Get High: Why Articulating at the High-Level Is a Crucial Skill for Founders

Get high (no, not that way!).  In this case, getting high refers to how founders describe their company, product, market and other key factors. Knowing when and how to go from the high-level, dive into details, and then rise back up to the strategic level, continually, is a crucial skill for startup founders looking to get others to buy into their vision. This is not only essential for successful fundraising but also echoes the CEO’s company-building journey. The clarity of a founder’s ability to guide the discussion seamlessly between strategy and execution tactics will sway investors, attract talent, and resonate with customers.

Founders are experts at their chosen craft: they are beautifully and deeply immersed in the problem they’re solving and the solution they’re building to address it. They see an opportunity that most don’t, and they have the good kind of myopia – the kind that allows them to be tunnel-visioned, completely focused on their goals as they build something new.  This is a powerful attribute for product-building.

When fundraising, though, it is the farsightedness of the founder that prompts an investor to invest. And this is what’s meant by “get high” and be strategic. Strategic thinking relies on expertise but is distinct from expertise, and it sets leaders apart from mere experts. Strategic thinking distils a lot of knowledge into an incisive perspective on what truly matters. Founders who take the discussion to the higher level, repeatedly, communicate the big picture and it’s through that the window that investors can see how the company will be built. 

The key is moving the discussion back and forth between the high-level and the detailed level. An essential skill for founders to develop is knowing when to go deep into details, and then pull back up to the higher level, putting into the context why those details matter.  A mark of a skilled founder lies in their ability to seamlessly transition between these two levels of description—strategic and detailed—and effectively steer the conversation.  

Like any skill, it can come with practice. If a founder is working to articulate the strategic vision or go from details to big picture and vice versa, here are some prompts:

  • Context: when discussing detailed tactics, pull back and relate the details to higher-level objectives and strategy. It’s easy to get a bit lost in the details—we all do it because details are concrete, comfortable, and tactics yield results. But connecting-the-dots on why the tactics matter, why they’re working, why prospects are buying—these are ways to elevate the discussion back to the bigger picture.
  • Steer the conversation: when answering questions, provide the details to answer the question and then relate the details back to the product roadmap, sales strategy, etc. Selectively, steer the discussion back up to the higher level.
  • Future-planning: discuss how will the company evolve, what are the key markers, internal and external, that will inform the next steps of the evolution. It’s okay not to have all the answers, the future is unknowable, but communicating what the guideposts are can relay the founder’s vision of company-building.

Honing the ability to discuss the business at both strategic and detailed levels is not merely a communication skill. It defines the perception of the venture. It empowers founders to inspire confidence, build credibility, and navigate the complexities of the business with clarity.  It’s not only about selling the vision and showcasing domain expertise. It’s about building a comprehensive narrative that captures interest, builds trust, and demonstrates the CEO’s solid grasp of both the big picture and the finer details. For fundraising and for company-building, this is one of the most crucial skills for founders who will not just “get high,” but get to the finish line (and the next one, and then next one).

(p.c. Canva magic media)