The story

In this document, I will try to craft a story for Lesk to present the project. The goal of the story is not really, to tell the truth of the events but rather to tie people to the idea instead. 

“If we don’t tell our own story, other people will tell it for us”. This is why we need to be conscious about making a good enough story, taken from the events that we lived.

Also, a story, like the one on the Bitcoin, can push people to agree with the concept.

The story isn’t fixed and several versions will be produced to find the best one possible. I will follow a normal storytelling pattern to find the best story possible.

PS: I will also make a “normal” version and an “unofficial” version. To make it even funnier and darker.

1st story

Lesk came from our imagination during our university years. To make a bit of extra money during our masters, we decided to organize parties on our campus. The deal was simple. We partnered with a venue by bringing people. They would make money on beverages sales while we would do so on entries. The business was an easy win-win. 

So easy that some other students started to copy us. It put chaos in our business model and our profitable enterprise stopped being that profitable. But even though we were aware of our decline, we still wanted to fight back. 

So we thought we could attract people by having something special. An element that would convince the crowd to choose us. To do so, we decided to craft lighting objects. We started with a simple led sign, not so great. Then, a led cloud: good but pretty messy. Then a static panel: too hard to transport.

Nothing really worked until we placed some LEDs in white plastic balls taped on a fabric. The thing was raw, clumsily done, and visually unpleasant to watch at first sight. But at this point, for us, it became funnier to try new things more than organizing those parties. So we continued no matter what. 

The most hilarious moments were when we needed to test it out. We managed to find a concert room near us that allowed us to set it up. I recall, that day, half of the project was falling apart. It felt like it was a dreadful idea. We were even scared to start a fire. But we still tried, and the result was surprisingly pleasant to watch.

So we decided to take a video of it that we posted on a DJ group with no expectations. Days later, we received a lot of likes from members. But most importantly people were asking us how and where they could buy it. That day, we knew we had something, we knew we should continue, and this is how Lesk started.

 

2nd story

Lesk came from our imagination during our university years. To finance our alcool consumption during our masters, we decided to organize parties on our campus. The deal was simple. We partnered with a venue by bringing people. They would make money on beverages sales while we would do so on entries. The business was easy. 

So easy that the owner found out how much money we were making and stopped our collaboration. So instead of renting a place, we wondered: Why not do paid parties at our place directly?  

At that time, our idea was to have something special. An element that would convince people to come and pay. To do so, we decided to craft lighting objects. We started with a simple led sign, not so great. Then, a led cloud: good but pretty messy. And after that, some honeycomb led. No one noticed. 

Nothing really worked until we placed some LEDs in white plastic balls taped on a fabric. The thing was raw, clumsily done, and visually unpleasant to watch. But at this point, for us, it became funnier to try new things more than organizing those parties. So we continued. 

To test it, we managed to find a concert room near us that allowed us to set it up. I recall, that day, half of the project was falling apart. It felt like it was a dreadful idea. We were even scared to catch fire. But we still tried, and the result was surprisingly pleasant to watch.

So we decided to take a video of it, and out of curiosity, we posted it on a DJ group. Some days later, we received a lot of likes. People were asking us how and where they could buy it. We knew we had something, we knew we should continue, and this is how Lesk started.

Story shortened:

Lesk’s project was created during our student’s years in masters. To make a bit of money, we were organizing parties in a restaurant on our campus. As it wasn’t a club, we needed a tool to transform the rooms to make people believe.

From parties after parties, we crafted different lighting objects. We became so obsessed with making new things that we stopped making parties to craft our own solutions. 

Up until the point where we made the first prototype. We posted it on a DJ group and people asked us if they could buy it. This is when we understood we had something.

Who, what, why, when, and how

In this section, I am going to write about the “who”,” what”,” why”,” when” and “how” of Lesk to have a clear vision of our product and our mission.

Who – 

Lesk is a product for people who wish to organize meaningful events by adding a touch of lights effects. It goes from someone who wants to have a house party in his apartment to events that can gather around 300 people. 

