So...what do you do?
Articulating your why and what
I was at a startup networking event the other night when one of the attending founders was invited to come up and speak, off the cuff. He confidently introduced himself and the problem his company was trying to solve.
But I couldn’t tell you what his startup did: what they were building and how they were going to use it to solve the problem.
This is not uncommon. I attended Collision last year, where 70 startups were invited to speak on stage. I probably listened to more than 30 pitches; at least half did not have a clear vision (why) or mission (what).
This often leads to awkward interactions or questions from your audience, most notably the dreaded: “so…what is it that you do?”
Take it one step at a time.
Start With Why
Your why is simple — it’s the reason you became an entrepreneur and the reason you’re building your particular venture. It’s the problem you’re solving and how you envision the world after you’ve solved it.
What is the dream end goal?
This is the basis of your vision statement. It can be futuristic, like Tesla’s “To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy” or timeless like Disney’s “To make people happy.”
If you’re struggling to craft your vision statement, try asking yourself:
Why is it so important that you solve this problem?
If you’re not the only one solving this problem, is there something fundamentally different about how you’re solving it? (this will help you articulate your what and how as well)
If the problem is solved what does your industry, or even the world, look like in 5 years? 10? 20?
Once you’re ready to write down your vision statement, don’t be afraid to start with: “Our vision is to…” — there’s nothing wrong with being direct. I would also caution against adverbs and adjectives; let the audience decide if what you’re doing is innovative, life-changing, unique, etc.
Note: you will eventually need to determine the size of the problem, but that’s a subject for another post ;)
What are you building?
Articulate your what as plainly as possible. There are usually many ways of solving the same problem — which did you choose?
Step One: Name the concept
Is it a product or a service? Is it a software, a SaaS, a marketplace, a platform, an app?
Step Two: Find the qualifier
Is it for a certain industry or field? Productivity, logistics, healthcare, finance?
Step Three: Describe the main element or feature
What will it allow your users or customers to do? Find an active verb: connect, integrate, enable, etc.
Let’s use an example. One problem that plagues me on a daily basis is the number of emails and messages I get from 10+ platforms. I’m never completely at Inbox Zero and my friends and family think I’m either ignoring them, or M.I.A.
I decide to do something about it. I build a productivity app that integrates with all of my email and social media accounts so that I can answer all of my messages in one place.
Try it out for yourself with this structure:
[Name of your startup or product] is a [qualifier] [concept] that [action] so that [main benefit to user]
This is the first half of your positioning statement, which you can use to create a more high-level mission statement.
Tying it all together
Using the productivity app example from above, here is how I might craft my vision statement:
Our vision is to create a more responsive world, where no message ever goes unread.
And then my mission statement:
Our mission is to build an application where all inboxes can be managed in one place.
or
Our mission is to build a productivity app where you can manage all of your inboxes in one place.
It’s not amazing, but you get the idea.
It’s important that your statements “match” or are cohesive. Practice saying them one after the other and see if it flows.
One last consideration: don’t craft your vision and/or mission based on what you think people want to hear. Your vision isn't there to make you look good - it's there to highlight the problem you're solving. Don't highlight social good if that's not your end goal — just be honest.
Go forth and pitch, strategize, inspire
A clear vision and mission is the first step to giving your startup direction, inspire your team, and craft anything from your fundraising pitch to your marketing materials.
It’s well worth the effort and you’ll be able to confidently talk about your startup any time, anywhere.