Oren Klaff is an American investment banker and author who teaches people how to pitch and raise money. He is director of capital markets at Intersection Capital and the author of Pitch Anything (2011) and Flip the Script (2019). On London Real he says he has raised more than 400 million dollars himself.
Brian Rose has interviewed Klaff on London Real twice, in 2014 and 2015. They covered the croc brain, frame control, presenting yourself as the prize, time pressure and the full Pitch Anything method.
Both interviews are listed below in order with a short summary.
How To Pitch Anything (2015). His background and the full Pitch Anything method in one conversation.
Klaff argues that every pitch is first judged by a primitive part of the brain that decides in seconds whether something is worth attention. If the pitch is complicated or threatening, the audience switches off before logic is considered.
He says every meeting is a contest of frames, and the person whose frame wins sets the terms. A strong pitch establishes its frame from the start.
In 2014 he told Brian Rose that the buyer should feel they need to win you over, not the other way round, and that limiting the time available raises the value of what is on offer.
His method uses a clear story and an element of intrigue to hold attention, before moving the audience towards a decision.
Oren Klaff is an American investment banker and author who specialises in raising capital and pitching. He is director of capital markets at Intersection Capital and wrote Pitch Anything (2011) and Flip the Script (2019).
In 2014 and 2015 he talked with Brian Rose about how the primitive croc brain screens every pitch, how to control the frame of a meeting, and the method in his book Pitch Anything.
Start with How To Pitch Anything from 2015, which covers his background and the full method. Pitch Anything from 2014 is a shorter, punchier introduction to the croc brain idea.
Twice: Pitch Anything in 2014 and How To Pitch Anything in 2015.
Klaff’s term for the oldest, most primitive part of the brain, which he says screens every new idea before the thinking brain gets a say. His argument is that a pitch has to get past this quick, instinctive filter by being simple, novel and non-threatening.
Pitch Anything, published in 2011, sets out Klaff’s method for presenting ideas and raising money. It focuses on controlling the frame of a meeting, telling a story, creating intrigue, presenting yourself as the prize and getting a decision.
In Klaff’s method, a frame is the point of view that shapes a conversation. He argues that whoever controls the frame controls the meeting, so a good pitch starts by setting the terms rather than reacting to the buyer’s.
Official site: orenklaff.com
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