Pitch Components

Solution

Explain what you built and how it resolves the problem you just named.

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What & why

What it is
In a spoken pitch, the solution section explains what you built and how it improves the customer's life. It should flow directly from the problem: if the problem created tension, the solution resolves it. The Sequoia pitch format frames this as showing how you make the customer's life better. Keep it concrete. Walk through the user experience rather than listing features. Michael Seibel's guidance also points in this direction: simple language beats impressive-sounding language. The best spoken solutions feel obvious once the problem is understood.
Why it works

A solution tends to land hardest right after the problem because the listener is already holding the tension and wants it resolved. Walking through the actual user experience, rather than reciting features, lets them simulate using it, which feels more real and is easier to recall than a list of capabilities. Plain language lowers cognitive load and can read as confidence; people tend to trust what they can immediately understand. When the fix follows cleanly from the pain, it feels inevitable rather than sold.

Before & after

Before

“We use AI and machine learning to provide an end-to-end platform with best-in-class analytics and seamless integrations.”

After

“We drop a one-line SDK into your CI pipeline. Every pull request gets a 60-second risk score. Red means it will probably break production. Your team reviews only the red ones.”

When you’ll use it

Following the problem slide in a pitch deck presentation

Explaining your product to a non-technical investor in plain language

Responding to 'So what do you actually do?' at a networking event

Writing the product description for an accelerator application

Demoing your product live after framing the pain

Pro tip

Describe the user experience, not the feature inventory. In speech, clarity wins faster than completeness.

Questions & answers

Should I demo the product during the solution section?

If you can show the product in under 30 seconds and it speaks for itself, yes. Otherwise, describe the user experience verbally and save the full demo for a follow-up. A confused demo is worse than no demo.

How do I explain a technical product to non-technical investors?

Use an analogy or walk through the user's experience step by step. Focus on what happens from the user's perspective, not what happens under the hood. 'You click one button and get a report in 60 seconds' beats 'We use transformer-based NLP pipelines.'

Learn more

Sequoia Capital Pitch Deck Template
Michael Seibel - How to Pitch Your Company

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