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I have never been more inspired then by fellow entrepreneurs Carolyn and Damien. They founded a startup named “Brill Power” and are building their business in a scene I keep learning more about: clean tech.

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Build something you believe in

They met in Oxford and together with two friends started their company in batteries. Batteries for electric cars that last longer than your average. I admire this technique but even more their startup entrepreneurship. I met them when they won the New Energy Challenge and was impressed by how they are not aiming to retire young by selling their company worth millions but have the real entrepreneurial spirit: building something you believe in!
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This will keep you going even through the long boring days – or evenings and weekends when all of the people you know are relaxing and you are vigorously working on your idea. It’s your strong beliefs that help you to keep your power levels up as long as you remember to schedule some relaxing time as well. Even though entrepreneurs generally experience self-brought stress it is also your responsibility to take care of yourself. One of these 9 tips to cope with work stress I like best:
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Walk at lunch

“Many people are feeling ill effects from leading a sedentary lifestyle. One way you can combat that, and manage stress at work at the same time, is to get some exercise during your lunch break and perhaps take short exercise breaks throughout the day. This can help you blow off steam, lift your mood, and get into better shape.”

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Money does not make you lazy

Yes, they could finally start working full time on their start-up after winning the € 100,000 investment but that did not make them lazy. Carolyn Hicks, one of the founders puts it like this: ‘Wanting to have a hugely successful and rich company is not enough, you really need to believe in what you are doing.’

Another great read about how to spend money after winning a business or startup contest is this article: “The Correct Answers to ‘How Will You Use My Money?‘”. I love it when someone hands out very pragmatic tips such as this one:

“Funding for founder salaries at this stage is a red flag. Investors expect you to “bet on the future” with them. You may pay salaries to your team, but your salary should come from earnings, when they occur. Taking your cut before earnings exist implies that you are not willing to take the same risk of no return, as you are asking of investors.”

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Lesson learned: investors are not always right

What I liked about the lessons they’ve learned a year after winning this challenge is that these are not about how to please your investors and what is the quickest way to success. Carolyn’s advice to new start-ups is to look for people to work with that are not like you; ‘you sort of miss out on getting a balance’.
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How to improve your business pitch

And crazily enough Damien loved his pitch coach who totally tore apart his pitch deck. But he loved him for that because he gave them something awesome: a different angle: ‘We focused very much on tech: this is why batteries suck and this is how we can make them better. And he brought in a totally different angle; if you can make them more environmentally friendly, people will like them more. And adding that into our pitch deck, I think, made a huge difference.’

In this sense, I agree with what The Founder Institute writes: “As a startup founder, you will pitch your business thousands of times to potential customers, partners, team members, investors, and more. When you pitch, you need to grab the listener’s attention quickly, and communicate all of the core elements of your idea in a clear and concise manner.”

If you can’t describe your business in one sentence, you won’t communicate it well enough.

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These 4 elements are key in finding your one magic sentence:

1. The defined offering is short and generic enough so anyone can understand your concept.
2. The defined audience is either a defined demographic or group, e.g. “40 to 55 years old German men” or a job title, e.g. “account managers at small retail shops.”
3. Now what is the problem you solve? The problem has to be something everyone understands when for example “this tool saves you time sending automated invoices”.
4. Last but least you should wonder – what is the secret sauce I can add? Or in other words: share your unique approach in how you will solve a particular problem in a specific target group or business level.

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Pitch very specifically – including financial information to investors

Another great tool to help you come up with a stronger pitch is the “best 3 minutes canvas” which will help you define specific elements like how much and what type of funding you need, what relevant experience you and your team have, and finish the pitch strongly with a clear request for the audience to take action.

Brill Power is part of a bigger startup story

I feel privileged to have had the chance being around such bright minds with the right entrepreneurial startup spirit. There’s more to their story: here’s the video interview I did with Damien and Carolyn in their University of Oxford laboratory.
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