Quora Answer: Why is Eye Contact Important in Public Speaking?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Why is eye contact important in public speaking?” 

Eye contact is important in any conversation, not just public speaking.  The more intimate the company, the more important eye contact is.  When speaking to a large audience, you do not actually make eye contact with them.  What we do is break up that audience into sections, and focus on individuals within each section.  When we start any speech, we have to understand that there is a distance between the speaker and the audience, a barrier.  During the course of the speech, the intent is to break that barrier, and make the audience feel that the speaker articulates their cares, their concerns, their passions.  Eye contact is one such tool. 

There are several reasons why we use eye contact, depending on the context of the speech we give, and the nature of the audience.  Generally, we want to evoke sincerity.  We must seem credible, and our contentions are sincere.  We make eye contact to connect with sections of the audience at an emotive level.  Their enthusiasm for or reaction to our points, thereafter, is contagious, and can be manipulated.  The larger the crowd, the lower the threshold of that contagion.  Sometimes, we make eye contact with members of the audience, especially the difficult sections of it, to demonstrate dominance.  You want to look them in the eye, and embrace that uncomfortable silence, until they look away.  This is a means to change the power dynamic of the discourse.  Eye contact is a tool of rhetoric, perhaps the most important tool.  It is a means to control audience reaction, and amplify emotions.

Quora Answer: Should Startups “Hire” a Founding Investor?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Should startups ‘hire’ a founding investor?” 

The question conflates three things: founder, investor and employee.  Founders are the owners of the business.  Their interest is to grow the startup and enhance its market capitalisation.  Investors put in money into the business to extract value from it through cash cow or various forms of exit.  An employee is paid to perform a specific job so that the startup can generate revenue in excess of the cost of hiring him.  What is a “founding” investor?  This sounds like an oxymoron.

Quora Answer: Why Does Venture Capital Love to Fund Technology Projects?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Why do venture capital firms love to fund technology projects?” 

The primary reason why venture capital invests in technology is because of their potential to scale rapidly, at relatively low cost.  Investments in areas such as manufacturing and property require relatively large capital investment.  Investments in retail have low scalability due to market saturation. 

Of the 10 largest listed companies in the world by market capitalisation today, five are primarily technology companies (Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta), three are manufacturers of technology products (Tesla, Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing), and the last has significant investments in technology (Berkshire Hathaway).  The only outlier is Saudi Aramco. 

When we go through the list of unicorn startups, the vast majority of them are technology companies.  They include companies such as ByteDance, Stripe, Telegram, OpenSea and Grab.  They are either high technology, blockchain, technology for financial services, or some form of payment gateway.  They all started with little capital requirements, and quickly grew due to investor fervour and market sentiment.  This allows venture to either cash cow, exit, or partial exit with cash cow.

Quora Answer: Is It Typical for Advisors to Invest in a Startup as a Pre-Condition of the Role?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Is it typical for advisors to be asked to invest in a startup as a pre-condition of being an advisor?” 

No.  If they invested, they would be investors.  It is not preferable for your advisors to be investors, or vice versa.  The role of the advisor is to advise the founders and the board.  He is there to guide them on the  strategic direction of the company from the perspective of the board.  The investor wants to make a return on investment as quickly as possible.  The self-interest of the investor would be at odds with the self-interest of the founder and the board.  The role of the board is to build up the capital of the company.  The investor wants to extract value, which may diminish that capital.  Having an advisor who is an investor would be a conflict of interest.

Quora Answer: What Makes a Person a Powerful Speaker?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “What makes a person a powerful speaker?” 

A speaker is only as good as the result of the speech.  A charismatic speaker who has entertained the audience, but not achieved anything when the speech ends, is not a powerful speaker.  That speech has no compelling call to action.  We measure speakers by their influence, not their likeability or affability. 

To be an effective, influential speaker, you need to have a message that resonates with the audience, with a clear call to action, so that the people are moved to do something.  This is the act of giving voice to the voiceless.  This must be shared utilising the skills of rhetoric.  You have to speak in such a manner that the audience feels that you represent them, and articulate their concerns.  This requires the use of inclusive language.  You need to identify a problem, a contention, even an enemy, and that requires the use of accusative language.  You need to share a personal narrative, a hero’s journey of growth.  The next thing a speaker requires is the sort of persona and gravitas which gives credibility to that message.  How you carry yourself, how you dress, how your project your voice, how you command the stage, all that lends credence to your message.  A good speaker is also his reputation before he steps on that stage. 

Ultimately, the power of the speech is found in the moment.  A great speech, in the wrong moment, is words wasted.  On the other hand, the right word, said in the right moment, in the right manner, to the right people, moves the masses and echoes in eternity.  It has tangible effect, and benefits society, or the catalyst for great horrors.

Quora Answer: What are the Benefits of Fund of Funds?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “What is a fund of funds in venture capital?  What are the benefits?” 

A fund of funds is merely a pooled investment fund which invests in other types of funds.  This means its portfolio is the various underlying portfolios of the funds it invests in.  A fund of funds does not invest directly in equity, debt instruments, and any other types of securities or derivatives.  If a fund of funds has a mandate that only allows it to invest in funds managed by its own management, it is a fettered fund of funds.  It if has no such restriction, then it is unfettered. 

Funds of funds are attractive to smaller investors seeking better exposure, but fewer risks, because the funds of funds do not invest directly in securities or stocks.  It is a fund that has spread its risk by investing in other funds, even if those other funds are hedge funds, since they normally balance that portfolio by investing in mutual funds.  This makes it a cheaper way of immediately diversifying a portfolio. 

Furthermore, because funds of funds pool from smaller investors, it grants them access to funds that the average retail investors would normally not be able to afford such as select hedge funds, or specialised funds by major fund managers.  These funds normally have a minimum investment that is in the hundreds of thousands or up to tens of millions; they they require accredited investors – meaning a minimum net worth.

Quora Answer: How Much of a Startup Should be Given Up to Investors?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “How much of a startup should be given up to angel investors for collateral?”

Before you come to that decision, both founders and the first mover investors need to agree on the valuation of the company.  This would be an extent discussion.  Once that is agreed upon, then you can come to a decision on how much equity to give up for investment.  Because they are first movers, they take the most risk, and may request some discount on that collateral. 

The first consideration here is to ensure that you give up just enough equity to receive funding, but not so much that you lose majority control.  You also need to reserve space for further rounds of funding.  1^st mover investors normally have provisions against splitting their shares, so you need to carefully manage the capitalisation table across three or more rounds of funding.