Tracy DiNunzio is the founder and CEO of Tradesy, a marketplace for peer-to-peer luxury fashion resale. She’s raised $75 million from investors such as Richard Branson and John Doerr.
Tracy gives advice for those pitching to investors. She says, “make your first 10 meetings with investors you don’t really want funding from, because you’re probably going to suck in the beginning”. Tim Ferriss adds how Jerry Seinfeld bombs with early material so he starts out in smaller venues, Nike tests their new products in New Zealand before the United States, and even he was turned down 27 times for one of his books while pitching to publishers.
This concept is originally about pitching to investors, but can be applied to anything as in Tim Ferriss’ examples. If you have a big dance recital coming up, start showing your friends and family, then a larger group of people and eventually you’ll be ready for the big stage. Even for a job interview, start out by applying and interviewing at smaller companies or jobs you don’t necessarily want, and then once you get all that practice under your belt, then start going for the actual jobs you want. Each time you practice or interview at a place you walk away with new information. Maybe they asked a question you weren't prepared for, or they noticed an error on your resume, but you can now fix those mistakes before the interview for your dream job. All of these experiences will help you solidify your performance for when it really matters.
Have you tried this strategy before? When and how did it go? Let us know in the comments below.
