pitch unfairly

Arcade · Legends and history

Christopher Columbus, 1492. Pitched unfairly, 2026.

Asia is just west. Probably. Same story, same numbers. Rebuilt the way we'd pitch it today.

  • 3 ships
  • About 90 crew
  • 10% of the take
Play the 2026 deck Steal the structure
1492 The Atlantic seed round

Christopher Columbus

Asia is just west. Probably.

Legend
Original craft
Unfair

The story→12 slides

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Play the 2026 deck

Then · 1492

How it really went

  1. Around 1484: pitches John II of Portugal; his experts say the distance is far too short
  2. May 1486: first audience with Isabella; the Talavera commission takes years and says no
  3. 1488: tries Lisbon again, just as Dias sails home from the Cape
  4. His brother Bartholomew pitches Henry VII of England; no deal
  5. January 1492: Granada falls, a council rejects him again, he rides off toward France
  6. Santángel talks Isabella round; a royal guard catches him two leagues down the road
  7. 17 April 1492: the Capitulations of Santa Fe: Admiral, Viceroy, and a tenth of everything
  8. 3 August: three ships and about 90 men sail from Palos
  9. 12 October: land in the Bahamas. Not Japan. He insists otherwise for the rest of his life

Original: the Capitulations of Santa Fe, via Wikipedia

Now · 2026 · 12 slides

What we changed

  • The math is a sliderDrag the Earth from Columbus's 75% to its real size and watch Japan slide off to 10,600 miles, uncovering a continent nobody budgeted for.
  • The roadmap sails itselfSeventy days, Palos to the Bahamas, drawn day by day with a counter and the real log: the second logbook, the birds, the near mutiny.
  • The cap table flipsWho pays (the Crown, a borrowed eighth, and a town paying off a fine) turns into who gets paid: 90% and 10%, tax free, forever.
  • A risk slide that misses oneEdge of the world, crew morale, Portugal, the committee: all handled. A continent in the way: not considered.

Steal the structure

Pitch your company like Christopher Columbus did.

  1. 01One-line promiseSay the whole plan in five words.
  2. 02ProblemShow the toll everyone already pays, stop by stop.
  3. 03SolutionOne picture of the shortcut.
  4. 04Why nowThe event that just freed the buyer's budget.
  5. 05MarketSize it with the best source in the room.
  6. 06The mathPut the key estimate on a slider and let them check it.
  7. 07TractionBe honest about the number; sell the persistence.
  8. 08TeamOne line each, and why this crew will sign on.
  9. 09CompetitionA map of their long way round and your straight line.
  10. 10RoadmapDated milestones you can scrub through.
  11. 11RisksName every objection before the room does.
  12. 12The askWho pays, who gets paid, and the titles on the door.

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