Benefits and Features

I forgot an important lesson. I learned it when I had a summer job in college selling electronic equipment for Tektronix. They taught that we needed to show the customers how the equipment would benefit them. It did not matter whether we thought a particular capability was cool or powerful if that feature was not beneficial to the customer. Features are fine; benefits matter. And this perspective is relevant to spreading ideas. We must make it clear to others why they should embrace a novel idea.

A few years ago when I started on this project, I was criticized for not providing enough information about the science or the operations or the budget or the regulatory path or the intellectual property or the value of the investment sought. So in response, I built detailed project plans, budgets, regulatory briefs, etc. I felt as though I was on the right track when I would present my detailed budget and see how the potential funders were impressed by the work.

That was where I went wrong. I cannot focus on impressing others with the amount of work I've done. That is a feature of me leading the project. I must show how risks are mitigated and the program likely to succeed to justify investments.

My recent pitches are focused on benefits to the audience, not the features of our program. Practically, that means the supporting documents are streamlined to show the benefits without getting buried under the features.

Instead of sharing a programmable excel file with 14 worksheets with most made up of 290 lines and 28 columns, the presentation provides a summary table of the spend over the first two years consisting of a 7 line x 3 column table.

Instead of sharing a file of 60+ slides showing how dopamine causes toxicity which is reversed with RB-190, I share 2 slides showing first the increase in dopamine within the neurons and then the reversal of pathology in laboratory models of PD with RB-190 therapy.

And instead of showing the value of Right Brain Bio to investors, both now and after the first trial, in a programmable excel file with 10 worksheets with ~200 lines of information, I share the results of two calculations of enterprise value before and after the first investment, along with a projected increase in value.

And instead of showing a long list of projects completed and accomplishments, I refer to my work at FDA, DARPA and industry, highlighting my skills at leading even when in a position without authority and leading operations for complex clinical trials completed on schedule. And I share my experience using data to show that a heart failure drug should not be used widely - even after FDA approval - despite being a lone voice with that perspective.

I emphasized how RB-190 would be proven beneficial to people with Parkinson's. And I'll continue with that perspective when the audience values that most highly. When pitching for funds from professionals, I'm emphasizing what they will see as benefits to them. When I'm working on a daily basis on this project, I'm sometimes caught up in the science and how to advance scientific knowledge. But then I remember my lesson from Tektronix and I focus on what I can do that is most beneficial to the program moving forward. Benefits. Not features.