The Presentation Company was founded by Janine Kurnoff and Lee Lazarus, two sisters with a passion for helping people become strategic, visual communicators

Our story

Janine Kurnoff has always had a passion for helping people tell their stories through a medium they use all the time – presentations. In fact, when Janine was pursuing her MBA, she quickly noticed that her classmates struggled to communicate their ideas using PowerPoint. Her classmates and professors noticed her presentations as well, as they were clear, visually engaging, and always told a story. Everyone wanted in – and soon she was asked to develop a class to share her approach. It happened again when Janine joined Yahoo! Inc. in global sales training. Her impromptu “Lunch and Learn” sessions were an instant success among the sales and marketing teams, and word was spreading fast. She founded The Presentation Company (TPC) in 2001.

Janine’s sister, Lee Lazarus, joined her at TPC in 2002 after being convinced that together they could change the way business presentations are created. Lee had spent years developing the branding, marketing communication, and PR strategy for two of the fastest-growing Internet and telecommunications market-research firms in Silicon Valley. As head of media relations, she understood the importance of translating mounds of data and information into clear and concise messages.

The world takes notice

With Janine in charge of global training and Lee overseeing sales and marketing, TPC, along with its top-notch team, has partnered with some of the world’s top brands , including Nestlé, T-Mobile, Marriott, Meta, Accenture, McDonald’s, and Boston Scientific. 

Our mission is to make storytelling relevant and practical to everyone in business. We do this by teaching teams – regardless of their roles – how to create, simplify, and adapt a visual narrative for any audience – every day. TPC’s 3-part storytelling learning journey addresses today’s business challenges, provides teams with a common language and framework, and anchors everyone in a new mindset: Story first, visuals second. 

Grounded in theory and smothered in practicality, our training arms teams with practical tools, skills, and embedded coaching to bring clarity and meaning to their ideas and move business forward.  

A unique culture

As self-avowed “sister-preneurs,” Lee and Janine have invested over 20 years in developing a company culture that cherishes personal life as seriously as it values business life. In this vein, they have recruited the best talent who, like them, choose to live, not just preach, their core values. Through these values, they have become the trusted advisors whom their clients rely on today. 

Our core values

Pioneering Spirit

As a team, we lean into the unknown and open ourselves to possibilities. This results in new paths, relevant solutions, and deep relationships.

Clarity

Clarity helps us work on what is essential. We make time to gather our perspectives and focus our energy on the right goals, not just the easy ones.

Inclusivity

We help people find their voices and share their ideas; this creates connection and better solutions.

Accountability

We keep our promises. This results in trusting relationships and transformative learning experiences.

Empathy

We show compassion and genuine interest in each other’s lives. This results in people feeling valued and therefore they can show up as their best selves.

Client Testimonials

I used to think I was visually impaired. Now I know I was visually untrained.

HP Manager, Global Deal Center
Hewlett Packard

Three bite-sized sessions of content via WebEx was more powerful than one long day of in-person presentations. I would never have believed it if I hadn’t experienced it. This was one of the best trainings I’ve taken.

Director of Marketing
Fortune 100

Thanks to your workshop, I was able to process and develop better looking slides for our strategic planning meeting, and my management team loved the concepts so much that they are now required from other business groups. I would call that success!

Director, Product Management, Medical Products
Baxter

There were times during class that I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or cry thinking about how much time I had wasted in the past working on a slide deck. The tools, tips are templates are such value-adds to start thinking about better storytelling in PPT.

L&D Business Parter
Hewlett Packard

This training was a great investment, as I was able to see results and realize the time to impact very quickly.

Senior Director, Competitive Intelligence and Market Insights
Symantec Corporation