Write your problem statement slide
AI creates compelling problem slide from your customer pain that makes investors lean in.
Write your problem statement slide
River's Problem Statement Writer creates compelling problem slides that hook investors immediately. You describe the customer pain, and the AI writes a focused slide with clear problem statement investors immediately understand, quantified pain (time, money, or opportunity cost), why current solutions fail or don't exist, and proof this problem is widespread and expensive. Whether you're pitching seed or Series A, a strong problem slide sets up your entire deck by making investors feel the pain.
Unlike vague problem descriptions, we create specific, visceral problem statements. The AI makes the pain immediately relatable (investors see it or have experienced it), uses specific numbers showing cost or impact, explains why this problem exists (why hasn't it been solved?), and maintains the clear, compelling tone that makes investors think 'this is a real problem worth solving.' You get problem slides that make investors nod along and want to hear your solution.
This tool is perfect for all founders creating pitch decks, anyone whose investors say 'I don't understand the problem,' technical founders who understate customer pain, or founders pitching solutions without establishing the problem first. If you know customers have a painful problem but struggle to articulate why it matters, this tool helps. Use it when building your pitch deck before you explain your solution.
What Makes Problem Slides Hook Investors
Winning problem slides make the pain visceral and specific. The best problem slides describe a situation everyone in the target market experiences, quantify the cost in time or money, explain why existing solutions fail, and show this is widespread (not niche). Weak problem slides stay abstract ('productivity is hard'), don't quantify impact, or describe problems that aren't actually painful. Investors invest in solutions to expensive problems. Your job is to make them feel how expensive and painful this problem is. Specific beats abstract. Quantified beats vague.
Effective problem structure follows a clear pattern. First sentence: describe the specific painful situation. Second: quantify the cost (time, money, opportunity). Third: explain why current solutions don't work. Fourth: show this affects many people/companies. This progression moves from 'here's a problem' to 'this is an expensive widespread problem that needs solving.' Random descriptions don't build urgency. Structured statements make investors care.
What You Get
Compelling problem slide ready for deck
Specific, quantified pain that hooks immediately
Clear explanation why current solutions fail
Proof problem is widespread and expensive
3-5 bullet format perfect for pitch slide
How It Works
- 1Describe customer painExplain what's painful, why, what it costs, how widespread (50-200 words)
- 2AI writes problem slideOur AI creates compelling problem statement in 1 minute
- 3Add to deckCopy into pitch deck as problem slide
- 4Follow with solutionProblem sets up your solution slide naturally
Frequently Asked Questions
How specific should the problem be?
Very specific. Not 'businesses struggle with data.' Instead: 'Marketing teams spend 6 hours per week manually exporting data from 5 different tools into spreadsheets to create executive reports.' Specific lets investors picture the exact situation. Vague makes them doubt you understand the problem. If you can describe the problem so specifically that someone experiencing it says 'that's exactly my situation,' you nailed it. Test your problem statement on target customers. Do they immediately nod? Then it's specific enough.
Should I focus on one problem or list multiple pain points?
One core problem with 2-3 related pain points. Don't try to solve 5 unrelated problems. Example: Core problem is 'manual data reporting is time-consuming.' Related pain points: takes 6 hours weekly, error-prone, delays decisions. That's one focused problem with specific facets. If you list completely different problems ('reporting is hard AND hiring is hard AND customer support is hard'), investors think you don't have focus. Pick the most painful, most expensive problem. Solve that. Other problems can be expansion opportunities later.
What if my problem seems obvious? Should I skip it?
Never skip the problem slide. Even if the problem seems obvious to you, investors see 100 pitches monthly across different industries. Make the problem crystal clear. Plus, 'obvious' problems are great because investors immediately understand them. The key is showing why it hasn't been solved yet and why it matters (quantified cost). Obvious problems with fresh solutions can be billion-dollar companies. Don't assume investors know the pain. Make them feel it. Two minutes establishing the problem sets up the entire pitch.
How do I show the problem is big enough to be a venture-scale opportunity?
Quantify the cost and show how many people/companies experience it. 'Marketing teams spend 6 hours per week on reporting' is okay. 'Marketing teams at 50,000+ B2B companies spend 6 hours per week on reporting, costing $500-$2000 per team per month in wasted time' shows scale. Multiply the individual cost by market size. Show this isn't just one company's problem. It's an industry-wide pain that affects thousands of companies. Big expensive problem x many companies experiencing it = venture-scale opportunity.
Should I include statistics or customer quotes?
Yes, if you have them. A stat like '73% of marketing teams cite reporting as their biggest time sink (Gartner 2023)' adds credibility. A customer quote like 'I spend 6 hours every Monday on reports I hate' (Sarah, VP Marketing) makes it visceral. But don't make up stats. Real data or customer quotes are powerful. If you don't have them yet, focus on clear specific description of the problem with your own estimates of time/cost. Get customer quotes as soon as you can. They transform problem slides from abstract to real.
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