Earlier this month we had Linda as a virtual guest in our kitchen, quite an honor! A woman with an established name in the food industry, among others.
As director of Innofest she guides innovations from sustainable entrepreneurs to test their prototypes in living labs, research settings from everyday reality, in order to better and faster prepare them for the market. With her past as a pitch coach, enormous love for food and experience in the food industry as co-founder of the Slow Food Youth Network Academy, among others, we are glad she wanted to share her expertise with our members in the workshop "Pitching without nerves.
In the past you have been a pitch coach and for Innofest you can often be found on stage as well. What is your biggest tip for public speaking?
"If you enjoy what you do, you can keep talking and talking. A presentation is all about how your story comes across and what the audience remembers once they go home. A big challenge for startups is telling their story concisely, when it's so important to provide structure to it. A story has a beginning, middle and end. If you keep this structure then you should be able to tell your story in five sentences. You can expand and contract these sentences, like a harmonica. You choose the sentences that connect with your target audience and in this way automatically create a natural persuasion."
How long did it take you to feel totally in control on stage?
"I think having 100 percent control during a presentation is not something you should want. I see public speaking as an opportunity to tell your story to a large group of people. You know your story best, when you structure it well it gives you a foothold and the control you need to get your message across. With that foundation you get room to play with what you see around you."
Going back to now, in your current work you help sustainable entrepreneurs test innovations. What does such a process look like?
"Innofest not only wants to help entrepreneurs, but also to contribute to a better world. That's why Innofest works with impact startups. Innofest links innovations to a real-world test site and puts together a pilot with the entrepreneur. The entrepreneurs test their prototypes in both B2B and B2C markets. A B2C example could be an entrepreneur testing different flavors or types of packaging materials. They are guided in this by our "test like the best" methodology. Entrepreneurs often have assumptions about certain aspects of their product or brand. To prepare the test as well as possible, we start by looking at what assumptions there are, whether they are correct and what impact they have. This way we slowly build towards a test methodology appropriate for this entrepreneur. Innofest provides access to the test sites, guidance and context so the entrepreneurs can focus 100% on their upcoming test. With the data collected, we take stock of which assumptions are correct and which are not. With this knowledge, the entrepreneurs can further develop their product or service or take the next step in the process to achieve a successful market launch.Â
"A good entrepreneur is resilient and open to being wrong. Only by being open to feedback can your product really get better. The same goes for pitching. Take advantage of the feedback you get, that way the story will get better. But also be flexible. Every pitch is tailored to your target audience in a different way. That makes each story and message unique. The basics and structure remain the same, but by addressing your audience personally, you are in your power. This ultimately ensures that you are not only telling a story, but being heard."
If you want to test drive Innofest, sign up through the website of Innofest.
📸 Credits: Tom van Huisstede