Title: Beyond the Deck: Storytelling Strategies for Winning Pitches, with Tinybean’s Sarah-Jane Kurtini
Session context
- Format: Deep-dive masterclass + live Q&A with Pitch Slap demo
- Speaker: Sarah-Jane Kurtini, Co-founder/CMO of Tinybean (IPO 2017), positioning strategist, Startmate mentor
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahjanekurtini/
- Special feature: Launch Club exclusive version of Pitch Slap tool
- Context: Pre-pitch night preparation session
SJ’s founder journey: From zero to IPO
Background transformation
2011 starting point:
- No smartphone (bought iPhone to test Tinybean)
- Didn’t know what EDM was
- Zero startup experience
- Part-time community manager for “glamorous” brands (McLean’s toothpaste, Glad Wrap, Pizza Hut)
Key insight: “You can always learn new skills. What’s hard to replicate is grit, tenacity, and founder instinct.”
Tinybean origin story
Steven’s problem: Speech delays in first son → wished he’d tracked milestones better Steven’s solution: Build milestone tracker + private photo sharing (combining two needs) Market insight: Parents came daily for photos, stayed for milestone tracking
Early partnership dynamics:
- Started as “I’ll give you 10%, we’ll figure it out later”
- Startmate rejection: “Concern around team dynamics”
- Learned from feedback, sorted equity properly
- Joined Push Start accelerator (8 teams, only cohort)
Growth strategy that worked
Customer obsession:
- Built for themselves (selfish but authentic)
- Answered every customer email for 2-3 years
- Customer support = product development feedback loop
- “If 30 people email about same issue, fix it vs. keep answering”
Key partnership breakthrough:
- Mom365 (hospital baby photography) needed ongoing parent engagement
- Integrated Tinybean as their digital platform
- Result: Every Mom365 customer became Tinybean customer
- “Quarter of all babies born in US” funnel
Speed advantage:
- “We’ll do it” vs. asking partners to do heavy lifting
- Steven: Technical integration in 2 weeks
- SJ: Communication pathways in 2 weeks
- No lawyers, no bureaucracy
The positioning mistake (critical lesson)
What went wrong:
- Investors pushed “vision” messaging over customer reality
- Changed from: “Private baby journal for sharing photos safely”
- To: “The trusted way to help families thrive”
- Result: Customers confused, didn’t recognize their own experience
Learning: Vision ≠ positioning. Customers don’t care about your vision; they care about their problem.
Pitch Slap: The storytelling framework
Core philosophy
The human element: Remember there’s a person between you and your goal
- They can’t understand 50-200 different markets deeply
- Make it simple, human, comprehensible
- No buzzwords, no word salad
Building blocks approach: Get fundamentals right, then arrange for maximum impact
The 6 essential questions
1. The Gap (Problem)
Question: “What is the gap in the world that made you build this?”
Focus: What’s broken in current system, not your product
- Could be existing product causing pain
- Could be lack of product causing pain
- Could be hacked-together solution causing pain
Tinybean example: Parents putting baby photos in WhatsApp streams that got lost in grandma’s comments, weren’t organized, weren’t complete record
Pitch Slap feedback example: “This answer is skimming the surface like a flat rock on a pond. ‘Hard to get good advice’ is vague and overused. What kind of advice? Who’s struggling most? Why now?“
2. The Context (Why Now/History)
Question: “Why hasn’t someone already solved this? What’s been tried before?”
Purpose: Show you understand the space and why you’re better Key insight: 80% of founders gloss over this, but it makes investor’s job much easier
What to include:
- Previous attempts and why they failed
- What’s changed that makes now the right time
- Your unique insight into why you’ll succeed
3. The Solution (How)
Question: “How does your product actually fill that gap?”
Focus: Plain English explanation of what it does Mental model: “Explain it to your mate in the pub”
Common mistake: Talking about value/why instead of how it works SJ’s rant: “I blame Simon Sinek. People need to understand HOW before they can extrapolate the why.”
4. The Proof (Evidence)
Question: “Do you believe this is truly a problem worth solving?”
