The movie Taken can be criticized for a lot of things, but subtlety is not one of them. It's crystal clear about its goals: “They took his daughter. He'll take their lives.” If I were pitching this movie as my startup this is how I would do it:
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1. Problem: Daughter Kidnapped. Two words. Not a screenful of statistics about rising abduction rates in European cities. We know who has the problem (the daughter), and we know what the problem is (d’uh, kidnapped). There's no nice-to-have fluff here. This is a problem that needs to be solved right now! Your problem slide should be this good.
2. Solution: (movie) Violence. Liam Neeson could solve this problem through expert negotiation or starting a GoFundMe page to pay the ransom. But he has a particular approach to his problem (violence) which he happens to be highly skilled at. Remember: your startup's solution is one of a universe of possible solutions to the problem. What are your particular set of skills? Note: I do not condone violence of any kind.
3. Product: Guns, Fists, Knives, Electricity etc. Liam Neeson tells the kidnappers exactly how he intends to solve the problem. His product features are his hands, fists, weapons, doors and I think a bottle of champagne. The features you show in your deck have to support your unique solution.
I use this example a lot in my coaching when founders are struggling to get to the core of their pitch. There are often too many competing priorities and details so I enlist Liam Neeson to help simplify things.
You can see the absolute clarity and honesty of this approach in the movie poster:
This is the most compact and effective movie poster ever made. It tells you the setting, characters, type of movie, the centra conflict, the likely resolution all in a single image. Pitch deck title pages should aspire to this greatness.
Make sure your Problem slide is clear, your Solution takes advantage of the skills you have, and your Product aligns with your solution. It worked for Taken which grossed over $225M worldwide.
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