What To Do If You’re a Startup CEO & You Don’t Know How To Sell

You’ve heard the expression “All sizzle, no steak?” Or the Texan equivalent of “All hat, no cattle?” [sidenote: it’s weird that cows feature prominently in both of these]. Basically these sayings are referring to people who talk a big game but then can’t back it up with action. Sparkly but no quality behind it.

While it’s readily agreed among investors that these types of leaders eventually get seen for what they are over the long haul (although distressingly they usually get funded initially), what I wanted to discuss today is whether a founding team that’s the complete opposite (a TON of steak, very little sizzle) can also be problematic when it comes to building a successful company. This topic matters to me not just intellectually but because it’s a combination I find full of potential and often want to support. Especially since VC pattern matching may inappropriately label people this way (can’t sell) who are merely nervous or new to their environment.

What I’ve concluded is that if you’re an “all steak, no sizzle” CEO you’re gonna harm your company if you don’t address this weakness (but good news, you can address it). You may end up decreasing the quality of outcomes by a standard deviation or more. How does…