What – 

Lighting objects that are easy to transport, set up, and control. Either by phones or computers or by special controllers.

Why – 

Because we believe in the power of adding lights to parties and fests. We know that it can change the atmosphere we are in and add this little extra which makes life worth being lived.

When – 

During parties and festive moments.

How – 

By making a product that can be set up easily anywhere and controllable easily.

Structure of the pitch to investors: 

1- Target customers experience a problem and need a solution

2- Our product provides benefits to the customer

3- Our venture operates in an environment that is conducive to success

4- Our intermediate performances suggest that the business opportunity exists

5- Our team is well equipped with skills and experience

6- Funding would help us further the investment

Rhetorical weapons we can use:

Enthymemes – Predicting the future from one element

Talking “as if” the future of the venture is the present

Make an explicit claim on the present state of the product and the market

Support claims on historical and current data

Use of theatrical tricks to increase the interest.

How to make the perfect pitch – By reading entrepreneurial papers 

The pitch is what will tie the investor to the pitcher, the company creator.

Pitch make claims about technology description, development status, benefits, IP status, business model, markets, market interest, competition, risks and barriers, and team status.

The pitch is about building legitimacy

We need to build legitimacy depending on the people we’ll pitch in front of.

Legitimacy is achieved through conversation.

Learn to be credible. Through stories, one can be credible.

Producing documentation can be something that brings legitimacy

Bring images.

Look at dragon’s den, shark tank pitches.

Give numbers.

Have a speech like a commercial with the investors.

Shark tank’s advice to entrepreneurs: Someone who understands and knows a number, they understand the market. Cost of acquiring customers.

Be creative and show it. 

Need to be a problem solver. Motivate others.  

How did we design and what were our goals

Securing your product when you don’t mass produce

6 Important criteria investors look at:

Adoption of the idea – Will customers from the market easily adopt it?

Product status – Is the product ready for the market?

Customer engagement – Do you have a first customer identified?

Route to market? – Is there a real market plan?

Market potential – Is there a large market?

Relevant experience? – Do the founders have relevant experiences

Financial model – Will they make money?

Test pitch 1 – Problem 

Problem: People don’t have a light mobile solution that is accessible and light. It exists for 

Every week, millions of people are getting pretty and ready to have parties to celebrate the weekend. Their primary goal is to devote good times with their friends. While an overabundance of solutions exists to play music anywhere anytime, few solutions are available to change the lighting atmosphere in our room. I mean, of course, they are, but they are sometimes too heavy, too powerful, or look too cheap. 

At Lesk, we built a product that would answer all those problems. We managed to make a lighting product that is mobile, easy to set up, not heavy but still powerful. Our vision was to give people who like to organize parties, so mostly DJs but other types of profiles also, the ability to change anywhere into a club.

All this was possible because of the technology that is right now available to us. Using microcontrollers, smartphones, 3D printers, and LEDs, we managed to get a compact solution that one can transport in a backpack and control via a phone only. 

As you know, we already have prototypes that we made, and since then we believe that our product has a great chance to make it? Why? Because the first feedback we got from our people that could use it is “whaaooooo”. The second is to continue to work on it and improve it. And this was only in an apartment configuration. Imagine now, and because it’s possible with batteries, in a garden, in a forest, or a simple bar that one would flip into a club.

So now you might wonder, what makes us legit to make it successful? Simple. Here is Gustav, he got a masters’ degree in design. He has a soul of a maker and will come up with the best ideas for any future products we are going to make. Because he just can’t stop doing it. Even if he has already worked his 8 hours shift from his normal job. 

And here is Benoit. He has a master’s in entrepreneurship and used to be a DJ. Benoit is obsessed with Lesk so much that he is working part-time only to be able to focus on the project’s development.

This is why today, we are asking for ….

Elevator pitch

Lesk is a mobile light system that allows anyone to change a place into a nightclub. It fits into a backpack. You can hang it on walls and ceiling. You can control it via your phone or via s special controller and it will bring a stunning atmosphere to your events.

Visit the website for a real picture of the product: www.lesklights.com