June 12, 2025 • 30 mins
Katherine Martín-Fisher introduces Ali Parandeh, who shares his journey to becoming a startup coach. They discuss the importance of speaking the investor's language and highlight client transformations. The conversation delves into emotional intelligence, storytelling, and necessary mindset shifts in business. Ali emphasizes the balance between brand building, product development, and marketing. They address imposter syndrome and explore the future of communication. Ali offers entrepreneurial advice focusing on passion, mentors, and coaching. The episode wraps up with tips on marketing and storytelling for startups, along with a recap and call to action for listeners.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
I am Katherine Martín-Fisher, and I helpbusiness owners who have lost their vision
because they're struggling with cash flow,sales, and marketing, which also affects their
company culture.
By showing them how to implement proven systemsthat increase their revenue by 30% in 90 days,
this allows them to reignite the passion andthat big dream they started with.
(00:28):
So, the reason I started this podcast was tocelebrate businesses that have overcome
adversity and have come out on the other sideof it.
And I want you to know that you are not alone.
Good afternoon.
This is Katherine, your host with The BeyondBusiness Podcast.
I'm excited to introduce you to Ali Parandeh,and he is our guest today.
(00:53):
He is actually a communication and startupcoach with 25-plus years in IT, SaaS, and the
startup world.
He helps present with impact and pitch to win,and he is an award-winning speaker with TEDx
organizer.
I am so excited to have you as our guest today,and I love that we're gonna have this
(01:15):
conversation about startups as well.
Katherine, thank you for having me.
It's a pleasure to be a guest with you today.
And, yes, as you said, I've been 25 years inthe world of startups, and I am an
entrepreneur.
I'm a forever entrepreneur, I believe.
So what would you say are the most commonmistakes that entrepreneurs make?
(01:36):
The biggest mistake entrepreneurs make incommunication is addressing their audience.
I would say entrepreneurs need to categorizetheir audience into three.
One is investors, one is clients, and one isproviders.
Providers are easy because they're supplyingyou with things.
But very often what happens is entrepreneurs,when they're talking to investors, they treat
(02:00):
them as clients.
Whereas the investors are really interested inan investment package.
They're not interested in learning about allthe technicalities of the product, and
entrepreneurs very often misunderstand that.
So what led you to doing what you do now?
You've obviously have quite a bit ofexperience.
(02:22):
And how are you able to help entrepreneurs withthe experience you have?
Tell us a little bit about how you decided todo what you're doing.
Okay, so they say you learn through yourmistakes, and I would say I learned through my
mistakes.
Experience is the name we give to our mistakes.
I went through fundraising and had a startup,and I was trying to speak the investor's
(02:48):
language.
This is where I now teach entrepreneurs aboutcommunication, speaking the investor's
language, because most startups, most startupfounders, entrepreneurs get stuck in this
stage.
In this journey of the past 25 years, I learnedthat while speaking to these two different
(03:09):
audiences, I have learned to understand what itis that the investors want to hear, how to
present the information, and in what sequence.
That is very, very important because if weprovide them all the information in one go,
then it's just overwhelming, and if we don'tprovide it in the right sequence, then they
(03:31):
cannot put the puzzle together.
It's very, very important that you speak theinvestor's language for them to get excited
about your project, for them to understand it,and for them to want to be part of it before
they can invest.
So give me an example of a client that you mayhave worked with that you were able to help get
(03:56):
to the other side.
So from when they started with you, there'salways that moment, right, that someone gets.
And it's like they just didn't know what theydidn't know.
And please, you know, you don't have to givethe name or anything, but just give us an
example of someone who's had that moment.
Okay.
So the number of clients I have gone through isfirst of all, making them understand what the
(04:21):
client is interested in or what the audience isinterested in.
And it's when I sit with them and I tell them,okay, let me give you a check of 100,000 or a
million euros, and now you're gonna invest inme.
And I will tell you the story you're tellingme.
And I tell them their story.
(04:42):
And that is when they get it, when it doesn'tclick for them.
When I turn it around and I'm like, okay, whatif I tell it to you in the following way that
here I am, the hero?
Because that's what it is.
Every story needs a hero, and people invest inpeople.
Venture capitals invest in teams.
(05:03):
So first of all, tell them why you got there,why you got to this problem, how you got to it,
and what has motivated you to do somethingabout it.
And once you've got over this hurdle, they'relike, okay, I understand it.
I understand where the problem comes from.
I understand why you're passionate about it.
And then you give them small numbers.
(05:23):
The small numbers are basically things that youand I can calculate in our head.
And it's simple because if I tell you I canmake this pen for 100 euros and I'm gonna sell
it at 200, then if we're gonna sell 10, it'seasy for you to calculate, okay, we're gonna be
(05:44):
selling 2,000.
But if I tell you immediately, we're gonna bemaking 2,000 euros per month, the first thing
that comes to your mind is how?
And if you cannot answer that question, thenfor the investor it becomes a risk and you're
going to be telling them that you're going tobe selling a million and then 10 million and
(06:05):
300 million and a billion without having toldthem the basic numbers.
So I tell entrepreneurs how to start with basicnumbers, how to understand the psychology of
the investor and what goes through our mindsand the investor's mind.
And once they understand that, they're like,okay, it makes sense now.
You know, there's so much I love that youmentioned the mind because there's so much that
(06:29):
in the you know, that goes through the mind andwe don't sometimes put ourselves in the
position of those that we're telling the storyto either.
