Every founder knows what his project does. But they don't usually know how to explain why it does what it does and what the ultimate meaning is. Be careful - not "tell about your project", but "explain its essence". These are different things.

And this is not because there is not enough time. The essence should be explained very quickly. Everything else is detail. It's not for nothing that Y Combinator graduates are forced to train to finish their Demo Day presentation in 1 minute.

The problem is the inability to explain the essence. And this is terribly critical. Because it seems to founders that they understand everything, but they can't say it. But as Schopenhauer said, "Who thinks clearly speaks clearly". Failure to express the essence means that the founder himself does not fully understand that essence. This leads to a series of wrong actions in its implementation.

The trick is that practicing talking about the project won't help. Because you will memorize how you understand this essence now. Which is usually not what you need!

Only observation can help - how successful founders explain the essence of their projects. Or at least the same trained Y Combinator alumni.

At the same time, it is important not only to watch them and see what they are "talking about". And to analyze - that is, to notice exactly what you don't normally talk about!