Steve Jobs famously said: âThe most powerful person in the world is the storyteller.â
In tech startups, however, thereâs a dangerous misconception that you should let the product speak for itself. "Great products sell themselvesâ they say.
It rarely works that way. By relying on your productâs so-called innate congenial talents, you are leaving too much to chance.
It shouldnât be surprising that the top 1% successful product creators take an alternate approach and choose to tell their own stories. They get intentional and pro-active in telling a powerful story that can rally an early adopter community .. using their product as an aid.
But where do you start? How do you make your product demo compelling?
Well, Iâd start with studying and taking notes from the greats. The iconic demos.
Here are some iconic startup product demos to spark your imagination: âĄď¸
1. Dropbox
What I love about it?
The demo is presented by the founder Drew Houston himself. Itâs raw, authentic, clear and speaks directly to the target user (in this case, a tech savvy early adopter). In 90% of the cases, donât aim to be clever. Just clear and simple will take you really far in helping connect with your audience.
2. Mmhmm
What I love about it?
Who remembers this demo from 2020? It blew up on tech Twitter. I love how hilarious and comprehensive the demo is. Philâs a natural storyteller despite looking very unassuming. The marketing cost for this was probably $0 given it was just Phil showing the tool around.
3. Descript
What I love about it?
One of the rare well executed high-budget marketing demos. The video is a blend of fun visuals, popping colors, well branded storyline yet somehow retained a startup vibe and highlighted key product features.
4. Patreon
What I love about it?
I love that this was a high-budget demo but directed in a way to highlight Jack Conte as the narrator. Why? Because heâs the ultimate user himself given that heâs a creator who can be relatable to the average Patreon user. I also love how each frame in the video features a specific Patreon creator as the story unfolds.
5. tl;dv
What I love about it?
That it is funny as hell. Plus you can tell it was done on a shoestring budget by a scrappy founder. Less budget but more wit. It won a Product Hunt award for the best video in 2021.
6. Replit
What I love about it?
Feels like a scene from a sci-fi movie. Replit is a beloved developer tool and this demos shows how the tool is evolving rapidly and adding more innovative use-cases like âtaking to an IDEâ and letting AI write /refactor code.
Finally, my favorite one of them all:
7. Runway
What I love about it?
Similar to Replit, Runway is about a painting a picture (pun intended) of whatâs possible with the technology. Clearly done with a high-budget agency, it still retains the essence of a startup showing itâs latest creation. Turning text into visuals is masterfully presented through a series of imaginative prompts. The music and the fun ending makes it extra compelling.
What did you think of this list? What is your favorite? Do you have any other demo you love more?
Announcements:
Last week on the Build In Public podcast, I published the episode that I've been super excited for a long time. Itâs an interview with Andrew Hutton and Rahul Brahmbhatt, the founders of Day One (where I work now). It felt like a fun internal âAll-Handsâ meeting in some ways but also I got to uncover their frameworks on how best to help entrepreneurs, lessons learned and co-founder tips. Check out the full conversation: (Link to Youtube video, Link to Audio)
Want to find a great startup to invest in? Well, stoked to share widely about this huge opportunity. If you believe the future of entrepreneurship is community-centric & you want to democratize access to education, Day One is opening up our round for ANYONE via Republicâs crowdfunding platform. Iâll be investing too (duh) â weâre creating something special. Link here.
Struggling to write consistently? Check out this great essay I read thatâs been helpful on âHow to make writing less hardâ
Thank you for reading and giving me a piece of your attention!
Loved it! Thank you for this selection! Mmhmm got me - such a hilarious video đ
Love this selection. The tl;dv one made me laugh.
They're all brilliant, but I wonder which of these gets shared more.