Pitching to investors · Lesson 2
Framing the problem and the opportunity
Make the pain specific, costly and common. Then size it honestly.
A strong problem statement names who has the problem, what it costs them, and how they cope today. 'Businesses struggle with design' is vague. 'Mid-size developers in Abuja spend 6–9 weeks redrawing plans after planning-office rejection' is specific and believable.
Then show the opportunity. Investors want to know how many customers have this problem and what they would pay. Build the number from the bottom up: number of target customers × realistic price × share you can win. A top-down claim like '1% of a ₦10 trillion market' sounds lazy and is easy to doubt.
Finally, explain 'why now'. What has changed — a regulation, a technology, a shift in buyer behaviour — that makes this the right moment? Without a reason it is urgent, investors assume it can wait.
Example — Hypothetical: bottom-up sizing
There are about 600 active mid-size developers in two target cities. Each could pay ₦4m a year for a faster approvals service. That is a ₦2.4bn reachable market. Winning 10% in three years means ₦240m in annual revenue — a clear, checkable figure.
Try this
Write your problem in one line using this pattern: '[Who] loses [what, measured] because [cause], and today they [current workaround].'
Reflect
What has changed recently that makes your opportunity more urgent than it was three years ago?