Show Your Spiky Point of View

This week's tip: why and how you share your spiky point of view

As some of you may know, I am deep into building a cohort-based course with a16z backed course creator Maven (you can see more info here!).

A part of them helping me create the course was defining what my "spiky point of view" of the fundraising world was. It was a great exercise for me to think about my own unique insights of this industry.

I saw many similarities with this spiky point of view and a founder's unique insights defining a fundraise - they are pretty much the same.

And creating a spiky point of view as a founder can be game changing for your fundraise.

Because look...

The investor world is a noisy world. There are thousands of other founders like you trying to get noticed to the same investors.

Unless you distinguish yourself, you’ll never get a chance to show how different you actually are.

To stand out, you need to develop what Maven calls a “spiky point of view".

In this week's blog, I'll let you know what that is and how you create yours:

What is a spiky point of view?

A spiky point of view is one that is open to criticism. You firmly believe in it and are prepared to fight for it. It is your thesis on subjects related to your area of expertise. Your original reasoning for why you will triumph.

Every founder has a distinct perspective on the world. It makes you unique from everyone else. It represents the totality of your knowledge, abilities, personality, and instincts. You have been shaped into the person you are now by these factors.

Your spiky worldview demonstrates how you will do business. It demonstrates the motivations behind your choices. It demonstrates that you are solving the problem with rigor and critically analyzing the world around you.

A spiky point of view is almost impossible to imitate. It’s unique to you, which is why it’s such a powerful competitive advantage. It’s rooted in your conviction and authenticity.

The best part?

You already have it in you.

How to bring out your spiky point of view

Here are the key elements of a spiky point of view.

1. A spiky point of view can be debated.

Others should be able to disagree with your spiky point of view. If everyone agrees with it, it’s too middle of the road. I often see founders scared of being truthful about how they see the world, in case someone disagrees with them.

You can’t let this happen to you. Some investors will disagree with your view of the world - that is okay. You just need to find the investors who think the same way as you.

2. A spiky point of view isn’t controversial for the sake of it.

There’s nothing more irritating than a contrarian who just wants to stir the pot. It’s intellectually lazy. Don’t be that person.

3. A spiky point of view teaches your audience something relevant they don’t already know.

Don’t just summarize information. Offer a point of view that makes people see the problem you are solving in a new way. You want them to say, “Hmm I hadn’t thought about it that way but this is so true. This is making me rethink a lot of things.”

4. A spiky point of view is rooted in evidence, but it doesn’t have to be a proven fact or universal truth.

Your perspective should be defensible. You should believe in it enough to advocate for it. But you have to be okay with people disagreeing with you. If you wait for 100% consensus before you say your spiky point of view out loud, that day will never come.

5. A spiky point of view requires conviction.

You have to be brave enough to advocate for what you believe in. It’s not a passive regurgitation of information. There’s a stance of advocacy and a bias toward action. You’re trying to convince someone of this spiky point of view because you genuinely believe they’ll be better for it.

Great, so you understand what a spiky point of view is. Most founders even after reading this won't create a spiky point of view.

The biggest reason I see that prevents founders from creating their spiky point of view?

Fear. Especially the fear of rejection from investors.

You think that if you share your spiky point of view, investors could disagree with you, or you could end up being wrong.

And the founders I have worked with think that because of the increased change of rejection, they should keep to the safer option that most investors will be okay with.

Now...

Some of these concerns are valid. This explains why so many people choose for the safer option of just expressing opinions that are shared by those around them.

Sharing your spiky point of view requires boldness.

And its true: you may encounter investor rejection as a result of it. It will make you have difficult conversations about your business.

But if you don't have your own point of view, you'll start to sound like everyone else.

You become forgettable.

You have to keep refining generic ideas

Another problem I see founders do, is they start to create their spiky point of view then stop soon after.

When you start to create and build your initial spiky points of view they will be generic. You will have to keep refining them to get more specific, but act of coming up with your spiky points of view sharpens your own thinking, so you can articulate what you believe better.

This is why you have to do deeper mindset and vision work way before you think about fundraising. You have to think deeply about what your trying to solve and why you are doing it the way you are doing.

Come up with your own spiky points of view

Investors are looking for founders who are authentic, and hold unique insights about their domain. Having a spiky point of view that is shaped by your experiences, and therefore authentic to you as a founder is what differentiates you.

In other words: don’t copy other people’s spiky point of view.

Why?

You should be prepared to die for your spiky points of view. Your vigor and sense of conviction won't be the same when you mimic someone else.

Your customers and investors will perk up when you have contagious enthusiasm. Being around that energy is electrifying.

This is your chance to express the ideas that are important to you but that you are worried people won't agree with. Try it anyway. You'll be surprised by how people respond well to and value your willingness to speak up.

So keep an eye out for instances of spiky points of view. But in the end, create your own. It’s worth it.

Here’s 4 questions to ask yourself when coming up with your spiky points of view:

1. What are 3–5 spiky points of view you have about your industry?
2. What’s something you believe that others might disagree with regarding your company and the problem you are trying to solve?
3. What do you wish more investors understood? This should be something that makes you a little angry or frustrated. Conviction and emotion matter here—if it’s something you’re ambivalent about, it’s not worth your time to convince others.
4. Jot down what you’ve said that made your customers, colleagues or investors say “Hmm I never thought of it like that before. This is so true and it’s making me rethink a lot of things.”

To elicit a response from you, some of these questions are purposefully similar but worded differently. You can choose to respond to each one separately or collectively.

Initially, your responses may be mild and vague, which is normal. Refinement and iteration should be based on feedback. Ask friends or coworkers, tweet about it, or discuss with actual customers or investors. The market should respond.

Your strong point of view will pique people's interest, even if they disagree with it. If people disagree with you, that's okay. The objective is to start a conversation and share your truth, not to persuade everyone to your point of view.

Once you've done this you can start to add this into your FAQs.

Your goal in fundraising is not to make every investor like you. It's to make specific investors who will be on your cap table to like you. Big difference.

You’ll know you have a great spiky point of view when your investors are excited to hear more about you and your company.