You know, whatever it is that whether it's aproduct, you know, or or a story or your
speaking engagement and, you know, you'reyou're trying to get a point across.
So how would you say that emotionalintelligence or or whatever it is that you need
(06:52):
to have so that you understand that it's notabout you, it's about the delivery of what your
of the information that you're sending out is.
How do you say, in other words, what, what doyou think that, how much do you think that the
emotional intelligence or that just not havingthe right information to understand how to tell
that story affects your delivery.
(07:14):
Right.
If I put it in the context of pitch delivery,the startup founders have been trained by
accelerators and incubators, and they've beengiven a very structured way of presenting, I
apologize, of presenting their story that hereI am, Ali Parandeh, as a startup founder.
(07:34):
This is my startup.
This is what we do.
This is the problem.
This is what we solve.
This is the market, and we're selling ourproduct at this price, and we'll be selling 100
million this year, and we're raising €5,000 or100 million euros or whatever.
It goes in a very bold manner, and if you're ina startup pitching competition, the investors
(07:57):
are sitting in front of you and they'relistening to this presentation, which does not
really have a story because you've not told astory.
You've just told five, six, seven blocks ofinformation, and we're unable to halt that.
Yet if you sit around the dinner table and eachone of us tells a story, we will remember
(08:21):
everybody's story.
So it's turning that information into a story,and it's not that difficult because it is
already your story.
So for it to become emotional intelligence, youhave to remember memories formed at the height
of emotions—when you're frightened, whenthere's love, when there is fear.
(08:47):
We have to tell the story in a way that itcreates those ups and downs of emotions.
And it starts by, I don't know, what you know,I went to this store or I went to this place,
and they lost all my luggage, and you wouldn'tknow what, you know, you wouldn't believe what
happened to me.
I had to go through this problem, that problem.
This already creates the story.
And through that, I realized if we create thistag that we can put onto our luggage that, you
(09:14):
know, beeps every second, and we can see wherethe luggage is or we can see where it lands or
we can see where it went, these are the typesof stories that people would remember, and it
is the story of what really happened to you.
And now you've told part of the problem.
Now you've also included the solution.
You can go on to how big the problem is.
(09:36):
Well, the problem is now we already know itaffects everybody who travels.
Now you can describe how much it costs and howeasy or cheap it is, how economical it is for
everybody to buy one of these tags.
And we can then sell it in airports, we cansell it in bookstores, we can sell it on
(09:56):
Amazon.
It becomes really easy for people to visualize,and that gets people excited, the investors
getting excited because now they've seen theproblem, they have felt it, they have heard it
from you, and they know the initial price.
They will calculate the rest in their head.
(10:18):
So rather than providing them with risk, whichare big numbers that this is going to be a huge
market, it's going to be 200 million or billioneuros.
That doesn't mean anything to anybody, butallowing them to calculate it, it derisks and
it creates an emotion because now they havemade the calculation in their head.
(10:41):
You haven't given them the answer.
You haven't chewed the food and put it insidetheir mouth.
They have chewed it and tasted it.
So you help people be able to develop a way inwhich to tell the story, articulate that's
their own story in order to be able to deliverthat and in order to be able to do better in
(11:03):
their startups?
Absolutely.
So I help entrepreneurs as well as any otherperson who is telling a story.
It could be conference speakers.
Conference speakers make exactly the samemistakes.
They come with 20 slides, and the slides arefull of text and some images in the background,
and they tell a very dry story.
(11:24):
We did this, we did that, we got this, we gotthis, and we're going to do this, and we hope
to get that.
It becomes their story.
So I help them transfer that knowledge into astory that they have lived and they can now
connect with the audience.
They can now relate to the audience, or theaudience will relate to that story and will go
(11:49):
by removing text, by removing unwantedinformation, by getting to the very grain of
the message so that it resonates with theaudience, that the audience can follow a story
to remember in the coming days and months.
What would you say, since you work withentrepreneurs, is the key mindset shift that
(12:10):
they would need to make in launching theirstartups?
The biggest mindset shift in startups is beingable to communicate to your audience in order
to sell.
I would say most startups are product-focused,and if you give them one hundred thousand
euros, they'll spend one hundred thousand eurosbuilding the product.
(12:32):
If you give them a million euros, they'll spenda million euros building the product.
But the most important thing is being able tocommunicate right from the very beginning how
to sell your product, how to get the audienceor your clients engaged with you in order to
(12:53):
pre-order the product.
If you can pre-sell your product like Tesladid, Tesla sold their cars way before they were
on the market, then you're a winner becausethen you've actually got your funding before
you've even delivered it.
Well, how would you say that a startup can helpbuild a stronger brand and a compelling
(13:17):
message?
How do you help them do that?
All the startups are doing one thing.
They're solving a problem.
Okay.
And in order to solve a problem, they need togo to their clients.
And I always say, if you want to also improveyour sales, there are two things you need to
do.
(13:37):
Always, always start with, how can I help you?
When you're starting a conversation with aclient and end it with, how can I help you?
Because by opening it with this question,you're allowing your customer to tell you what
the problem is, what the real problem is,rather than you telling them what they need to
(13:57):
do.
And by ending with how can I help you?
You're basically finishing it with a questionwhere the client will then have to tell you,
well, I need it.
Fix it for me.
I need you to tell me what the product is.
What is your solution?
What is it you can help me with?
