Don't send that pitch
Starting a business 7 years ago led me to speak on stage at the UK’s largest gathering of future makers. Last week was a whirlwind of conversations, connections and inspiration at Anthropy UK 2026, and I loved every second of it.
I was part of the Ferdinando & Luigi Innocenti Foundation panel discussing the subject of Joy, alongside Andrea Cooper, Saima Rasool, Emma Bridgewater and Tim Smit. When the invite came through, it felt like it made complete sense after everything I’d built. Big Change connected us because of the work I do, which is what most people miss when they hear a story like this.
There was one quote I took away from the whole experience: “If all you see is all you see, how can you be anything else?” This is exactly why I do what I do; if underrepresented founders aren’t visible, they can’t be the person that someone else looks up to and thinks, "That could be me.”
Visibility is permission-giving. It’s not vanity, even though at times it may feel like it is.
I know a lot of you are already posting, and you’re showing up and being consistent. You’re doing the work, but the opportunities aren’t coming and they feel like they’re landing for everyone else. So this week’s Lucky Token is the thing I wish someone had handed me years ago.
Lucky Token 🍀 The Visibility Spectrum
Most people think getting speaking opportunities is about who you know or being in the right place at the right time. It’s not. Every founder sits somewhere on a spectrum, from completely invisible to genuinely unmissable, and the difference between where you are now and where you want to be comes down to three very specific things.
A clear point of view. If you’re already posting and still not getting opportunities, this is usually where the gap is. “I help founders build their personal brand” is a service. It’s not a point of view. A point of view is the thing you actually believe, the uncomfortable, specific, slightly provocative version of your take on your industry. Mine is that underrepresented founders are the most qualified people in the room and the least visible, which is not a coincidence - it’s a system, and we can change it. That belief is what opened the door to Anthropy, not a perfectly optimised LinkedIn profile.
A visible track record. Before anyone says “Yes” to putting you on a stage, they Google you. What they find (or don’t find) is the decision. Your content is your CV for speaking opportunities, and it has to exist before the invite arrives - not after. Every post, every newsletter and every time you show up and say something worth hearing is a receipt. The Anthropy panel happened because of years of collecting receipts.
Finally, the most important part: Don’t JUST send the pitch.
Most people start with a pitch, but they don’t have the trust, authority and audience to command enough attention to get an event organiser to take notice. You have to prove that your audience is interested in what you have to say.
It’s not just about the pitch. A speaker's pitch is one page: your story, your point of view, and the specific topics you can speak to. It does the work of making “Yes” the easiest answer, but it doesn’t work on its own.
