- Persuade & Raise
- Posts
- ♞ Nailing Your Problem
In partnership with
Nailing Your Problem
The problem slide is among the deck's most essential and overlooked sections. If there is one key concept that I try to reinforce with all clients, it is that the problem is more important than the solution.
You NEED to communicate the problem effectively if you want anyone to care about your pitch. Even if we look at a revolutionary technology like the iPhone, one of the first slides in the presentation was the problem slide:
The key to any pitch is to getting investors to care about funding a solution to the problem you are solving.
Startup PromoTix ($48M in traction) is saving the events industry
PromoTix is solving the event industry’s challenges around high ticket fees and low attendance. Ticketmaster and competitors charge up to 40% of the ticket price to book, deterring guests who can’t afford the added cost. Combined with a crowded marketing space, events struggle.
PromoTix is raising funds to expand. Already profitable, with 656k users and $48M in sales in its first 30 months, PromoTix has low-fee and no-fee SaaS pricing, as well as patented marketing tools that drive attendance.
How to improve your problem slide:
Relateable - Make sure that the problem is something that everyone can relate to. If you are solving a very niche problem, use the Pain → Diagnosis method to ensure everyone can still relate. An example of this: Let’s say you have a tool that automatically inputs data from your email into Excel. This is a very niche solution that 99% of people won’t have any need for. Instead, pitch it like this: (i) Pain - 80% of people’s time is spent doing repetitive tasks that are boring, non-productive and waste companies' money. (ii) Diagnosis - we’ve invented a tool that automates data entry into Excel from emails, something that 60% of employees in the US do each month. Suddenly the pain of wasting time on boring, repetitive tasks is something 100% of people can understand.
Take your time - Founders often hesitate to spend more than one slide on the problem. If you watch Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, or others pitch, you’ll see significant portions of their pitch dedicated to explaining problems. They are known as revolutionaries because they created innovations to overcome massive problems. This isn’t just a coincidence; it’s because they repeatedly spoke about problems they were solving. Jobs started nearly every pitch by talking about how bad the user interface of other phones, MP3s, computers, etc, was. What he invented were the most user-friendly phones, mp3s and computers. Without people being constantly reminded of the problem, they wouldn’t appreciate the solution.
Be clear - Many founders try to “create” a problem to solve. If your problem isn’t 100% clear and I can’t immediately understand how your solution solves your problem, then you don’t have a true “problem” in your deck. Some companies sell vitamins, not painkillers; they genuinely don’t have a “problem” to solve. This is rare but it happens, in this case don’t try to “create” a problem. If you have a problem, state it clearly, and don’t mess around with it just to make it sound cooler or more interesting.
Do you have a strong problem slide? |
The peer group you’ve been waiting for.
The most successful people surround themselves with incredible talent. But today, it’s hard to find those people and facilitate the meetings. That’s why we built Sidebar - small groups of peers, facilitated by experts, that give you the advice you need now. No more sifting through blogs or scrubbing podcasts. Get the insights you need from incredible people like you, so you can get back to crushing your goals.
93% of users say Sidebar has been a game-changer.
Are you looking to grow your business? Here is how I can help:
📢 Promote your startup to 2,000+ VCs including investors from a16z, YC, Techstars, Rarebreed, Sequoia and more.
📱 Book a Strategy Call to get 1:1 feedback on your pitch, pitch deck and/or fundraising strategy. (If you need general startup advice, then reply to this email, and I’ll let you know if/how I can help.)
📺 Access FundraiseOS, the ultimate fundraising course with video lessons and practical worksheets helping with everything from deciding how much to raise to understanding a term sheet.
💸 Promote your product or service to 100,000+ entrepreneurs.
🌐 Connect with me on LinkedIn or X (formerly Twitter) to get access to new content about startups, fundraising, venture capital and more every day.
Onwards and Upwards,
|
|