So then now they've given you carte blanche tosell them.
(14:21):
That is the number one thing that if youstructure yourselves and allow the customer to
speak twice with the first, how can I help youto describe what their problem is?
And with the second, how can I help you to thenbeg you to give them a solution?
And then using the power of silence, you notspeaking, but listen.
(14:41):
These are the ways I tell entrepreneurs is thebest way that they can actually engage with
their clients.
It's not about speaking.
It's about listening.
I wanna go back to something that you hadmentioned before because, you know, Grant
Cardone always says that marketing is senior tosales.
And I love that you gave that example that theystarted selling the Tesla cars before Tesla,
(15:06):
before they were made, before they were done.
And so the key is getting out of obscurity andliterally so your messaging is important, but
it's the marketing.
It's getting that information out into themarketplace is more important than the product.
It's I mean, the product is so important, buthaving that information going out and getting
(15:27):
out of obscurity and actually getting known inthe world is more important and having that
messaging.
And so you're able to help entrepreneurs withthis.
Tell me what are some of the key mistakes thatyou might have made along your journey that
you're able to help entrepreneurs not make.
So I admit, as you just said, I admit I've beenan entrepreneur and in my last startup, I
(15:52):
focused quite a lot on the product and we wenta little bit low on the marketing and we were
constantly developing and developing and I'mgoing to sneeze.
It's okay.
Sorry, I have a cold.
Focusing on the product and pouring all themoney you have into the product is one of the
(16:14):
biggest mistakes we make.
If I was to invest when we did 70% into productdevelopment and 30% into marketing, if I was to
reverse that and did 70% marketing and 30%product development, I would have earned and
(16:36):
received more clients, which would have givenme money that I could have then poured into
product development.
This is a very common mistake of entrepreneurs;they think they need to have a perfect product,
and the product needs to be perfect before theycan give it out there.
Whereas many companies, a lot of people arevery much happy with one working module.
(17:03):
If it solves one problem, they'll be happy withit.
Give me this and then give me the next moduleand then give me the next module.
You don't need to give it to me all in one go.
But give me one working module, I'll pay you,and give me another working module in a month.
And that's too. This
And that's great too. This
And that's too.
This works perfectly well in startups as far asthey remember to switch their development
(17:28):
So, can you share a powerful transformationstory from one of your coaching clients?
Yeah, so the last two companies I worked with,last two startups I worked with, we practiced
this and with less than €100,000, euros 1hundred and 50 thousand of startup fund that we
(17:50):
had, the initial fund was actually like 15 or€20,000.
That's like the lowest amount I've ever done.
We managed to take this company byconcentrating on nothing other than marketing,
marketing, and marketing.
And we've taken this company with the founderto now do almost half a million euros turnover
(18:10):
in less than three years.
And the other company I worked with, with thefounders, they've actually done absolutely
amazing.
They have managed to go from half a millionturnover.
I think they're now at nearly €2,000,000turnover.
They went from a valuation of €10,000,000 tonow just under €100,000,000 and what they did
(18:33):
was again rather than deliver, they signed thecontract and told the clients, okay, you have
to sign the contract.
We'll deliver in three to four months becausewe're so busy, but if you want the product, you
sign now, you prepay at least 10%, 20%.
That booked them time and that gave themfunding and they sold based on this.
(18:59):
And they went from four people to now almost 30people and they're growing very well.
And the company is now cash flow positive, allbased on presale.
That is an interesting point that you make.
Cause one of the things is I think we get sostuck on having everything perfect and having
everything already set up.
(19:20):
And, really, what I'm hearing you say prettymuch over and over is just literally just get
started, get moving in the direction, and youcame up with ideas in which to get the
prefunding, which helped.
And so that must have come also through some ofthe challenges and mistakes that you had to
overcome, you know, throughout yourentrepreneurial journey.
(19:43):
Look very much.
I did another mentoring session just before oursession.
And again, they're a very budding startup.
They have an amazing product and we werespeaking.
And I said, don't worry about the product.
Just go out there to have a hundred potentialclients that you've spoken to, go to 10 of them
(20:03):
and tell them would they sign with you andsupport you with €5,000 and you're going to
deliver them the product in six months, butthey will have it lifetime.
They will be your initial client that havesupported you with €5,000 or €10,000.
(20:24):
You get your funding, they get a product for alifetime, but hey, now you've paid for the
product.
Now you're up and running and it works.
So tell me a little bit about how you wouldcoach a startup and whether this is something
that you've had to deal with before.
Do you ever have a startup that suffers fromimposter syndrome as they're getting started?
(20:48):
Because that's, it's always, it's kind of afine line when you're getting started, you
don't have all the successes yet and you'rejust, you know, so how do you help navigate
that with them?
I would say the imposter syndrome hits many ofus.
It hits me every now and then.
And it is just a mindset.
It is something that, you know, our mind startstelling us.
(21:13):
To get over it is basically putting down thefacts, writing down the facts.
Why is it that we think we're not worth it?
What is it that makes us think that we areunable to deliver or we feel less superior than
the others?
And once you've got that into perspective, youput down your expertise, what you know, and
(21:37):
what you're good at, then you immediately canovercome that.
But it's by being able to put down yourexpertise, what you're good at, what you can
do, and where you stand.
So if you don't overinflate what you do andyou're aware of your weaknesses but also aware
(21:57):
of your strengths, then you can diffuse thatfeeling.
