Insight
Court
I had a client call this week where everything they said made perfect sense. Strong positioning, clear value proposition, solid strategy. But something felt off. Then I looked at their messaging. 'Unclutter this', 'derisk X'. Every single benefit started from a negative place.
They weren't talking about what they were building. They were talking about what they were fixing. And that's when it hit me - most brands are accidentally pessimistic.
Here's the thing about human psychology: we have what researchers call an optimism bias. People naturally overestimate the probability of positive events happening to them. It's not naive, it's survival. Hope keeps us moving forward.
But brand messaging often does the opposite. We lead with problems, pain points, and what's broken. We think we're being empathetic, but we're actually working against how people want to see the world.
When you say 'uncluttered', people think about clutter. When you say 'derisk', they think about risk. You've just planted the very thing you're trying to help them avoid.
Most founders are natural problem-solvers. You see something broken, you fix it. That's literally why you started your company. So when it comes to messaging, you default to problem-first language because that's how your brain works.
But here's where it gets interesting: your audience doesn't want to live in problem-land. They want to live in solution-land. They want to imagine the better version of their world, not be reminded of what's currently wrong with it. Think about it. Would you rather work with someone who 'eliminates chaos' or someone who 'creates clarity'? Same outcome, completely different feeling.
This isn't about toxic positivity or pretending problems don't exist. It's about leading with aspiration instead of frustration.
Instead of 'derisk' you should strengthen your position. Instead of 'eliminate waste' you should maximise efficiency. Instead of 'avoid making mistakes' you should be ensuring success.
See the difference? Same value proposition, but now you're painting a picture of where they're going, not what they're running from.
We're living through what I'd call an anxiety economy. People are overwhelmed, uncertain, and frankly, tired of being told about more problems. The brands breaking through right now aren't the ones highlighting what's broken - they're the ones showing what's possible.
When everything feels heavy, optimism becomes a competitive advantage.
Here's where it gets tricky for founder-led brands. You're naturally optimistic - you have to be to start something from nothing. But when you write about your business, you often flip into analyst mode, focusing on problems you solve rather than outcomes you create.
I see this constantly. Founders who light up talking about their vision, then write copy that sounds like a risk assessment.
Your optimism is your brand's secret weapon. Don't bury it under problem-heavy messaging.
Language doesn't just describe reality, but in fact shapes it. When you consistently use positive, forward-looking language, you're not just describing your product, you're creating a worldview.
People don't just buy products. They buy into possibilities. They choose brands that make them feel like the future is brighter, not brands that remind them how dark it currently is.
This is especially crucial for smaller brands. You can't out-spend the big players, but you can out-inspire them. While they're running fear-based campaigns about all the things that could go wrong, you can be the brand showing what could go right.
Next time you're writing messaging, ask yourself - am I describing the problem or painting the possibility? If you're describing the problem, flip it. Find the positive outcome hiding behind the negative framing.
Your audience's attention is already being pulled in a thousand directions. Don't add to their cognitive load by making them work through negative language to get to the good stuff. Lead with the good stuff.
Because in a world full of problems, the brands that win are the ones that feel like solutions. Not just functionally, but emotionally. And that starts with every single word you choose.
