Module 07 · The demo day pitch~12s dwell · weight 6
Why now
Name the specific shift (regulatory, technological, or behavioral) that makes this solvable now and not five years ago.
Sequoia's business plan template frames timing as a distinct, brief section; compressed to stage time this runs about 10-15 seconds, one causal sentence tying a market shift to your window.
Include
- One named shift with a date or trigger event
- A causal link from the shift to why your solution is newly possible
- Why incumbents couldn't have built this before the shift
Cut
- Generic claims like 'the world is going digital'
- Multiple unrelated trends stacked on one slide
- Timing arguments with no specific date or trigger
Red flags a reader notices
- The 'shift' described has been true for over a decade
- No causal link is drawn between the shift and the product's timing
- The slide describes a trend but not why it enables this specific business
Pitfalls behind them
- Citing a trend everyone already knows without a specific trigger date
- Failing to explain why incumbents missed this window
- Treating why-now as filler instead of a load-bearing argument
60-second self-test
- · Can I name a specific year or event that triggered this shift?
- · Would this pitch have been impossible to make three years ago, and can I say why?
Template
Since [specific trigger/date], [shift] has made [capability] possible for the first time.
Weak
"Remote work is changing everything about how businesses operate."
Strong
"Since 2023, contractor headcount at US startups grew 38% while banks still take 9 days to settle a cross-border wire, opening the gap Nimbus Payroll fills."
A dated statistic plus a named incumbent failure explains why this is solvable now, not in 2018.
Quick quiz
Pick an answer. Nothing is graded, and correct answers stay hidden until you choose.
1. What makes a why-now slide credible rather than generic?
2. Which why-now line is strongest?