How do you see the future of communication?
Like, you know, the world is going so fast andevolving.
So do you have, you know, doing that?
I don't think I can tell the future, but I dobelieve the future for us is based on
(22:22):
communication.
If we stop communicating and if we do notdevelop our communication skills, that is where
conflicts appear.
That is where wars are created, and this iswhere division is made.
So communication is one very important aspectof our life and personally, at least over the
(22:43):
past year, I, with my partner, have startedpracticing something known as brutal honesty.
It was brought about by Ray Dalio, one of thebiggest American hedge fund managers.
He wrote a book called "Principles" where hetalks about radical honesty and radical
transparency.
(23:04):
Brutal honesty is a form of communication whereyou allow the other person to express how they
feel, what they think in a safe environment,and you listen to them openly.
And you're also allowed to express what youthink and what you feel openly.
And you'll actually, by the end of it, come tothe point of realizing that both of you very
(23:28):
much feel the same.
Both of you say the same thing and both of youwant the same thing.
I think in the Norway peace treaty between theIsraelis and the Palestinians, what the
Norwegians did was to create this communicationbasin where they could speak closely and
(23:49):
without feeling—I think we got disconnectedagain.
So Ali, what piece of advice, what would be onepiece of advice you wish that all
entrepreneurial founders would follow?
I would tell them, follow your passion.
That is my biggest piece of advice I would giveany entrepreneur because to be honest, if you
(24:13):
follow your passion, money will follow.
You will always have the energy to do what youreally love.
You won't stop no matter what, whether you runout of money, whether you come to big failures
and big problems and big obstacles.
When you're following your passion, things justflow and even if you hit walls, you'll find
(24:36):
ways to overcome them.
Whereas when you start running after money,money just runs faster away.
And I've been a big, big, big believer of makeyour wish and it will come true.
And that is only if you are following yourpassion.
That is so true.
I mean, when you're—and the thing about beingin your passion is you are much more energetic.
(25:03):
You have so much more energy.
You're authentically yourself.
And that, to me, is probably the biggest giftyou can give others because then you can
truly—it's about them, and it's about theproblems that you solve for them because that's
really what it's about.
Right?
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Tell
me, I've really enjoyed our conversation.
(25:25):
If you were to give your younger self advice,what would it be?
I would give my younger self a number ofadvice.
And one thing is probably don't be afraid.
And I would say just go for it.
I have a board or a frame at the front of myhouse, and it says, I made a wish and it came
(25:46):
true.
I believe in that.
So believe in yourself.
Have faith in yourself that you can achievewhatever you absolutely set your mind to, and
don't listen to the naysayers.
Just ignore them and believe in your truecalling.
Believe in your heart.
(26:06):
Your heart and intuition often tell you whatyou really need to do, where you really need to
go, and listen to it, listen to it, becausevery often it has the answer to many of your
questions, and then the rest is just followyour path.
So now along your journey, did you seek outcoaches or help in any way, mentors, people who
(26:28):
would, would, you know, help lift you up andget and show you the way?
Yes.
I did have many coaches and many mentors, and Iam very, very grateful for them.
And I think one of the biggest times I went fora mentor was when I hit the absolute lowest,
when everything was really, really going badfor me.
I reached out to a mentor and that mentor wasabsolutely vital for resetting me and reminding
(26:55):
me that I can achieve my goals, reminding methat I can do whatever I set my mind to and I
did.
I think I reached out to my mentor in 2014 or2015, which was after the big recession in
Europe.
I reached out to him and he helped me set anumber of goals which I had and within four
(27:18):
years I sold my company and I pretty muchticked off nine out of 10 of all the things I
had put on that paper.
And when we reviewed it, it was a complete hit.
So I do suggest to people do reach out to amentor, reach out to good coaches because they
(27:38):
can help you on your journey.
Excellent.
Well, I just want to thank you so much for justthis wealth of information.
If our audience wanted to seek you out, theywanted to do business with you and say, you
know, I'm a startup or I'm someone who, youknow, is a speaker and I need help in, you
know, learning how to deliver that, you know,my information, you know, how would our
(28:01):
audience find you?
And, you know, what would be the best way toconnect with you?
So I just want to say thank you so much forbeing with us today.
Ali Parandeh can be reached at aliparandeh.com.
That's a l i p a r a n d e h dot com.
(28:22):
And again, he is a startup mentor, keynotespeaker, and a motivational speaker.
And so if you'd like to get in touch with him,he's also on LinkedIn at Ali Parandeh Zandpour,
Z A N D P O U R.
And, again, thank you so much for being with ustoday and for enjoying our show.
Hopefully, you have some takeaways.
(28:44):
And as a startup, one of the things that youalways want to remember is to just, no matter
what, don't worry so much about what you have.
Tell people your story.
Go out there into the world.
Marketing is senior to sales, so you want tomake sure that people know you because if
you're in obscurity, then nobody knows you.
(29:06):
And so being able to get your story right andbe able to utilize that as well in the
marketplace is going to really, really makethat difference.
This is Katherine, your host with The BeyondBusiness Podcast.
Thank you for sharing another session with us.
Looking forward to the next one.
(29:28):
Well, if you made it to this point, then youmade it to the end.
And you are my star.
And I just want to thank you from the bottom ofmy heart.
I hope that you enjoyed the conversation withtoday's guest.
And if you did, please leave us a review onApple Podcasts and Spotify and share this
episode with others who may be interested inthis topic.
