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BEP 366 – English for Startups 3: Addressing Investor Concerns

Advanced, Business English, IT and Tech, Presentation in English / November 1, 2020

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on addressing investor concerns during a pitch in English.

One of the greatest skills in business is the art of persuasion. Whether you’re running a startup and wooing a big investor or trying to convince your boss to give you a pay raise you need to be able to persuade.

Of course, we often use a pitch or presentation to persuade, especially when looking for startup investment. But the pitch alone won’t seal the deal. The real test is handling questions and concerns after your pitch. Can you anticipate these concerns and be ready to address them? Can you think and speak on the fly? Do you have the confidence to back up what you’ve said in your presentation?

There are several concerns you might have to address. For one, you may have to explain exactly why your idea is unique. And you might also have to show clearly that you’re committed to the idea. One common investor concern is the valuation, or how much you think the company’s worth. You’ll need to justify your valuation clearly, and explain what you’ll do with the investor’s money. And through it all, you’ll be trying to show why you are backable, or deserve the investor’s support.

In today’s dialog, we’ll rejoin Quinn, who is seeking investment for his online payments company called Moolah. In our last lesson, Quinn gave his pitch to the investor. Now he has to address some tough questions and concerns from a potential investor named Mason.

Listening Questions

1. What does Quinn believe shows that he’s fully committed to the company?
2. What exactly does Quinn plan to do with the investor’s money?
3. Why does Quinn believe he is backable on a personal level?

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BEP 365 – English for Startups 2: Pitching to Investors

Advanced, Business English, Persuasion, Presentation in English / October 20, 2020

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on pitching in English to investors.

The world of tech startups can be extremely exciting and rewarding. But success is certainly not guaranteed. In fact, 90% of new ventures that don’t attract investors within the first three years will fail. So if your company has made it through the valley of death, and you’re burning through cash but don’t have any revenue, then you’d better make sure you’ve got a great pitch to potential investors.

In just 10 to 20 minutes, you need to convince investors that they should risk their money on you. Or, more accurately, why they should risk their money on you instead of on the thousands of other companies they could invest in. It’s hard to think of a higher stakes presentation than a pitch to investors. So what will increase your chances of success?

Well, you need to talk about the problem that your product solves, and how your product is truly unique. Of course, in the startup world, timing is everything. So you need to be able to show there’s a market for what you’re offering. And a good startup isn’t just about a good idea, it’s about a solid revenue model. So you’ll need to explain that clearly. It’s also smart to sit down and think about what questions investors might have, and answer them before they have to ask them!

In today’s dialog, we’ll listen to a presentation by Quinn, who founded an online payments company called Moolah. In our last lesson, we heard Quinn preparing for his pitch with the help of a mentor. Now it’s showtime, as Quinn delivers his pitch in the hopes of attracting investment.

Listening Questions

1. What is the problem that Quinn identifies at the start of his presentation?
2. Who is Moolah’s target audience?
3. What question does Quinn anticipate the investors might have?

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BEP 364 – English for Startups 1: Preparing for a Pitch

Advanced, Business English, ESL Podcast, Training / October 10, 2020

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on preparing for a pitch in English to investors.

It’s easy to look around at the economy today and applaud the tech companies that made it big. But for every success, there are a hundred failures. Anyone who’s founded a startup or worked for one knows that new businesses face a lot of uncertainty and a world of challenges.

In this economy, the success of a startup depends on many factors. If you can learn to navigate the challenges, or to see them as opportunities, then you too might make it big. One important factor in startup success is good mentorship. There’s a strong tradition of established business people helping young entrepreneurs find the path to success.

And one of the most important opportunities a mentor can help you with is preparing for your first pitch to potential investors. If there’s any time that you should learn to take advice, it’s at this point. An English pitch to investors can make or break your company. And good preparation, as any mentor will tell you, is key.

Working with a mentor depends on you being open to input. That might mean accepting critical opinions and admitting your own weaknesses. But if you can do this, then you’ll be able to use your mentor to bounce ideas off, and to ask directly for help with challenges.

In today’s dialog, we’ll listen to a conversation between Quinn – a young entrepreneur – and Kira, his mentor. Quinn is getting ready to pitch his online payments startup to a potential investor. And we’ll hear how he learns from his more experienced mentor.

Listening Questions

1. What strong opinion about his pitch does Quinn have to accept?
2. What weakness does Quinn admit to?
3. What challenge does Quinn ask Kira for help with?

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925 English Lesson 36 – Ending a Phone Call

925 English, A2, Business English, English Video, Telephone English / September 27, 2020

In today’s 925 English video lesson, we’re going to learn how to end a phone call in English.

Last time, we looked at lots of useful expressions for answering the phone and starting a call. But what about ending a call? If you’ve finished your conversation, what can you say to end the call politely?

Well for starters, one thing you want to avoid is just suddenly saying goodbye. To end a business call professionally, there are three simple steps to follow. First you signal that you want to end, secondly, you review your action points, and finally you say goodbye.

925 English is a new series of English video lessons for beginners (CEFR level A2). With 925 English you can learn business English expressions and phrases for work.

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BEP 363 – English Idioms for Strengths and Weaknesses (2)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms, ESL Podcast / September 15, 2020

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on business English idioms related to strengths and weaknesses.

Job interviews, performance reviews, hiring decisions, promotions, pay raises… what do all of these important aspects of work and business revolve around? Well, one major theme is people’s strengths and weaknesses. If you can’t assess strengths and weaknesses very well – either your own or other people’s – you’re bound to make some bad decisions.

