Dingman Bootstrapped Episode Gives Tips on the Elevator Pitch

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship produces Bootstrapped, a podcast featuring founders, investors and serial entrepreneurs. The podcast is hosted by Elana Fine, Managing Director of the Dingman Center, and Joe Bailey, Associate Research Professor at the Smith School. Each episode brings a different startup story to life with special guests offering advice and lessons learned on topics that range from fundraising and marketing to team formation and customer acquisition.

This week’s episode features Glen Hellman, CEO & Founder of Driven Forward LLC, which provides strategic planning, interim executive leadership, executive coaching and development services for technology-oriented, venture-capital backed companies. In this episode Hellman tackles the topic of pitching. He explains that using story-telling to engage the reptilian brain in your audience helps move people toward action and increases your chances of wooing investors.

Hellman has founded companies; joined early teams; directed organizations to multiple IPOs, including a $360M IPO of Progress Software; and has been involved in mergers and acquisitions, including a $92M acquisition of Call Technologies by 3Com. Hellman spent over 10 years working as a hired-gun turn-around CEO for Venture Capital investors where he gained valuable insight to the root cause of corporate failures. In his over 30+ years of business experience he's learned what it takes to avoid dangerous waters and what it takes to save a sinking ship.

Hellman is a Global 100 Mentor at the Founder Institute, a former member of the Dingman Center Board of Advisors, a Vistage Chair and former Vistage Rookie of the Year. He has served on multiple corporate boards as a board member and chairman.

To listen to this episode and gain further insights into the startup world, subscribe to Dingman Bootstrapped on iTunes or download the episodes on the Dingman Center website.