Investor Deck Checklist #2: Description of Problem

Welcome to part 2 of 12 blogs on investor deck content. This one looks at the problem space.  

If you’ve done your job with purpose and proposition, the audience knows why they’re there.

Are they there for good reason?

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There’s nothing worse than a solution looking for a problem.

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A clever bit of kit or smart software, but pointless in the real world. We all know the type.

Defining the problem space is the next part of the narrative flow.

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Your aim here is to have the investor nodding along with you.  

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Why will they nod in agreement? If the problems are undeniable. You can do this in mega, macro or micro levels, or all of them. Examples:

• Mega-trend: climate change.
• Macro-driver: global recession in post-Covid world.
• Micro-factor: individual desire for personal health.

They’ll vary depending on what you do.

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They have to be real, significant and sustainable.

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Don’t discount the last one. If, for example, your product is heavily reliant on the current cost-of-living crisis as the problem it solves, will it still be needed in happier economic times?

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External validation is always helpful.  

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Nobody will take your word for it. They need to feel the problem themselves. But if you can use third party validation too, that’s great. Even your own work and research will add credibility to pitch.

Don’t underestimate the importance of a well-defined problem. We see too many decks without it. Too many founders who think their product is great and will sell itself.

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Many investor decks go in the bin because the reader doesn’t think the problem is real.

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You want this to be quick-to-understand. A simple three-box layout should suffice. Punchy stuff. Bang bang bang, I understand the problem and agree with it.

Too many founders and CXOs get into the weeds here. You want to put every spin and idea you’ve got into the deck. Sometimes some third-party help is needed to lighten and tighten the message.

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The problem definition should excite investors.

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It should leave them thinking “I can’t wait to see how they’ll solve these problems so I’ll happily keep turning the pages”.

But there’s one more box to tick before getting to the solution. Is the market opportunity big enough? And that’s the topic of the next blog.

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If your deck can't convince people to invest, contact us today and we'll talk about it.

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