Why Good Pitches Don't Get Funded
Overview
You can have a solid product, decent traction and a clean deck. And still lose the room before slide one.🚀 What will happen during the evening
Because investors don’t just listen to what you say. They read who you are — from how you enter, stand, pause, breathe, and respond under pressure.
This event is for founders who are tired of carrying everything with logic and numbers only, and want their body and voice to finally work for the deal, not against it.
🤔 Recognize yourself here?
You freeze up when you need to pitch an investor or speak on stage
You never know what to do with your hands or where to look
You say smart things, but you don’t look like a confident CEO — more like someone apologizing for taking time
You’re self-conscious about your accent or voice
As SMM/marketing you push your founder into lives and events, then hate watching the recordings
If you speak for the company, this room is for you.
🎙 About the Speaker
Joe Hudson
Founder, Art of Accomplishment Executive Coach to Founders & Leaders
Joe Hudson is a renowned executive coach who has worked with founders, CEOs, and senior leaders from high-growth startups to Fortune-level companies. He most notably works with Sam Altman and the OpenAI research and computing team, and has high-profile testimonials from folks like Ev Williams (founder of Twitter) to Mark Pincus (founder of Zynga) to Robin Washington (board member of Alphabet and Salesforce), and many more.
His work focuses on what most pitch training ignores: alignment between your thinking, emotions, and body — especially in high-stakes moments like fundraising, negotiations, and public speaking.
Joe doesn’t teach performance or theatrics. He helps leaders remove internal friction so confidence becomes natural, grounded, and credible — even under pressure.
In this session, Joe will work live for 90–120 minutes, breaking down pitching from:
an intellectual perspective - The best strategy for your pitch
an emotional perspective - Understanding emotions to make a better pitch
and a nervous system perspective - How to enjoy the process for better results
You won’t sit and listen passively.
You will:
Watch a real founder pitch live and see how trust is created or broken — moment by moment
Learn how misalignment between mind, emotions, and body silently kills credibility
Get a clear framework for presence that works in investor meetings, negotiations, and on camera
Do short, grounded exercises from your seat — no humiliation, no forced performance
See Hot Seat breakdowns, where founders pitch and receive live feedback from Joe and the room
Finally understand how investors, partners, and teams actually experience you
🔥In the room you’ll see:
founders and presenters across stages, from pre-seed to active raise
CEOs and COOs who lead investor meetings and represent the company externally
SMM / marketing leads who are responsible for putting faces and voices in front of the audience
people who talk to investors regularly and understand how much strong delivery matters
This isn’t a random networking event. It’s a room full of people for whom pitching, negotiating and being in public is part of the job.
📈 Why this matters (beyond the event)
After this workshop, you will:
Stop “asking for permission to exist” in high-stakes rooms
Understand how to regulate yourself when fear or pressure hits
Walk away with a practical presence checklist for pitches and meetings
Feel more grounded on stage, on camera, and in investor conversations
Waste less energy on self-doubt — and more on actually closing
Soft skill? Yes. Direct impact on fundraising, leadership, and trust? Also yes.
🕒 Time
6:00 – 9:00 PM Joe Hudson live session + Hot Seat work: 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Sponsors
👑 AngelList AngelList builds the software investors use to fund world-changing startups. Founders Cafe is our founder community and co-working space on the first floor of HQ. Apply here.
Good to know
Highlights
- 3 hours
- all ages
- In person
- Free parking
Refund Policy
Location
AngelList
90 Gold Street
San Francisco, CA 94133
How do you want to get there?
Organized by
Startup Valley
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