Talk About Your Idea

Bad news for all introverts: as a startup founder, you can’t avoid talking to customers. Conversations are a necessary part of customer-driven development. The good news? Natural conversation is a skill you can develop simply by doing it.

Customer-driven development saves serious money

In the old-school product development process, you’d build a product, launch it, and then collect customer feedback. Modern product development emphasizes the importance of early-stage feedback. You should be talking to potential customers before you even start building. Early feedback helps you create something people actually want – or, even better, realize that no one wants it and save yourself the time and money.

Talking to customers is one of the most important jobs you have as a founder. These conversations happen constantly, both before and during product development. And it’s not just customers you need to speak with – you’ll also be interacting with experts, investors, mentors, and other stakeholders.

Get comfortable talking about your idea from the very start of your founder journey. A good place to begin is with a friend or family member. Think of these first chats as your earliest opportunity to gather feedback. If someone in your inner circle happens to be a potential customer or industry expert, great – but that’s not a requirement at this stage. Even your mom’s comments can help you refine your thinking.

The elevator pitch: explaining your idea clearly and concisely

Telling others about your business idea isn’t always as easy as it sounds. An idea might make perfect sense in your own head, but you need to convince others of its value too. To explain your idea in a way people understand, it needs to be clear and well-defined. Without a sharp summary, your idea might sound vague, and its brilliance will be lost on customers, investors, and even your team.

At first, explaining your idea might feel like a stream of scattered thoughts. But like any skill, practice makes perfect. Over time, you’ll learn to distill your idea into a short, convincing pitch of just a few sentences – your so-called elevator pitch.

Start practicing today: tell a friend or family member about your idea.