SOURCE: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/larrycheng_ive-heard-1000s-of-company-pitches-over-activity-7294718813105737729-NJpX

I’ve heard 1000s of company pitches over the course of my career.

I noticed a common theme with how CEOs told the story of their business:

They typically expend great energy explaining what their company’s product or service does.

They will talk about features and functionality that no other player in the market has.

Where appropriate, they will dive into a demo to show exactly how their product is such a game changer.

While this is important, in some respects, I think it is putting the cart before the horse.

Personally speaking, I think a good story for a business starts with the problem that is being solved.

It’s hard to fall in love with a product if you don’t believe it solves a big problem.

A problem worth solving is one that:

→ Is a high-priority issue for the one experiencing it. → Is experienced by a large and common constituency. → People are willing to pay to resolve.

In every company pitch, the CEO will try to tell me what the company does.

But, you may be surprised that in many pitches, the CEO may neglect to really spend time articulating the problem their company solves.

So my simple advice is that when you tell the story of your business, start with the problem.

If you convince people of the problem your company is trying to solve, you have laid the foundation for them to love what your company does.