So it’s no wonder you hear so many business conversations about what people can and can’t do, or what they’re good at and what they’re not good at. And in these conversations, you’re bound to hear lots of idioms. English has tons of expressions for talking about strengths and weaknesses. And in today’s lesson, we’ll take a look at some of these business English idioms.

In the lesson, we’ll rejoin a conversation about hiring a new communications director at a mining company. Three managers are talking about the strengths the new director will need, as well as the weaknesses of the previous director, which they want to avoid. They use many useful English idioms during their discussion.

Listening Questions

1. What type of attitude does Annette say the new communications director needs?
2. What type of person does Drew think they need to deal with controversy?
3. At the end of the dialog, what kind of person does Annette say they should avoid?

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BEP 362 – English Idioms for Strengths and Weaknesses (1)

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business Idioms, ESL Podcast / September 6, 2020

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on business English idioms related to strengths and weaknesses.

Walk into any office or staff room and listen to what people are talking about. There’s a good chance you’ll hear people talking about other people. And in many cases those conversations are about what they’re good at, and what they’re not good at. In other words, you’ll find people talking about other people’s strengths and weaknesses.

And it not just gossip. We talk about people’s strengths and weaknesses every time we make a hiring decision, assemble a project team, or delegate tasks. We even talk about our own strengths and weaknesses in these same contexts. Whatever the situation, and whoever you’re talking about, there are lots of English idioms for discussing strengths and weaknesses. And it’s some of these idioms we’ll learn today.

In the lesson, we’ll hear a business conversation between three managers at a mining company. They’re creating a job posting for a new communications director, and they’re discussing the strengths a good Director will have and the weaknesses they want to avoid. They’re also discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the past communications director. The three colleagues use many idioms related to strengths and weaknesses during their discussion.

Listening Questions

1. According to Annette, what did they think of the previous communications director when they hired him?
2. What does Drew say about Carl’s skills with social media?
3. What does Laura say the new director will have to do, especially with an expansion and so much work in the future?

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925 English Lesson 35 – Answering the Phone

925 English, A2, Business English, English Video, Telephone English / August 26, 2020

In today’s 925 English video lesson, we’re going to learn some expressions for answering the phone in English.

Using the telephone is an important part of business. But the way we communicate is a little different from in-person conversations. We have some special expressions we use to answer the phone, ask for clarification, and get a callback.

At the start of a phone call, it’s a good idea to make sure the other person knows who you are. You can identify yourself in a few different ways. Besides saying “my name is,” we often use the expression “this is” before our name. But don’t try to use this expression in person. I only say “this is Tim” when I’m talking on the phone.

925 English is a new series of English videos for beginners (CEFR level A2). With 925 English you can learn business English expressions for work.

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Business English News 45 – The 5G Revolution

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business News, IT and Tech / August 2, 2020

In this Business English News lesson we look at vocabulary related to technology and mobile communications.

There’s a lot of buzz around 5G technology these days. And it’s not just tech giants like Samsung, Ericsson and Huawei that are getting excited. Everyone from consumers to governments are paying attention. And with the excitement comes no small amount of controversy. But what’s all the hype about? And for starters, what exactly is 5G? Technology website Inventiva explains:

Put simply, 5G is an innovative mobile technology, which is expected to impact all aspects of our lives, including our homes, entertainment, work, and travel. In part, this is because it enables download speeds 10 to 20 times faster than the 4G networks of today. But it’s also much more responsive than the current networks, and allows many more devices to be connected to the internet. In short, it radically improves network bandwidth. With such speed and capacity, 5G is expected to transform everything around us.

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925 English Lesson 34 – Giving Instructions

925 English, A2, Business English, English Video, ESL Podcast / July 22, 2020

In today’s 925 English video lesson, we’re going to learn how to give instructions in English.

Telling people what to do isn’t just something the boss does. Any time you’re helping someone with a problem, training someone, giving technical advice, or telling a colleague how to do something, you’re giving instructions.

Of course, it’s very important to be clear when you’re giving instructions. And for that reason, we sometimes explain things step-by-step, in a sequence of instructions.

925 English is a new series of English videos for beginners (CEFR level A2). With 925 English you can learn business English phrases for work.

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BEP 361 – Video Conferences 3: Conference Call with Clients

Business English, English for Meetings, Management English, Video Conferences / July 7, 2020

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English for video conference meetings with clients.

In the past, meeting with clients often meant you had to travel. That might mean across town, or it might mean across the country or overseas. But with modern video conferencing tools, you can now meet with your clients without ever leaving your office.

But running a virtual meeting in English doesn’t look exactly the same as an in-person meeting. While you use a lot of the same skills, those skills will sound a bit different in action. And there are some new skills you’ll need to develop, as you have to manage not only a group of people, but also the technology.

At the start of a meeting, you’ll probably get things going with a semi-formal welcome, before giving a rough outline for the meeting. At some point, you’ll have to ask for people’s patience while you take care of a technical issue, like sharing your screen or admitting new people to the meeting room.

One big difference between in-person and virtual meetings is how you deal with questions. Yes, you’ll have to call on people that you can see have a question, but you may also need to deal with questions or comments that come through the chat function.

In today’s dialog, we’ll listen to a meeting being run by Adam and Cathy, two business consultants. They’re talking with a group of managers, including Sophie and Fareed, at Healthwise, a chain of health food stores that is trying to improve their online sales. You will hear Adam and Cathy demonstrate the skills you need to run a client meeting by video conference.

Listening Questions

1. What is the rough outline for the meeting that Adam provides?
2. Adam asks for his clients’ patience while he deals with what technical matter?
3. How does Adam know that Sophie has a question?

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