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Oct 18, 2023 · 20m · the-pitch

1. "This Startup Pitch for Equestrian Tech Just Changed the Game for Horse Training Technology!"

Kinzie Lux · 5m spoken Jessa Lux · 2m spoken Howie Diamond · 2m spoken Josh Muccio · 1m spoken Al Bsharah · 1m spoken Beck Bamberger · 1m spoken Jillian Manus · 1m spoken
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

Co-founders Kinzie and Jessa Lux pitch Ride IQ, an audio-based equestrian coaching platform, to a panel of venture capitalists on The Pitch. Navigating debates over addressable market size, training efficacy, and valuation, the founders secure $100,000 in conditional angel commitments.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Josh holds 11% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Josh as informed peer 4.7 Guest teaching 5.7 Guest disagreement 1.7 Josh pushing back 5.3
05100:0010:0020:001:42–7:40 · Josh as informed peer 4/10 Ride IQ Pitch and Value Proposition The founders pitch Ride IQ and handle investor questions regarding global TAM and audio learning efficacy. Kinzie impresses the panel by presenting retention statistics that double the industry benchmark.7:41–11:50 · Josh as informed peer 4/10 Coach Unit Economics and Multi-Discipline Scaling The panel is surprised by the $100 per audio lesson cost, questioning whether low compensation compromises coach quality. Jessa educates the investors on the financial realities of Olympic-level equestrians to explain their cost advantage.11:51–16:29 · Josh as informed peer 6/10 Valuation Debate and Investor Commitments Investors debate expansion strategy and push back firmly against the $10M post-money valuation. While Howie and Beck pass due to scaling and pricing concerns, Al and Jillian commit $50K each conditioned on lower valuation terms.1:42–7:40 · Guest teaching 6/10 Ride IQ Pitch and Value Proposition The founders pitch Ride IQ and handle investor questions regarding global TAM and audio learning efficacy. Kinzie impresses the panel by presenting retention statistics that double the industry benchmark.7:41–11:50 · Guest teaching 7/10 Coach Unit Economics and Multi-Discipline Scaling The panel is surprised by the $100 per audio lesson cost, questioning whether low compensation compromises coach quality. Jessa educates the investors on the financial realities of Olympic-level equestrians to explain their cost advantage.11:51–16:29 · Guest teaching 4/10 Valuation Debate and Investor Commitments Investors debate expansion strategy and push back firmly against the $10M post-money valuation. While Howie and Beck pass due to scaling and pricing concerns, Al and Jillian commit $50K each conditioned on lower valuation terms.1:42–7:40 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Ride IQ Pitch and Value Proposition The founders pitch Ride IQ and handle investor questions regarding global TAM and audio learning efficacy. Kinzie impresses the panel by presenting retention statistics that double the industry benchmark.7:41–11:50 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Coach Unit Economics and Multi-Discipline Scaling The panel is surprised by the $100 per audio lesson cost, questioning whether low compensation compromises coach quality. Jessa educates the investors on the financial realities of Olympic-level equestrians to explain their cost advantage.11:51–16:29 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Valuation Debate and Investor Commitments Investors debate expansion strategy and push back firmly against the $10M post-money valuation. While Howie and Beck pass due to scaling and pricing concerns, Al and Jillian commit $50K each conditioned on lower valuation terms.1:42–7:40 · Josh pushing back 4/10 Ride IQ Pitch and Value Proposition The founders pitch Ride IQ and handle investor questions regarding global TAM and audio learning efficacy. Kinzie impresses the panel by presenting retention statistics that double the industry benchmark.7:41–11:50 · Josh pushing back 5/10 Coach Unit Economics and Multi-Discipline Scaling The panel is surprised by the $100 per audio lesson cost, questioning whether low compensation compromises coach quality. Jessa educates the investors on the financial realities of Olympic-level equestrians to explain their cost advantage.11:51–16:29 · Josh pushing back 7/10 Valuation Debate and Investor Commitments Investors debate expansion strategy and push back firmly against the $10M post-money valuation. While Howie and Beck pass due to scaling and pricing concerns, Al and Jillian commit $50K each conditioned on lower valuation terms.

speaking balance: gold is Josh, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Josh 47% · guest 53%0:00 · Josh 47% · guest 53%3:00 · Josh 0% · guest 100%3:00 · Josh 0% · guest 100%6:00 · Josh 0% · guest 100%6:00 · Josh 0% · guest 100%9:00 · Josh 0% · guest 100%9:00 · Josh 0% · guest 100%12:00 · Josh 0% · guest 100%12:00 · Josh 0% · guest 100%15:00 · Josh 0% · guest 100%15:00 · Josh 0% · guest 100%18:00 · Josh 47.6% · guest 52.4%18:00 · Josh 47.6% · guest 52.4%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 13:52 Defending equestrian product-market fit and brand obsession

Jessa counters investor skepticism regarding the niche market by citing viral app store reviews and noting seven members have tattooed the company slogan on their bodies.

