Ever wonder why some founders walk away from pitch meetings with checks, while others – with equally solid businesses – leave empty-handed?

The answer might be science. That’s right, today we’re talking about the neurology of pitching.

Meet The Brain-Pitch Expert

Today's learnings come from Matthew Khalili, founder and CEO of PlanWriters.

Matthew has mastered the art – and science – of successful pitching. He’s won multiple pitch competitions at USC, pitched to over 200 investors for his own SaaS company, and helped run a few early-stage ventures (including one that reached $100 million in revenue.)

Now, Matthew runs PlanWriters, where he helps startup founders design pitch decks and business plans that close deals.

He’s helped over 5,000 founders raise more than $1 Billion in funding. Yep, that’s billion with a “B”.

What I love about Matthew is that he doesn’t just know how to tell a good story.

He understands the science of pitching. He understands what happens to an investor’s brain when it hears a pitch.

And (coolest of all), he knows how to leverage this information to help founders tweak their pitches in a way that makes an investor's brain say "yes."

Just FYI, Matthew is hosting a webinar in a few weeks on this very topic. If you’re sick of hearing “no” and want to learn more, highly recommend signing up for that.

For today, let's break down Matthew’s four neuroscience-friendly principles that can transform your pitch.

Ready?

1. Simplicity and Relevance

Investors hear 20-40 pitches a day. Their brains are literally designed to conserve energy and filter out what's not immediately useful.

💡 What this means for you: Make it easy for them understand what you’re saying.

Yes, investors are often well educated and have a big vocabulary. But their brain is designed to conserve energy.

And this means that complex concepts often go in one ear and out the other.

So… if an 8th grader wouldn't understand your explanation, you're making investors work too hard.

And when their brain has to work hard just to understand what you do... it often decides not to bother.

✅ Action item: Boil your business down to 5-10 simple words. Aim for an 8th-grade reading level. And be sure to include the commercial opportunity.

For example, cut this "We're developing a machine learning algorithm that optimizes logistics pathways for last-mile delivery.

Instead, try this: "We cut delivery costs by 30% with smart routing technology."

2. Novelty and Familiarity

Your brain wakes up when it encounters something new — but shuts down if that new thing is too unfamiliar to process.

💡What this means for you: Your pitch needs to be fresh enough to stand out, but familiar enough to understand quickly.

Avoid using the exact same slide titles and formats as everyone else ("Problem," "Solution," "Market Size").

But don't get so creative that investors spend all their mental energy just figuring out your structure.

✅ Action item: Try the "X for Y" formula, but make it specific.

"We're like Airbnb, but for private jets." or “We’re like MediCare, but for daycare.”

This combines two familiar concepts to create something new… but that investors can immediately grasp.

3. Cognitive Load

You know that feeling when you’ve eaten way too many tacos? You couldn’t possibly eat one more thing.

And then someone offers you a cookie. You can’t even look at it, let alone eat it.

The brain is no different. It can only process so much information at a time. It needs time to digest.

💡 What this means for you: Break complex ideas into digestible pieces. And change up the way you deliver the information.

Dense blocks of text, rapid-fire statistics, and monotone delivery will overload the cognitive system. It’ll shut down interest.

✅ Action item: Use the "appetizer before entrée" approach.

Start with a simple analogy. Something that makes your business easy to understand.

So if you're pitching a data company, compare it to something everyone already knows: "Remember how Spotify transformed how we discover music? We're doing the same thing for how businesses discover insights in their data."

4. Social Dynamics

Human brains are wired to follow leaders. We evolved this way for survival — the group that followed the best leader survived.

For better or worse, we haven’t changed. At least, not when it comes to spotting leaders.

💡 What this means for you: Investors unconsciously decide if you're a leader worth following before they even decide if your business is worth funding.

✅ Action item: Consider putting your team slide near the beginning of your deck, not at the end.

Also, mention your relevant past successes to establish credibility early on.

You're subtly telling the investor's brain, "I'm a leader worth following," which primes them to pay more attention to everything else you say.

Why This Stuff Works

These principles aren't just good presentation tips — they're based on how our brains work.

And guess what? Matthew from PlanWriters has so much more to share when it comes to the science of pitching.

His webinar on July 9 will dive into things like:

• the 6 slides that are most important to the top funds
• tips on scraping lists for investor leads
• 3 ways the crocodile part of our brain ingests pitches
• term sheet negotiations
• 4 personality types of investors and how to pitch to each of them

It’s going to be packed with tactics. Applicable, unique tactics that Matthew has leveraged to help startup founders raise over $1B in funding.

RSVP right here.

And remember: the investor who funds you might not be smarter or more insightful than the ones who pass.

They might simply be the one whose brain you successfully engaged.

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