Why Most Startups Can't Explain What They Do: A GTM Strategy Workshop with FinStrat Management
ICP, Value Props & Behavioral Statements: Foundational Messaging for Startups
Most startups struggle to explain what they do, both to customers and to their own teams. This session breaks down the two languages every founder needs: external messaging that converts customers, and internal language that aligns your team and guides product decisions.
Adam Chen, Chief Revenue Officer at FinStrat Management, will walk through how to build a specific, actionable Ideal Customer Profile, craft a value proposition that answers "why should I choose you," and write a behavioral statement that defines the exact behavior change your product is trying to create. You'll leave with practical templates for all three, plus a validation playbook for pressure-testing your messaging with real customers before you scale it.
This event is organized in partnership between the CMU Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, CMU VentureBridge, CMU Alumni Association, and FinStrat Management.
About the Speaker
Adam Chen, MBA, serves as FinStrat Management's Chief Revenue Officer. He is a seasoned multi-disciplinary executive, team leader, systems integrator, marketer, sales leader, program manager and high-level thinker whose work has spanned industries including IT, finance, marketing, events, hospitality, consulting, and federal government contracting. Combining business acumen with technical know-how helps Adam lead strategic initiatives to drive company growth through integrated marketing, sales, operations, and product.
Prior to FinStrat, Adam held multiple senior-level and C-Suite positions in both IT and Marketing as well as served as President of a property technology start up. His super power is seeing the world through another person’s lens and connecting the dots between seemingly disparate subjects to guide people and organizations through innovation initiatives and change management efforts. Adam is a zero-to-one builder that also keeps n-1 scaling in focus.
Adam also co-hosts the Innovators & Investors Podcast, Accelerator Series, a show focused on providing a platform for FinStrat's clients and partners that are building and supporting paradigm shifting ideas in the ever changing landscape of early-stage growth.
About the Event Organizers:
FinStrat Management is a strategic finance partner for founders and investor-backed companies, providing institutional-grade financial infrastructure without the cost of a full in-house team. Our support spans CFO advisory, financial modeling, accrual-based monthly closes, and back-office operations, with a focus on getting companies clean, investor-ready financials ahead of their next raise.
Beyond finance, FSM connects founders to an ecosystem of 300+ VCs, advisors, and fellow founders who have collectively raised close to $500M.