Illustration by Gustav Bodin
What if a hitmaker like Max Martin produced your next pitch deck?
That’s an odd question I started asking myself after watching the Netflix documentary This is Pop: Stockholm Syndrome and this interview at the Polar Music Prize 2016.
Let me add some context.
According to metrics from DocSend, VCs spend on average less than 3 minutes to review pitch decks, a figure consistently decreasing since 2018.
Source: DocSend Startup Index
That’s roughly the duration of a song. And when it comes to hitmaking, the Swedish producer might have the formula. Since 1998, Max Martin has written or co-written 25 Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit songs. He is the songwriter with the third-most number-one singles on the charts, behind only Paul McCartney and John Lennon.
Here are some of his biggest hits to refresh your memory.
Even though songs and pitch decks seem diametrically opposed, I believe that there are techniques that startup founders can borrow to catch investors’ attention.
Let’s explore some of them.
It's incredibly important to me that you remember a song right after the first or second time you hear it. That something sticks to you, something that makes you feel, 'I need to hear that song again.' That's fundamental.
Max Martin
The same applies to your pitch; first impressions matter. Your goal isn’t to get an instant term sheet but trigger the interest for more views. DocSend data confirms that investors spend more time on subsequent visits to decks they end up funding.
Source: DocSend (The Seed Round in 2020-21)
…Baby One More Time is a song about obsession, and it takes all of two seconds to hook you, not once but twice, first with the swung triplet “Da nah nah” and then with that alluring growl-purr that Spears emits with her first line “Oh, baby, bay-bee.”
Max Martin
Most songwriters start with the lyrics. But Max Martin usually begins with the melody instead, where vocals are meant to serve the melody. Thus, the hook acts as an anchor to intrigue listeners early in the song.