Picture this:
London, 1609. You've got the craziest pitch in history.
Plant a colony in America.
Nobody's done it.
It'll cost a fortune.
And, half your investors might die crossing the Atlantic.
How do you raise money for that?
The Virginia Company had an answer:
London, 1609. You've got the craziest pitch in history.
Plant a colony in America.
Nobody's done it.
It'll cost a fortune.
And, half your investors might die crossing the Atlantic.
How do you raise money for that?
The Virginia Company had an answer:
They needed serious capital for something that sounded completely insane.
So, they crafted the perfect story.
They created "Nova Britannia".
They painted Virginia as paradise. Flowing with "excellent fruites." Perfect weather. Gold everywhere.
So, they crafted the perfect story.
They created "Nova Britannia".
They painted Virginia as paradise. Flowing with "excellent fruites." Perfect weather. Gold everywhere.
And it worked.
"Adventure capitalists" ate it up.
By 1720, London was drunk on investments. The South Sea Bubble was storytelling gone wild.
One company's investment idea?
"For an undertaking of great advantage, but nobody to know what it is."
An people actually invested.
"Adventure capitalists" ate it up.
By 1720, London was drunk on investments. The South Sea Bubble was storytelling gone wild.
One company's investment idea?
"For an undertaking of great advantage, but nobody to know what it is."
An people actually invested.
Railway promoters in the 1840s studied the crashes:
"We can do this better."
They were right.
Railway Mania brought storytelling into the modern age.
Fold-out maps. Locomotive illustrations. Route diagrams.
Brilliant marketing. Even bigger bubble.
"We can do this better."
They were right.
Railway Mania brought storytelling into the modern age.
Fold-out maps. Locomotive illustrations. Route diagrams.
Brilliant marketing. Even bigger bubble.
The 1929 crash was the last straw.
Regulators said "enough."
Securities Act of 1933 killed compelling marketing. Only boring "tombstone ads" were allowed - newspaper boxes with tiny text and zero soul.
Wall Street refused to give up storytelling.
So they got sneaky about it.
Regulators said "enough."
Securities Act of 1933 killed compelling marketing. Only boring "tombstone ads" were allowed - newspaper boxes with tiny text and zero soul.
Wall Street refused to give up storytelling.
So they got sneaky about it.
Private pitch books replaced public marketing.
In 1987, Microsoft bought PowerPoint for $14M cash - costing the founders $20B in stock.
Suddenly, anyone could be a visual storyteller.
The 100-page business plans were over.
Any story not in 15 slides wasn't worth telling.
In 1987, Microsoft bought PowerPoint for $14M cash - costing the founders $20B in stock.
Suddenly, anyone could be a visual storyteller.
The 100-page business plans were over.
Any story not in 15 slides wasn't worth telling.
400 years later, the pattern never changed.
It's the same formula: compelling story + credible substance = moved capital.
Tools evolved from pamphlets to PowerPoint to AI.
Human psychology stayed the same.
People invest in stories they believe in.
It's the same formula: compelling story + credible substance = moved capital.
Tools evolved from pamphlets to PowerPoint to AI.
Human psychology stayed the same.
People invest in stories they believe in.
Want to see how we apply these 400-year-old lessons today?
At Collateral Partners, we craft pitches that would make the Virginia Company jealous.
Because great stories still move serious capital.
Check out our work: collateral.com
At Collateral Partners, we craft pitches that would make the Virginia Company jealous.
Because great stories still move serious capital.
Check out our work: collateral.com
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