The importance of founding stories to entrepreneurial pitch success

What the paper says

Purpose The entrepreneurial pitch is a nexus where the concerns of entrepreneurship and marketing converge. In a pitch, an entrepreneur is trying to sell a product and create a brand, two essential tasks in marketing communications. Research in both marketing and entrepreneurship has examined the persuasive communication factors of the pitch, including figurative language, gestures, numerical density and interactivity. One persuasive element of the pitch that requires additional examination is storytelling. This study aims to extend the stream of pitch storytelling by examining a particular genre of a story, which the authors refer to as the founding story, with a specific structure. The authors conduct two empirical tests to assess the effect of the story on potential investors. Design/methodology/approach The first study analyzed 486 pitch transcripts from the television show Shark Tank. The second study used a controlled experiment in which actors delivered two versions of four pitches (one with a founding story and one without), and entrepreneurs and investors assessed them through a survey based on standard entrepreneurial quality metrics. Findings Both studies demonstrated a significant increase in the probability of success when a founding story is included. However, the second study revealed specific caveats related to the content of the story. These findings have several implications for entrepreneurs, investors and entrepreneurship educators. Originality/value There has been extensive research on persuasion in entrepreneurship. This study extends the stream on pitch storytelling by describing a particular story genre and providing empirical validation of its effects. The methodology is also unique, in analyzing text data in concert with an experiment.