For early stage: Not revenue metrics, but evidence of deep problem
- Customer interviews and insights
- Early signals and experiments
- Anything beyond “trust me bro”
Gold standard: Unique insights only you could have discovered
5. The Progress (Execution)
Question: “What have you built/achieved so far?”
Purpose: Prove you’re not standing still Examples: MVP built, signups, waitlist, money collected, testimonials, partnerships
Key insight: “Very easy to have idea. Not easy to bring idea to life.”
6. Why You (Team Authority)
Question: “What makes you dangerous? Why are you the ones to pull this off?”
Include everything relevant: Previous businesses, domain expertise, lived experience Example: Team left blank previous $2M business because “it’s not a startup” - SJ: “Get that in there now!”
The three investor pillars framework
What investors evaluate (in different proportions based on stage):
- Team strength: Can they execute?
- Product-market fit: Does it solve real problem?
- Market tailwinds: Why now, why this solution?
Strategic positioning based on strengths
Example scenarios:
- Strong team, weak traction: Lead with credentials, buy time to prove product
- Weak team, strong traction: Focus entirely on proof points and progress
- Mixed strength: Balance and emphasize strongest elements
SJ’s insight: “If I came up with idea today, I’d probably get meeting based on background alone. But 10 years ago? No chance.”
Pitch Slap tool mechanics
How it works
- Answer 6 questions about your startup story
- Choose spice level: Brutal/Sassy, Candid, or “Shit Sandwich” (gentle)
- Get 3 outputs:
- Raw version analysis (the roast)
- Improved rewrite
- Complete startup narrative
Special Launch Club version
Differences from investor pitch:
- “Proof” focuses on problem validation vs. revenue metrics
- Less emphasis on “Vision/Scale”
- More emphasis on progress and learning
Improvement process
- Can copy/paste output back in for refinement
- AI learns from your input quality (“shit in, shit out”)
- Human finessing still required for final polish
Emotional storytelling considerations
Handling difficult topics
Jessica’s infertility story concern: Taking people on “journey of despair”
SJ’s advice:
- Nothing wrong with emotion - can be most powerful element
- Key: Find version you’re comfortable telling repeatedly
- Investors want to see how you’ve harnessed personal story to solve for others
- Confidence in your story is palpable and crucial
Tone management
Emmanuel’s death tech question: Playing with tone from soft to sharp
Pitch Slap capability: Should handle emotional range and provide guidance on pacing/tone shifts
Practical applications
Slide structure flexibility
Core principle: Get building blocks right, then arrange for maximum impact Don’t be constrained: No single “golden structure” - adapt based on your strengths
Example reordering:
- Strong team → Lead with credentials
- Strong traction → Lead with proof points
- Unique market insight → Lead with context/history
Investor Roulette preparation
SJ’s evaluation criteria: Team + product-market fit weighted equally Her concern: Teams indexing too heavily on founder story without proving product-market fit
Advice: Strengthen all elements rather than relying on single strength
Key success patterns
What makes stories “hum”
- Simple, human language (no buzzwords)
- Clear problem articulation (what’s broken today)
- Unique market insight (why hasn’t this been solved)
- Concrete execution proof (what you’ve actually built)
- Personal authority (why you’re dangerous)
Common failure modes
- Skipping context/history (80% of founders)
- Explaining value before explaining how it works
- Generic problem statements
- Hiding relevant experience
- Word salad instead of clear communication
Immediate action items
- Use Pitch Slap (Launch Club version) to get baseline story
- Focus on weakest element of the 6 questions based on feedback
- Test story clarity with friends outside your industry
- Identify your strongest pillar (team/product/market) and lead with it
- Practice emotional regulation if dealing with difficult topics
Future tool development
Coming soon:
- Pitch deck skeleton generator
- Investor question preparation
- Red flag identification
- Q&A simulation
Current workaround: Use ChatGPT with specific context about your goals and ask for brutal feedback on likely investor concerns
Bottom line
SJ’s philosophy: “Positioning is being able to articulate how you’re different and better than alternatives to your best-fit customers. This skill applies to investor pitches, customer messaging, and personal branding.”
Success formula: Building blocks + human finessing + confidence in your story = compelling narrative that gets meetings.