Every startup has their elevator pitch–a description of the company so distilled that the essence can be illustrated in the shortest amount of time to anyone who might have the slightest interest in said company. Whittling this pitch down to its bare essentials and practicing it until it can be given at the drop of a hat can literally mean millions when the right investor is listening.
At Revisu, we’re still wondering if we should use this concept, and if we did, which company we’d compare ourselves to. The best we’ve come up with so far would be “Dribbble for professional design teams,” a metaphor we’re not entirely sold on yet, for a variety of reasons. (First of all, have many investors even heard of Dribbble?)
Because time is of the essence in these scenarios, a large part of perfecting the elevator pitch is in knowing what corners can be cut, and when to cut them. What’s the most important to a prospective investor? Value proposition? Target market? Pricing model? The fact that you and your co-founder were in a death metal band in high school?
“We’re like this, but for this . . .”
It’s common practice to summarize most of these questions–probably not the metal band part–by comparing your startup to a similar company in a different space. “The X of Y approach,” as it’s sometimes called, wraps up the core idea of your company in one fell swoop, and applies it to a different audience or platform.
Our friends at Cloudability have been called “Mint.com for the Cloud,” a phrase that didn’t originally come from them, but a favorable review of their service which stuck around for a while. The comparison has helped people grasp the idea of Cloudability a bit quicker, and might have even landed the company a number of customers on its own.
An Airbnb for everything
The practice has its detractors, of course–people who cringe at hearing yet another “We’re like Facebook, but for bicycle enthusiasts!” and might end the conversation right there. In fact, a quick search on AngelList brings up around 20 startups that call themselves “The Airbnb of ____,” from power tools to dinner parties to parking spaces. Not a huge surprise, as Airbnb has become the poster child for overnight startup success–perhaps this decade’s positive rebuttal to the last decade’s Pets.com implosion.
A small sample of AngelList startups comparing themselves to Airbnb.
The Good
The X of Y metaphor is a secret handshake between you and your audience. Using someone else’s success and popularity to more quickly describe your own company shows you’ve done your homework, and shows that you trust others to have some knowledge of their own in the field.
- It can save precious time
- It shows that a similar business has succeeded in the past
- It holds the implication that your startup can be just as successful
The Bad
Again, this practice is a secret handshake of sorts, and it’s important that the other party knows the handshake as well. Just like everything else in life, there will be people who just don’t get your metaphor. In these scenarios when you don’t have time to lose, a failed comparison could be the roadblock that ends your pitch right then and there.
- “We’re like X” doesn’t work if someone hasn’t heard of X
- You could waste half your pitch describing what the other company does
- Once you bring up another company, it will be hard to separate your idea from theirs
The Ugly
What happens if you liken your startup to a that of successful, popular company everyone’s heard of, and then something terrible happens to that company? What if their stock tanks, the president shares a few incriminating photos with the wrong people, or the CEO goes on an elephant-hunting spree? Your name could be tarnished for good by aligning yourself with them, even if they were in good standing when you first made the comparison.
And some people just really don’t like the X of Y metaphor. It can seem lazy, unimaginative, or just overused, as the Airbnb example suggests.
- The company you’re comparing yourself to could lose credibility at any time
- You never know what your audience might think of the company in question
- Some investors might get turned off just by hearing your comparison, regardless of the company
Conclusion
How should you know if the X of Y approach is right for your pitch? Some startups’ models will be so similar to another company’s that it seems impossible to avoid the comparison. If that’s the case, it may be wise to let your audience derive the metaphor for you: “Oh, so you’re like Zappos for golf clubs?” This lets them choose whether or not to go the metaphor route, and if they go for it, you’ve let them connect the dots on their own, hopefully becoming a bit more invested in the idea.
Whether you make the X of Y metaphor isn’t the biggest decision you’ll make in the startup world, but it’s a choice that will accompany countless first impressions with investors. If you don’t mind being attached to another company’s image for a while, the benefits could mean a great deal to the future of your startup. Just have a backup plan ready if the metaphor flops.
