another 5 minutes. Jay Kunin began: “Your marketing method was sketchy and flawed, the market size assumptions were wrong, the cost-of-sale was too high.” Were the first 3 of 18 faults he listed – but it didn’t stop there. The scientists started – what is so unique about the science behind what you have done. Then the lawyers, what steps have you taken to secure your IP, then the programme director himself – what is to stop anyone copying what you have done.

40-minute later every aspect of what was in the pitch and what was not in it was picked apart and then those pieces that were picked apart were also picked apart – and those pieces were put in a vitimizer and ground to a nebulous colourless pulp which come-to-think-of-it was the phrase Jay Kunin used to describe my pitch.

Sweating, singed and solitary – they gave their solitary two compliments: the first was programme director and chief dragon Greg Horowitt: who said “Despite what anyone else says, I’m impressed … that you are still standing”. They all laughed, and as they tapered off I faintly observed Jay Kunin smile as he said “I like you – but I really didn’t like your pitch”.

When I returned to New Zealand. My half-Irish, half-Maori dreadlocked cousin greeted me. Build like an All black prop and also one of the most articulate and charismatic people I have ever had the honour to know. He said “so how was the big opportunity cuz”. I shook my head and told him how I blew it. I never forget what he said next. After he finished laughing. It was one of those moments that can change your life. I know it changed mine. He said “Cuz – this is only the end of your dream if you let it be. Or it can be the turning point. “It’s your story and you are the author.”

What he said got me to do what I knew I needed to do, but probably wouldn’t have without him. Because over the next 9 months I was to pitch another 29 times and I was rejected another 29 times, each time getting a little better. And over that time I noticed things started to change – I started to experiment with different things and throw out what didn’t work. I started to dare to weave in some of the things I had learnt as an actor rather than seeing this as an unrelated part of my life. And finally, 9 months later, on the first of May 2004, our company became the first in NZ to secure angel investment group backing, on the 21^st July 2005 we secured second round financing in 2.5 weeks, and by Sept 3 2006 our little company from New Zealand had taken its product to the # 1 download on Apple.com worldwide.

There’s nothing special about me, but there was something very special about the mentoring I receilved from my cousin that caused me to take action where I was ready to throw in the towel. It’s your story, and you are the author. Before you can influence anyone else in life – you must influence yourself to take action. It could be pitching for capital, a sale, a date, a job interview, anything. We all have our dragon’s dens. It’s your story, and you are the author. Did you ever try to influence once, and then give up – or did you use your own influence as the author of your story and write another ending.