(29:49):
Also, please feel free to let us know whattopics you'd like to see covered in future
episodes.
Get in touch in the comments or on RocketGrowth's social media platforms to have
conversations with me.
My booking link is in the comments.
See you next week for an all-new episode.
I am Katherine Martín-Fisher, and I helpbusiness owners who have lost their vision
because they're struggling with cash flow,sales, and marketing, which also affects their
company culture.
By showing them how to implement proven systemsthat increase their revenue by 30% in 90 days,
this allows them to reignite the passion andthat big dream they started with.
(00:28):
So, the reason I started this podcast was tocelebrate businesses that have overcome
adversity and have come out on the other sideof it.
And I want you to know that you are not alone.
Good afternoon.
This is Katherine, your host with The BeyondBusiness Podcast.
I'm excited to introduce you to Ali Parandeh,and he is our guest today.
(00:53):
He is actually a communication and startupcoach with 25-plus years in IT, SaaS, and the
startup world.
He helps present with impact and pitch to win,and he is an award-winning speaker with TEDx
organizer.
I am so excited to have you as our guest today,and I love that we're gonna have this
(01:15):
conversation about startups as well.
Katherine, thank you for having me.
It's a pleasure to be a guest with you today.
And, yes, as you said, I've been 25 years inthe world of startups, and I am an
entrepreneur.
I'm a forever entrepreneur, I believe.
So what would you say are the most commonmistakes that entrepreneurs make?
(01:36):
The biggest mistake entrepreneurs make incommunication is addressing their audience.
I would say entrepreneurs need to categorizetheir audience into three.
One is investors, one is clients, and one isproviders.
Providers are easy because they're supplyingyou with things.
But very often what happens is entrepreneurs,when they're talking to investors, they treat
(02:00):
them as clients.
Whereas the investors are really interested inan investment package.
They're not interested in learning about allthe technicalities of the product, and
entrepreneurs very often misunderstand that.
So what led you to doing what you do now?
You've obviously have quite a bit ofexperience.
(02:22):
And how are you able to help entrepreneurs withthe experience you have?
Tell us a little bit about how you decided todo what you're doing.
Okay, so they say you learn through yourmistakes, and I would say I learned through my
mistakes.
Experience is the name we give to our mistakes.
I went through fundraising and had a startup,and I was trying to speak the investor's
(02:48):
language.
This is where I now teach entrepreneurs aboutcommunication, speaking the investor's
language, because most startups, most startupfounders, entrepreneurs get stuck in this
stage.
In this journey of the past 25 years, I learnedthat while speaking to these two different
(03:09):
audiences, I have learned to understand what itis that the investors want to hear, how to
present the information, and in what sequence.
That is very, very important because if weprovide them all the information in one go,
then it's just overwhelming, and if we don'tprovide it in the right sequence, then they
(03:31):
cannot put the puzzle together.
It's very, very important that you speak theinvestor's language for them to get excited
about your project, for them to understand it,and for them to want to be part of it before
they can invest.
So give me an example of a client that you mayhave worked with that you were able to help get
(03:56):
to the other side.
So from when they started with you, there'salways that moment, right, that someone gets.
And it's like they just didn't know what theydidn't know.
And please, you know, you don't have to givethe name or anything, but just give us an
example of someone who's had that moment.
Okay.
So the number of clients I have gone through isfirst of all, making them understand what the
(04:21):
client is interested in or what the audience isinterested in.
And it's when I sit with them and I tell them,okay, let me give you a check of 100,000 or a
million euros, and now you're gonna invest inme.
And I will tell you the story you're tellingme.
And I tell them their story.
(04:42):
And that is when they get it, when it doesn'tclick for them.
When I turn it around and I'm like, okay, whatif I tell it to you in the following way that
here I am, the hero?
Because that's what it is.
Every story needs a hero, and people invest inpeople.
Venture capitals invest in teams.
(05:03):
So first of all, tell them why you got there,why you got to this problem, how you got to it,
and what has motivated you to do somethingabout it.
And once you've got over this hurdle, they'relike, okay, I understand it.
I understand where the problem comes from.
I understand why you're passionate about it.
And then you give them small numbers.
(05:23):
The small numbers are basically things that youand I can calculate in our head.
And it's simple because if I tell you I canmake this pen for 100 euros and I'm gonna sell
it at 200, then if we're gonna sell 10, it'seasy for you to calculate, okay, we're gonna be
(05:44):
selling 2,000.
But if I tell you immediately, we're gonna bemaking 2,000 euros per month, the first thing
that comes to your mind is how?
And if you cannot answer that question, thenfor the investor it becomes a risk and you're
going to be telling them that you're going tobe selling a million and then 10 million and
(06:05):
300 million and a billion without having toldthem the basic numbers.
So I tell entrepreneurs how to start with basicnumbers, how to understand the psychology of
the investor and what goes through our mindsand the investor's mind.
And once they understand that, they're like,okay, it makes sense now.
You know, there's so much I love that youmentioned the mind because there's so much that
(06:29):
in the you know, that goes through the mind andwe don't sometimes put ourselves in the
position of those that we're telling the storyto either.
You know, whatever it is that whether it's aproduct, you know, or or a story or your
speaking engagement and, you know, you'reyou're trying to get a point across.
So how would you say that emotionalintelligence or or whatever it is that you need
(06:52):
to have so that you understand that it's notabout you, it's about the delivery of what your
of the information that you're sending out is.
