For Engineers Pitching a Startup: Talk Value, Not Tech

This is a refurbished version of my article originally posted on YES!Delft's blog.

As an early-stage startup founder, you quickly need to learn how to pitch well. You pitch on stages to win competition prizes. You pitch to get accepted into startup incubation programs. You pitch in documents to secure subsidies and grants.

The success of a startup depends on an entrepreneur's ability to explain, impress and convince. But sometimes, even when we're doing our best, people don't seem to get the awesomeness of our idea. Even worse, they often don't even care to listen about the fantastic tech behind it! Bastards!

I have an engineering background myself, and for the last 5 years, I'm a startup pitch coach specialized in helping tech founders get their 'wow' across. If I could only give one tip to help fellow innovators pitch their startup idea, it would be:

"Talk Value, not Tech!"

As a technical founder, you want to tell how awesome your tech is; how it works and how it's built.

But decision-makers that are evaluating your business want to hear how awesome the business could become.

Do you see the issue here? Don't mistake presenting your tech with pitching your business! Sure, you should be able to explain what you're building and how it works in a few sentences, of course! But more than that, decision-makers want to understand why your customers will fall in love with your solution.

Here comes the not-so-obvious catch: customer love never grows from the solution itself, it grows from the benefits that this solution provides. The benefits are the real' What' of what they're buying. Your product and its underlying tech are 'How' those benefits are being delivered to them.

An example. I hope we agree that SpaceX Falcon Heavy is a remarkable rocket! I still get goosebumps when I see it's boosters land, but their customers don't care about the boosters! Wait, what?

The primary value for the customer (space agencies, telecommunication companies, etc.) is a lower price! They can save a lot of money if they choose to launch their satellites with the Falcon. The impressive tech that allows its boosters to land and to be reused is what enables SpaceX to drastically lower costs per launch. Elon could pitch it as; "We bring your payload to space for one-third of the price." Being more affordable (never say cheaper, it sounds 'cheap!') is why customers choose to launch with SpaceX.

Benefits all come down to making or saving customer's money, saving time, providing security, pleasure. That's what you're selling.

Engineers talk about solving technical problems. Entrepreneurs talk about creating value. While tightly connected, those two are worlds apart!

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