Imagine this: You’re sitting in a boardroom across from a major investor. You’ve just finished your pitch, and now you’re sweating a bit, waiting for the response. Sound familiar? That was where I found myself in 2009―giving it my best shot in Birmingham, Alabama, as I asked for a significant influx of capital to back a new product my former employer was rolling out. With this new product, I told the investor, we were going to change