"No problem solved? No purpose for the product!"
Get the Pain clear, and the rest of the pitch becomes so much easier.

The audience need to understand why the product has been created - and that is the problem you solve. Then if you can turn that problem into human pain, and help them understand how big the problem is, you have their attention. Here's how...

In this chapter:

1. Video 1. How to explain the problem you solve, and why it matters
2. Video 2. The Market Size. How many people or organisations are experiencing the Pain?
3. Action Step: brainstorm the Pain.
   Download the Pain action step pdf here

Three Takeaways from Video 1.

1. Simply describing a product doesn't work. We need to be clear on the problem solved to make the proposition really land with the audience.
2. Turning the Pain into something real people are experiencing makes the Pain more relatable for the audience.
3. Be specific - put a number on how much time is lost, or how much unnecessary cost is caused, or how much CO2 is created. General statements cause us to doubt, whereas specific, quantified statements help the audience get a proper grip of the problem, and that builds your credibility as a pitcher.

Three Takeaways from Video 2.

1. Market size is rarely needed in short pitches - but it's good to have at least a single-statistic statement of how big the problem is.
2. In a longer pitch, you can build it up logically, instead of taking a general mega-industry number of countless billions. Show the market in your country/state, your continent, and worldwide.
3. Ensure you are talking about the particular market that you are dealing with - and be specific.

Action Step! Put your learning into action.

Take time to work on The Pain you solve using the one-pager below. It's a fillable pdf, so you can download it, fill it in, save and keep as a reference while building your pitch.

1. Brainstorm with Post-Its, and get some ideas down. The attachment has guidance for the brainstorm.
2. Try writing 2-3 different versions of The Pain.
3. You can share your draft versions with mentors or advisors - or even customers! - to get feedback. You can also put your ideas into the comments below, and I will give feedback personally.

Take your time with is exercise - I find that startups sometimes change their whole thinking about their business when brainstorming on this topic! If you find you have debates about this among your team, then that's good.capture the different ideas on Post-its, and make three versions of the Pain - getting feedback will help you find out which message is really landing!

Good luck!

"Got any questions? Anything unclear? Or anything you liked or want to share? Put it all in the comments below - I'll always follow up personally!"

Regards, David