How do you say, in other words, what, what doyou think that, how much do you think that the
emotional intelligence or that just not havingthe right information to understand how to tell
that story affects your delivery.
(07:14):
Right.
If I put it in the context of pitch delivery,the startup founders have been trained by
accelerators and incubators, and they've beengiven a very structured way of presenting, I
apologize, of presenting their story that hereI am, Ali Parandeh, as a startup founder.
(07:34):
This is my startup.
This is what we do.
This is the problem.
This is what we solve.
This is the market, and we're selling ourproduct at this price, and we'll be selling 100
million this year, and we're raising €5,000 or100 million euros or whatever.
It goes in a very bold manner, and if you're ina startup pitching competition, the investors
(07:57):
are sitting in front of you and they'relistening to this presentation, which does not
really have a story because you've not told astory.
You've just told five, six, seven blocks ofinformation, and we're unable to halt that.
Yet if you sit around the dinner table and eachone of us tells a story, we will remember
(08:21):
everybody's story.
So it's turning that information into a story,and it's not that difficult because it is
already your story.
So for it to become emotional intelligence, youhave to remember memories formed at the height
of emotions—when you're frightened, whenthere's love, when there is fear.
(08:47):
We have to tell the story in a way that itcreates those ups and downs of emotions.
And it starts by, I don't know, what you know,I went to this store or I went to this place,
and they lost all my luggage, and you wouldn'tknow what, you know, you wouldn't believe what
happened to me.
I had to go through this problem, that problem.
This already creates the story.
And through that, I realized if we create thistag that we can put onto our luggage that, you
(09:14):
know, beeps every second, and we can see wherethe luggage is or we can see where it lands or
we can see where it went, these are the typesof stories that people would remember, and it
is the story of what really happened to you.
And now you've told part of the problem.
Now you've also included the solution.
You can go on to how big the problem is.
(09:36):
Well, the problem is now we already know itaffects everybody who travels.
Now you can describe how much it costs and howeasy or cheap it is, how economical it is for
everybody to buy one of these tags.
And we can then sell it in airports, we cansell it in bookstores, we can sell it on
(09:56):
Amazon.
It becomes really easy for people to visualize,and that gets people excited, the investors
getting excited because now they've seen theproblem, they have felt it, they have heard it
from you, and they know the initial price.
They will calculate the rest in their head.
(10:18):
So rather than providing them with risk, whichare big numbers that this is going to be a huge
market, it's going to be 200 million or billioneuros.
That doesn't mean anything to anybody, butallowing them to calculate it, it derisks and
it creates an emotion because now they havemade the calculation in their head.
(10:41):
You haven't given them the answer.
You haven't chewed the food and put it insidetheir mouth.
They have chewed it and tasted it.
So you help people be able to develop a way inwhich to tell the story, articulate that's
their own story in order to be able to deliverthat and in order to be able to do better in
(11:03):
their startups?
Absolutely.
So I help entrepreneurs as well as any otherperson who is telling a story.
It could be conference speakers.
Conference speakers make exactly the samemistakes.
They come with 20 slides, and the slides arefull of text and some images in the background,
and they tell a very dry story.
(11:24):
We did this, we did that, we got this, we gotthis, and we're going to do this, and we hope
to get that.
It becomes their story.
So I help them transfer that knowledge into astory that they have lived and they can now
connect with the audience.
They can now relate to the audience, or theaudience will relate to that story and will go
(11:49):
by removing text, by removing unwantedinformation, by getting to the very grain of
the message so that it resonates with theaudience, that the audience can follow a story
to remember in the coming days and months.
What would you say, since you work withentrepreneurs, is the key mindset shift that
(12:10):
they would need to make in launching theirstartups?
The biggest mindset shift in startups is beingable to communicate to your audience in order
to sell.
I would say most startups are product-focused,and if you give them one hundred thousand
euros, they'll spend one hundred thousand eurosbuilding the product.
(12:32):
If you give them a million euros, they'll spenda million euros building the product.
But the most important thing is being able tocommunicate right from the very beginning how
to sell your product, how to get the audienceor your clients engaged with you in order to
(12:53):
pre-order the product.
If you can pre-sell your product like Tesladid, Tesla sold their cars way before they were
on the market, then you're a winner becausethen you've actually got your funding before
you've even delivered it.
Well, how would you say that a startup can helpbuild a stronger brand and a compelling
(13:17):
message?
How do you help them do that?
All the startups are doing one thing.
They're solving a problem.
Okay.
And in order to solve a problem, they need togo to their clients.
And I always say, if you want to also improveyour sales, there are two things you need to
do.
(13:37):
Always, always start with, how can I help you?
When you're starting a conversation with aclient and end it with, how can I help you?
Because by opening it with this question,you're allowing your customer to tell you what
the problem is, what the real problem is,rather than you telling them what they need to
(13:57):
do.
And by ending with how can I help you?
You're basically finishing it with a questionwhere the client will then have to tell you,
well, I need it.
Fix it for me.
I need you to tell me what the product is.
What is your solution?
What is it you can help me with?
So then now they've given you carte blanche tosell them.
(14:21):
That is the number one thing that if youstructure yourselves and allow the customer to
speak twice with the first, how can I help youto describe what their problem is?
And with the second, how can I help you to thenbeg you to give them a solution?
And then using the power of silence, you notspeaking, but listen.
