Technology has become more and more complex and generalizing it in few words doesn't communicate it well. But then this is what you get when you are rapidly pitching your startup to investors and prospective customers, specially if you are dealing with decision makers at highest levels. This is even more difficult for technology entrepreneurs when they have so much to say about their technology superiority but it can't be explained in hurry. They end up generalizing it too much and after listening to their pitch investors or customers end up saying "Ok so you are an AI/ML startup" or "So you are a blockchain company", or "So you are another Fintech company".
What follows after this pitch is even more disastrous!
In their mind your technology is too much generalized and the same thing happens when they meet another startups and overall they end up putting many technology startups in same basket. Differentiation on the basis of technology gets diluted and focus for differentiation shifts to team, business models, traction, etc.
As a founder its a tremendous loss! The way you articulate your technology can improve this situation substantially.
Before we discuss the way you should communicate your technology, lets discuss whom you are trying to explain these technologies.
You are lucky if you are meeting an investment firm or enterprise for a potential deal and the person you are meeting with has some kind of experience in those technologies. However most of us are not that lucky. Many of us meet decision makers who does not have tech background or they specifically don't understand the technology you are implementing.
Before you start explaining your technology, know the person you are having this discussion with.
Always start with the business problem and establish yourself as a person who understands the problem.
Once done, talk about how others are solving this. Both pros and cons. Don't just talk about what you are doing better and what others are doing wrong. Give appropriate importance to what your competition is doing right. It positions you as a founder who not only understands problem statement, but also understands and acknowledges the work done by others. Their confidence in your ability to propose better solutions increases dramatically.
Once you have established your credibility, then pitch your technology to them.
Quantify the impact your technology. Ex. "My technology solves this problem by saving x hours in time or x dollars in money or both."
Explain how your tech is superior with respect to your competition using relevant matrices you track to measure your technology success.
Convince why your technology development cost will be lower than your competitors. This is one of the least discussed topic but if done right it greatly influences the decision especially in early stage deals.
Talk about how your technology will simplify things for you and your customers with scale.
Tell them why your value addition will increase with time because of your technology.
Justify why its now possible to solve your problem statement using your technology. What advancements in technology have made it possible now?
And last but not the least, keep it interesting and entertaining.
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