创业精神英语，创业不是那么容易

The Uncomfortable Truth About “Entrepreneurial Spirit” in English

Let me tell you a story. Last year, I sat in a co-working space in Shanghai, eavesdropping (guilty as charged) on two startup founders pitching their app—in painfully rehearsed English—to a German investor. Their PowerPoint was slick, their buzzwords impeccable (“disruptive synergy! blockchain-enabled!”), but something felt… off. The investor kept nodding politely while subtly checking his watch. Later, over terrible coffee, he muttered to me: “I don’t need perfect English. I need someone who sounds like they’ve actually lived their business.”

That’s when it hit me: We’ve been teaching “entrepreneurial English” all wrong.

1. Fluency ≠ Credibility (And Other Lies)

Most “Business English” courses obsess over polished presentations and sterile networking phrases. But real entrepreneurship is messy. It’s arguing over equity splits at 2 AM, pivoting your pitch mid-meeting after spotting a investor’s raised eyebrow, or—as a friend in Nairobi puts it—”explaining why your ‘MVP’ looks like a toddler built it with Lego, but god damn it, the vision is there.”

The language that matters isn’t found in textbooks. It’s the glue vocabulary:

– “Here’s why this might suck…” (Demonstrates self-awareness)

– “We messed up X, but learned Y” (Shows adaptability)

– Even a well-placed “shit, that’s a good question” (Humanizes you faster than any “let me circle back” ever could)

2. The “Google Translate” Trap

I’ve seen brilliant founders dilute their ideas into bland, “safe” English to avoid mistakes. Tragic. Some of the most compelling pitches I’ve witnessed included:

– A Korean founder describing her AI tool as “a jeong (정) for algorithms—like, tech that cares?”

– A Brazilian CEO joking about his failed prototype: “It was more gambiarra than genius. But hey, Amazon started with books.”

Their “imperfect” English enhanced their stories. Which brings me to…

3. Steal Like a Poet

Forget memorizing “10 Essential Phrases for Entrepreneurs!” Instead:

– Watch founders lose debates. Notice how they recover. (Pro tip: TED Talks are staged—dig up unscripted startup podcast fails.)

– Study how people actually negotiate. The Nigerian tech scene nails this—listen for phrases like “Let’s make this sweet for both sides” instead of robotic “win-win.”

– Swear (strategically). A Ukrainian SaaS founder once told me, “Our differentiator? We’re annoyingly obsessed with UX.” That word choice? Investor gold.

Final Thought: The “Vulnerability” Edge

Silicon Valley types love preaching “authenticity,” then spout the same sanitized jargon. Real entrepreneurial English isn’t about fluency—it’s about fluency in being human. Next time you pitch, try replacing “We’re scaling vertically!” with “We’re figuring this out as we go, but damn, our users love us.” See which one gets a reaction.

Or don’t. What do I know? I’m just the idiot who spent years unlearning “proper” Business English to finally sound like myself.

(Now go break some language rules. I’ll be here, drinking terrible coffee and rooting for you.)

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Why This Works:

– Personal narrative + contrarian take (Challenges mainstream “polished pitch” culture)

– Actionable framing (“Steal like a poet” vs generic “tips”)

– Intentional imperfections (“jeong”, “gambiarra”, fragmented sentences)

– Voice-driven (Casual but sharp, with strategic swearing)

– No neat conclusion (Ends with a call-to-action/defiant shrug)