(14:41):
These are the ways I tell entrepreneurs is thebest way that they can actually engage with
their clients.
It's not about speaking.
It's about listening.
I wanna go back to something that you hadmentioned before because, you know, Grant
Cardone always says that marketing is senior tosales.
And I love that you gave that example that theystarted selling the Tesla cars before Tesla,
(15:06):
before they were made, before they were done.
And so the key is getting out of obscurity andliterally so your messaging is important, but
it's the marketing.
It's getting that information out into themarketplace is more important than the product.
It's I mean, the product is so important, buthaving that information going out and getting
(15:27):
out of obscurity and actually getting known inthe world is more important and having that
messaging.
And so you're able to help entrepreneurs withthis.
Tell me what are some of the key mistakes thatyou might have made along your journey that
you're able to help entrepreneurs not make.
So I admit, as you just said, I admit I've beenan entrepreneur and in my last startup, I
(15:52):
focused quite a lot on the product and we wenta little bit low on the marketing and we were
constantly developing and developing and I'mgoing to sneeze.
It's okay.
Sorry, I have a cold.
Focusing on the product and pouring all themoney you have into the product is one of the
(16:14):
biggest mistakes we make.
If I was to invest when we did 70% into productdevelopment and 30% into marketing, if I was to
reverse that and did 70% marketing and 30%product development, I would have earned and
(16:36):
received more clients, which would have givenme money that I could have then poured into
product development.
This is a very common mistake of entrepreneurs;they think they need to have a perfect product,
and the product needs to be perfect before theycan give it out there.
Whereas many companies, a lot of people arevery much happy with one working module.
(17:03):
If it solves one problem, they'll be happy withit.
Give me this and then give me the next moduleand then give me the next module.
You don't need to give it to me all in one go.
But give me one working module, I'll pay you,and give me another working module in a month.
And that's too. This
And that's great too. This
And that's too.
This works perfectly well in startups as far asthey remember to switch their development
(17:28):
So, can you share a powerful transformationstory from one of your coaching clients?
Yeah, so the last two companies I worked with,last two startups I worked with, we practiced
this and with less than €100,000, euros 1hundred and 50 thousand of startup fund that we
(17:50):
had, the initial fund was actually like 15 or€20,000.
That's like the lowest amount I've ever done.
We managed to take this company byconcentrating on nothing other than marketing,
marketing, and marketing.
And we've taken this company with the founderto now do almost half a million euros turnover
(18:10):
in less than three years.
And the other company I worked with, with thefounders, they've actually done absolutely
amazing.
They have managed to go from half a millionturnover.
I think they're now at nearly €2,000,000turnover.
They went from a valuation of €10,000,000 tonow just under €100,000,000 and what they did
(18:33):
was again rather than deliver, they signed thecontract and told the clients, okay, you have
to sign the contract.
We'll deliver in three to four months becausewe're so busy, but if you want the product, you
sign now, you prepay at least 10%, 20%.
That booked them time and that gave themfunding and they sold based on this.
(18:59):
And they went from four people to now almost 30people and they're growing very well.
And the company is now cash flow positive, allbased on presale.
That is an interesting point that you make.
Cause one of the things is I think we get sostuck on having everything perfect and having
everything already set up.
(19:20):
And, really, what I'm hearing you say prettymuch over and over is just literally just get
started, get moving in the direction, and youcame up with ideas in which to get the
prefunding, which helped.
And so that must have come also through some ofthe challenges and mistakes that you had to
overcome, you know, throughout yourentrepreneurial journey.
(19:43):
Look very much.
I did another mentoring session just before oursession.
And again, they're a very budding startup.
They have an amazing product and we werespeaking.
And I said, don't worry about the product.
Just go out there to have a hundred potentialclients that you've spoken to, go to 10 of them
(20:03):
and tell them would they sign with you andsupport you with €5,000 and you're going to
deliver them the product in six months, butthey will have it lifetime.
They will be your initial client that havesupported you with €5,000 or €10,000.
(20:24):
You get your funding, they get a product for alifetime, but hey, now you've paid for the
product.
Now you're up and running and it works.
So tell me a little bit about how you wouldcoach a startup and whether this is something
that you've had to deal with before.
Do you ever have a startup that suffers fromimposter syndrome as they're getting started?
(20:48):
Because that's, it's always, it's kind of afine line when you're getting started, you
don't have all the successes yet and you'rejust, you know, so how do you help navigate
that with them?
I would say the imposter syndrome hits many ofus.
It hits me every now and then.
And it is just a mindset.
It is something that, you know, our mind startstelling us.
(21:13):
To get over it is basically putting down thefacts, writing down the facts.
Why is it that we think we're not worth it?
What is it that makes us think that we areunable to deliver or we feel less superior than
the others?
And once you've got that into perspective, youput down your expertise, what you know, and
(21:37):
what you're good at, then you immediately canovercome that.
But it's by being able to put down yourexpertise, what you're good at, what you can
do, and where you stand.
So if you don't overinflate what you do andyou're aware of your weaknesses but also aware
(21:57):
of your strengths, then you can diffuse thatfeeling.
How do you see the future of communication?
Like, you know, the world is going so fast andevolving.
So do you have, you know, doing that?
I don't think I can tell the future, but I dobelieve the future for us is based on
(22:22):
communication.
If we stop communicating and if we do notdevelop our communication skills, that is where
conflicts appear.
