The VC pitch: What’s wrong with the world, what is being deployed, and how you do differently

The following is a summary of Reid Hoffman’s pitch given to Adam Grant at the video session entitled Success and Originality. The pitch was given to Adam Grant, author of Originals; that provided feedback on good points and advices in terms of uniqueness (originality) of the idea, plus other relevant factors for scaling a business:

Opportunity at Work, pitch, by Reid Hoffman (35m50s)

Adam Grant: Success and Originality — Reid’s pitch at 35m50s

Reid’s pitch “Opportunity Work”

• Organization/idea: Opportunity at work;
• Entrepreneur: Reid Hoffman;
• Investor: Adam Grant, audience, and you;
• Purpose: pitch about the business, example of a pitch, analysis, and educational.

State the problem

• Serious inclusion problem in the tech industry, diversity inclusion problem, how to change that?
• Adam Grant ❤ that Reid used about 1/3 of the pitch focusing in the problem (and situation)

Situation

• Normally a corporate/company recognizes a bunch of important work related to this. Yet, it’s a problem to solve the situation and to have traction at the end of each year (now). Therefore, Reid articulates that a deficit is in place;
• There is a network of bootcamps, actually being deployed: within 6 weeks you can start a career in the tech industry: db admin, web developers, QA, etc. Reid recognizes that bootcamps are recognized and existent and who they currently work.

Opportunity

• These bootcamps exists, but they are not focused in inclusion; because most of the participants are the ones that only can afford. Therefore, the solution is to have bootcamps that are focused in inclusion;
• Deployed through a scholarship fund, focused in diversity and inclusion;
• This is like, not a sum but an overlap between bootcamps and inclusion and scholarships.

The mechanics (requirements, unique strategies to make it work)

• A reputation system around at the network of of the bootcamps;
• A selection algorithm for the right folks to get into the camps;
• A system for participants, a pipeline, towards the jobs.