 Hardest push from Josh ▶ 15:56 Howie challenges 10M valuation multiple

Howie directly refuses the founders' target valuation, arguing that a 10x revenue multiple is unpalatable and explicitly stating the company is worth $6 million.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 9:13 Educating panel on professional equestrian compensation

Jessa counters Howie's price-quality assumption by explaining that top Olympic athletes in equestrian sports still live paycheck to paycheck, allowing Ride IQ to secure world-class coaches for $100 per lesson.

 Josh holds their own ▶ 12:47 Howie breaks down expansion timing and ARR projections

Howie analyzes the startup's growth trajectory, explaining why a three-year $5M ARR target makes premature vertical expansion risky before dominating the core equestrian sector.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicJosh as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementJosh pushing backWhy
Ride IQ Pitch and Value Proposition 4614 The founders pitch Ride IQ and handle investor questions regarding global TAM and audio learning efficacy. Kinzie impresses the panel by presenting retention statistics that double the industry benchmark.
Coach Unit Economics and Multi-Discipline Scaling 4725 The panel is surprised by the $100 per audio lesson cost, questioning whether low compensation compromises coach quality. Jessa educates the investors on the financial realities of Olympic-level equestrians to explain their cost advantage.
Valuation Debate and Investor Commitments 6427 Investors debate expansion strategy and push back firmly against the $10M post-money valuation. While Howie and Beck pass due to scaling and pricing concerns, Al and Jillian commit $50K each conditioned on lower valuation terms.

Statements from this episode (14)

Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Kinzie Lux claims 8M equestrians ride coachless four out of five times
“Eight million equestrians ride without a coach for four out of five weekly rides.”
Kinzie Lux Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 2:28
Disclosure
Ride IQ reaches 1,500 paying members and $430,000 in ARR
“We launched in August of twenty-twenty-one and have organically grown to over 1500 paying members and 430,000 dollars in ARR.”
Jessa Lux Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 2:51
Opinion
Ride IQ's TAM exceeds $20 billion when expanding into other sports
“The TAM is north of twenty billion dollars when we expand across three other verticals.”
Kinzie Lux Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 3:08
Disclosure
Ride IQ seeks $1.5 million in funding
“We're kicking off a fundraise of 1.5 million dollars and are looking for partners who share this vision.”
Kinzie Lux Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 3:19
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ride IQ claims 42% 12-month retention, double the consumer app median
“Our one-month retention is 84%, our three-month retention is 67%, and our twelve-month retention is 42%, and I'll note that normal consumer apps that are subscription-based the twelve-month retention is 21% is the median, so we are double that.”
Kinzie Lux Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 4:58
Disclosure
Ride IQ pays coaches a flat fee of $100 per audio lesson
“We pay the coaches 100 dollars per lesson that they record. It could be a nine minute lesson or a 45 minute lesson. It doesn't matter to us.”
Jessa Lux Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 7:58
Assertion Supported
Ride IQ's coaching roster includes six Olympians and one gold medalist
“We have one Olympic gold medalist, several Olympic medalists, six Olympians. All of them have competed to the top of the sports.”
Jessa Lux Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 9:13
Disclosure
Al Bsharah commits to investing $50,000 in Ride IQ
“I'm relatively comfortable at 50 K. That'd be great.”
Al Bsharah Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 12:42
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Seven Ride IQ members have the company's slogan tattooed on their bodies
“Seven of our members have Ride IQ's slogan tattooed on their body.”
Jessa Lux Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 14:27
Disclosure
Jillian Manus commits to investing $50,000 in Ride IQ
“I'm in for 50 K.”
Jillian Manus Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 15:45
Prediction Didn’t hold up
Howie Diamond predicts Ride IQ will take his money in 18 months
“They'll take our money in a year and a half from now.”
Howie Diamond Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 16:35
Insight
Jillian Manus says companies can sell anything to a fanatical market
“And it just showed me that if you have a fanatical market, you could sell them anything.”
Jillian Manus Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 18:19
Disclosure
Jillian Manus refuses to invest in Ride IQ above a $6M valuation
“I'm not gonna do it if it's not six.”
Jillian Manus Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 18:43
Opinion
Howie Diamond argues Ride IQ warrants a $6M valuation due to slow growth
“Their margins are great, their growth is not. So like six, between six and seven makes sense.”
Howie Diamond Oct 18, 2023 ▶ 18:45
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