That is where wars are created, and this iswhere division is made.
So communication is one very important aspectof our life and personally, at least over the
(22:43):
past year, I, with my partner, have startedpracticing something known as brutal honesty.
It was brought about by Ray Dalio, one of thebiggest American hedge fund managers.
He wrote a book called "Principles" where hetalks about radical honesty and radical
transparency.
(23:04):
Brutal honesty is a form of communication whereyou allow the other person to express how they
feel, what they think in a safe environment,and you listen to them openly.
And you're also allowed to express what youthink and what you feel openly.
And you'll actually, by the end of it, come tothe point of realizing that both of you very
(23:28):
much feel the same.
Both of you say the same thing and both of youwant the same thing.
I think in the Norway peace treaty between theIsraelis and the Palestinians, what the
Norwegians did was to create this communicationbasin where they could speak closely and
(23:49):
without feeling—I think we got disconnectedagain.
So Ali, what piece of advice, what would be onepiece of advice you wish that all
entrepreneurial founders would follow?
I would tell them, follow your passion.
That is my biggest piece of advice I would giveany entrepreneur because to be honest, if you
(24:13):
follow your passion, money will follow.
You will always have the energy to do what youreally love.
You won't stop no matter what, whether you runout of money, whether you come to big failures
and big problems and big obstacles.
When you're following your passion, things justflow and even if you hit walls, you'll find
(24:36):
ways to overcome them.
Whereas when you start running after money,money just runs faster away.
And I've been a big, big, big believer of makeyour wish and it will come true.
And that is only if you are following yourpassion.
That is so true.
I mean, when you're—and the thing about beingin your passion is you are much more energetic.
(25:03):
You have so much more energy.
You're authentically yourself.
And that, to me, is probably the biggest giftyou can give others because then you can
truly—it's about them, and it's about theproblems that you solve for them because that's
really what it's about.
Right?
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Tell
me, I've really enjoyed our conversation.
(25:25):
If you were to give your younger self advice,what would it be?
I would give my younger self a number ofadvice.
And one thing is probably don't be afraid.
And I would say just go for it.
I have a board or a frame at the front of myhouse, and it says, I made a wish and it came
(25:46):
true.
I believe in that.
So believe in yourself.
Have faith in yourself that you can achievewhatever you absolutely set your mind to, and
don't listen to the naysayers.
Just ignore them and believe in your truecalling.
Believe in your heart.
(26:06):
Your heart and intuition often tell you whatyou really need to do, where you really need to
go, and listen to it, listen to it, becausevery often it has the answer to many of your
questions, and then the rest is just followyour path.
So now along your journey, did you seek outcoaches or help in any way, mentors, people who
(26:28):
would, would, you know, help lift you up andget and show you the way?
Yes.
I did have many coaches and many mentors, and Iam very, very grateful for them.
And I think one of the biggest times I went fora mentor was when I hit the absolute lowest,
when everything was really, really going badfor me.
I reached out to a mentor and that mentor wasabsolutely vital for resetting me and reminding
(26:55):
me that I can achieve my goals, reminding methat I can do whatever I set my mind to and I
did.
I think I reached out to my mentor in 2014 or2015, which was after the big recession in
Europe.
I reached out to him and he helped me set anumber of goals which I had and within four
(27:18):
years I sold my company and I pretty muchticked off nine out of 10 of all the things I
had put on that paper.
And when we reviewed it, it was a complete hit.
So I do suggest to people do reach out to amentor, reach out to good coaches because they
(27:38):
can help you on your journey.
Excellent.
Well, I just want to thank you so much for justthis wealth of information.
If our audience wanted to seek you out, theywanted to do business with you and say, you
know, I'm a startup or I'm someone who, youknow, is a speaker and I need help in, you
know, learning how to deliver that, you know,my information, you know, how would our
(28:01):
audience find you?
And, you know, what would be the best way toconnect with you?
So I just want to say thank you so much forbeing with us today.
Ali Parandeh can be reached at aliparandeh.com.
That's a l i p a r a n d e h dot com.
(28:22):
And again, he is a startup mentor, keynotespeaker, and a motivational speaker.
And so if you'd like to get in touch with him,he's also on LinkedIn at Ali Parandeh Zandpour,
Z A N D P O U R.
And, again, thank you so much for being with ustoday and for enjoying our show.
Hopefully, you have some takeaways.
(28:44):
And as a startup, one of the things that youalways want to remember is to just, no matter
what, don't worry so much about what you have.
Tell people your story.
Go out there into the world.
Marketing is senior to sales, so you want tomake sure that people know you because if
you're in obscurity, then nobody knows you.
(29:06):
And so being able to get your story right andbe able to utilize that as well in the
marketplace is going to really, really makethat difference.
This is Katherine, your host with The BeyondBusiness Podcast.
Thank you for sharing another session with us.
Looking forward to the next one.
(29:28):
Well, if you made it to this point, then youmade it to the end.
And you are my star.
And I just want to thank you from the bottom ofmy heart.
I hope that you enjoyed the conversation withtoday's guest.
And if you did, please leave us a review onApple Podcasts and Spotify and share this
episode with others who may be interested inthis topic.
(29:49):
Also, please feel free to let us know whattopics you'd like to see covered in future
episodes.
Get in touch in the comments or on RocketGrowth's social media platforms to have
conversations with me.
My booking link is in the comments.
See you next week for an all-new episode.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.