When Product Complexity Is Holding You Back

Startups thrive on innovation, and few things are as exciting as a complex, groundbreaking product. Yet, this very complexity can create a communication barrier, making it hard to convey your product’s value. And this is a problem, now that you need to sell it, or get external funding to develop it further. Because what feels intuitive to you as a founder, deeply immersed in the intricacies of your product, can be bewildering or overwhelming to someone encountering it for the first time. Or worse – they might misinterpret and dismiss it as something they are not interested in. 

Whether you’re speaking to customers or investors, your success hinges on your ability to communicate your product’s value clearly and compellingly. So how do you do that?

The solution lies not in simplifying your product but in simplifying your message. To do this effectively, you need to shift your perspective, sharpen your focus, and craft a narrative that resonates with your audience.

Create Simplicity Through Clarity

Start by understanding what matters most to the people you’re speaking with. Whether they’re customers or investors, the key question is: What’s in it for them? Identify their specific needs, concerns, and priorities. If they could wish for the perfect solution (or perfect portfolio company!), what would that look like? And what concern of theirs would magically disappear when they buy from you, or invest in you? Start from here and keep asking questions to shine a light on every single aspect which might be relevant. 

As you know, to win customers you must show how your product saves time, cuts costs, or makes their lives easier. But are customers all alike? You need to be specific and clear about whom exactly you need to win over to make a sale. In a B2B model, for instance, you’re often dealing with multiple stakeholders, each with unique priorities and concerns. 

Put yourself in their shoes: consider their work environment, their biggest daily challenges, and what matters most to them both personally and professionally. This will help you decide which aspects of your product to emphasise, and which ones to leave aside for now. You will thus cut through the complexity and immediately get traction by showing them the solution they genuinely want to have. 

When it comes to investors, the perspective shifts slightly – they approach your business, unsurprisingly, from an investment standpoint. It’s not just about convincing them that you have the right ingredients: a strong team, deep expertise, significant market potential, and a scalable product to capture it. Investors take these elements and immediately translate them into numbers, aiming to calculate their potential return on investment. While the math itself may be straightforward, it’s heavily influenced by subjective assumptions and countless variables.

Your task is to present your product truthfully yet strategically, making it easy for investors to focus on the aspects of your business that align with their investment priorities. Showing the full complexity of your product can make it harder for them to assess its potential, so aim for clarity, conciseness, and relevance. Just as with customers, understanding your audience is key. Researching an investor’s strategy and priorities beforehand allows you to frame your pitch in a way that enables them to make the right assumptions about your business. By doing so, you move closer to securing funding – or, at the very least, gaining valuable feedback to refine your approach for the next opportunity.

Customise Your Pitch with Layered Clarity

Once you’ve identified your stakeholders’ priorities, focus on distilling your message into a few key elements. While there’s plenty of guidance online about structuring a customer or investor pitch deck, your real task is to craft a clear, compelling narrative: for customers, explain precisely how you’ll solve their specific problems; for investors, demonstrate exactly why your product stands out from the competition and how you’ll succeed in the market.

I can’t stress enough the importance of storytelling here. Everyone talks about it, yet doing it well remains elusive. Essentially, if you’re making a presentation, reading the titles of your individual slides in sequence should convey your entire high-level message – what problem you’re solving and how, why your solution will be easy to implement, why customers love it, and why you’re a great investment. Your story should be simple, relatable, and backed by proof – whether that’s data, success stories, or tangible outcomes you’ve already delivered.

From this simple narrative, build a layered playbook that allows you to adjust both the depth and nuance of your message to match your audience’s interests. Start with a high-level overview that captures your product’s essence in a concise, engaging way. Be prepared to dive deeper when prompted, offering tailored insights into technical features, competitive advantages, or implementation strategies. Always have this playbook at the ready, but don’t lead with it. Instead, use your clear, focused story to spark interest, then expand with details from the playbook based on the priorities and concerns your listeners express.

Balancing Sophistication with Clarity

Gaining a clear understanding of your customers and investors gives you the power to focus on the most relevant features of your product and the most compelling aspects of your vision. You will be able to balance clarity with depth, enabling you to put your best foot forward without overwhelming your audience. By anticipating their questions and addressing concerns proactively, you will build confidence and trust. And by focusing on their priorities, you’ll position your product as the solution they’ve been looking for.

Breaking free from the complexity trap isn’t about stripping your product of its sophistication. It’s about telling a story that connects with your audience, demonstrating how your innovation solves problems and creates value. When you master this art, you’ll not only make your product easier to understand – you’ll open the door to deeper engagement, stronger relationships, and greater traction for your business.