How precisely must a founder be able to articulate the problem, the customer, and the quantified value before going to market?

Harry Stebbings · Sep 28, 2022

Most founders cannot tell a coherent story about their company — only about 10%, if that, can coherently answer what they would put on a Times Square billboard in ten words or less, and only around 5% give a genuinely good answer

He meets roughly 25 founders a week and asks them the billboard question

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Vince Hankes · May 3, 2023

If a company cannot clearly answer who the customer is and what the product is — or if the answer could be worthless in two weeks — an investor should wait for clarity rather than keep firing investments into that market

Everything else about a business stems from those two answers, and you can't build a company if the customer might not care or the product might have no value shortly

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Harry Stebbings · Jun 7, 2023

A founder who cannot articulate the problem, who they sell to, and how they sell it shouldn't be running the company

Without it you have no chance of fundraising and no ability to hire the right people because you don't know what you're looking for

15:45 20Sales: PLG and Early Adopter Sales are Gone, How to do Sales Forecasting in 2023, Why You Cannot Do PLG and Enterprise from Day 1 at the Same Time and Which is Easier to Start, How to Onboard, Manage and Scale Reps with Rich Liu, CRO @ Everlaw

Nick Chirls · Sep 6, 2024

A founder must be able to explain their unique insight in simple terms to a non-expert; if they can't, the problem is the founder's, not the investor's lack of understanding

The explanation isn't just for investors — it has to work for employees and customers too, and even deeply technical bio founders can do it

Scope: applies even to highly technical categories

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David Schneider · Sep 11, 2024

As an investor he has no preference among make money, save money, or risk avoidance — what matters is that the founder can answer which one it is, and most founders cannot until asked.

The best founders show clarity of thinking about that process.

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Rich Liu · Jun 7, 2023

Founders today must define exactly what problem they solve, for whom, and quantify it against what the CFO/CEO/COO cares about right now — otherwise they won't get in the room.

The buying environment has changed materially in the last six to twelve months; without mapping the product narrative to cost cutting, efficiency, sales productivity or margin, the executive won't engage.

Scope: specific to the current market

8:41 20Sales: PLG and Early Adopter Sales are Gone, How to do Sales Forecasting in 2023, Why You Cannot Do PLG and Enterprise from Day 1 at the Same Time and Which is Easier to Start, How to Onboard, Manage and Scale Reps with Rich Liu, CRO @ Everlaw

Kevin Egan · Jul 12, 2023

Sales forecasting has become harder in 2023 because every company is looking for reasons not to spend, and a deal isn't forecastable unless the rep is crystal clear on the business problem solved and the expected return

Everything is on the table and companies are hunting for areas to trim, so spend has to be justified by clear ROI

Scope: 2023 conditions

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Kevin Egan · Jul 12, 2023

Giving the CFO a crystal-clear ROI / value-engineering picture is table stakes for sales teams today, whether or not the company has a dedicated value engineering function

It is the sales team's responsibility to respond to CFO engagement with the financial case

26:08 20Sales: Slack, Atlassian, Dropbox: Five of the Biggest Lessons on Starting, Scaling and Managing Sales Teams from 25 Years Leading the Best with Kevin Egan, Global Head of Enterprise Sales at Atlassian