August 5, 2025
Your Unique Value Proposition is not your marketing angle.
Every startup these days has a Unique Value Proposition. Investors want to know what it is, startup blogs pontificate on the best wording of it. It’s widely regarded as one of the most important ways to pitch and sell your startup. And this is true—if your only customers are VCs and angel investors.
However, it should not be your marketing angle. With over half a million new businesses being born yearly and the internet creating an ever-expanding reach, your “unique value” just doesn’t cut it for consumers anymore. This is far and away one of the biggest mistakes I see tech startups make on a regular basis.
An example: FlightFox — Real people compete to find you the best flights. This certainly tells an investor exactly what FlightFox does, but to the consumer it’s primarily the same old noise. People aren’t sold on the “best,” “simplest,” “fastest,” or “easiest.”
Other examples of Unique Value Propositions used in marketing a startup’s product:
- Filepicker.io — Simplify User Content Handling
- Amicus — Amicus empowers cause-driven organizations to leverage the social networks of their supporters, raise more money, attract more members, and win more votes.
- Sponsorfied — We simplify sponsorships by connecting the best brands with amazing opportunities
Startups need to start saving their Unique Value Proposition for the about page and start positioning themselves. Get into my head, create an identity for yourself, and find a way to stand out.
That said, what about a good example? Square does it right: Start accepting credit cards today. Anyone who is looking to accept credit cards for their business knows just how annoying the process can be. Those five words tell me all I care about: I can accept credit cards, today—implying that the process will also be simple. Square doesn’t need to tell me outright how “simple” and “easy” it is to use.
The bottom line: Shock me. Surprise me. Tell me, simply, how your startup benefits me. Tell me why your competition sucks. But don’t expect to sell me by merely telling me what you do.
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